Things to Do in Austria

The Vienna Prater is both a huge outdoor area and an amusement park. Once the Emperor Maximilian II's hunting ground in the 16th century, in 1766 Emperor Joseph II declared it open parkland for everyone. Coffee-houses and cafes sprang up and nobody seemed worried that it continued to be used for hunting until 1920! It was also around the 18th century that the Wurstelprater began - an amusement park which continues to this day and includes the giant ferris wheel, the Riesenrad, one of Vienna's famous sights. There are also bumper cars, a roller-coaster, and carousels.

The Prater also houses a planetarium and the Prater Museum, a little disappointing as museums go although the antique slot machines are worthwhile.

With rolling vineyards of grapes and apricots, plus a collection of more than 5,000 historic monuments, it's no wonder that the Wachau Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Austria's most popular tourist attractions. The Danube River carves a picturesque path through the valley's towns of Melk and Krems, uniting a harmonious blend of wineries, Gothic churches, and medieval castles.

The Basics
The Wachau Valley (Danube Valley) is most commonly visited on a day-trip from Vienna. Wine tasting is regularly at the top of Wachau Valley tours' itineraries, as is Melk Abbey, an 11th-century Benedictine monastery adorned with bright frescoes. The valley is also a popular place for a bike tour thanks to its flat paths and stunning scenery.

Full-day tours typically combine visits to the castle ruins of Burgruine Durnstein, the village of Spitz, and the medieval town of Krems with a Danube River cruise. Energetic sightseers can also add Salzburg — the birthplace of Mozart and setting for 'The Sound of Music' to their schedule on an excursion that covers the Salzkammergut Valley and Salzburg's Mirabell Palace and Gardens. Lower Austria's close proximity to Bratislava and Budapest, the respective capitals of Slovakia and Hungary, make the region an ideal launchpad for exploring more of Europe.

• History buffs and wine lovers are spoiled for choice of things to do in Wachau Valley.
• The region can be explored by car, coach bus, or bike.
• Most tours include hotel pickup and dropoff in Vienna.

How to Get to the Wachau Valley
From Wien Westbahnhof in central Vienna, catch the REX train to Melk Bahnof (a one-hour journey) or to Krems, which requires changing trains at St. Polten. If visiting from Salzburg, you should also change trains at St. Polten for the REX line destined for Melk. Although catching the train to Melk is a breeze (especially from Vienna), it's best to explore the valley with a tour guide as part of a sightseeing or biking tour. With more than 5,000 historic landmarks, it's tough to see the best independently.

When to Get There
The spring months of March to May are undoubtedly the best time to visit the Wachau Valley, when wine and food festivals such as the Wachau Gourmet Festival and Wachau Weinfr¸hling take place. In late March and early April, the area's landscapes are awash with the pastel-pink blossoms of apricot trees.

Sitting on the Danube River in Lower Austria, Dürnstein is one of the most-visited villages in the Wachau Valley wine-growing region and is accessible from both Vienna and Salzburg. It's a charming mix of medieval and Baroque architecture, with labyrinthine cobbled lanes and pastel-hued houses with red-tiled roofs. Full of traditional Austrian restaurants and stores selling local vintages, it's the perfect lunchtime stopover on driving, cycling or walking tours through the valley. Often packed out by day "“ especially in summer "“ by night most visitors have left and the village reverts to its tranquil, romantic best.

Dürnstein Abbey perches right on the edge of the Danube, its stately blue Baroque tower is a local landmark. Although first mentioned as a nunnery in 1289, by the 16th century it had become an Augustine monastery and 200 years after that it was given its present Baroque facelift.

The ruins of Kuenringer Castle (also known as Burgruine Dürnstein), in which English King Richard the Lionheart was famously imprisoned on his way back from the Crusades in 1192, stand on a jagged promontory overlooking the town. According to legend, Richard's minstrel Jean Blondel rescued him from captivity and it is Blondel's name you will seen on several of Dürnstein's bars and hotels. It's a breathless 30-minute scramble up to the castle but rewarding for some of the best views along the Wachau Valley.

There are over 20 vineyards within stamping distance of Durnstein so the little town makes the perfect starting point for a day's trip through the vines or to an estate to tour the cellars; you can also get to sample some of the Wachau's crisp dry whites at the rustic little heurigen (wine bars) scattered around the region, although they are not open all year around.

Housed in the elegant Renaissance Bürgerspital, which was once a hospital, the Toy Museum was founded in 1978 and surrounds one of the most beautiful cloistered courtyards in Salzburg. It is an offshoot of the Salzburg Museum, which incorporates seven branches, including the Museum of Natural History (Haus der Natur) and the Monatsschlössl ethnology museum at Schloss Hellbrunn as well as its main branch at the Neue Residenz. Exhibits include antique dolls’ houses and puppet theaters among its collection of historic toys, but the museum is largely given over to interactive displays for children. It is a joy to visit for families with young kids as there are many games to play and puzzles to solve as well as Teddy bears to cuddle, dolls to dress up and a maze to get lost in. Model trains and racetracks are found on the second floor along with lots of costumes to dress up in and possibly the world’s biggest collection of Barbie dolls.