Austria and Bavaria: Munich, the Tyrol, Salzburg and Vienna

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Munich

   Munich Airport to your hotel in central Munich

   • Environ 45 min de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Munich
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Munich Airport (MUC), about 40 km north-east of the city, and a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the 45-minute ride to your hotel in the centre. The hotel is within walking distance of Marienplatz, so if you land early you can wander out on your own: the Viktualienmarkt food market, the twin domes of the Frauenkirche, the long arcades of the Hofgarten beside the Residenz. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the ten days ahead: how the transfers and the train work, what to pack for the mountain day above Innsbruck, and which morning starts early. Then we walk together to a Bavarian restaurant for the welcome dinner: roast pork with dumplings, a first glass of Munich beer, or something lighter if you prefer.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Munich Airport (MUC)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner at a Bavarian restaurant

   Temps libre : Free until the early evening briefing

   Activité : Plan to land by about 3 pm to make the briefing; the exact time comes with your final itinerary.

2. Jour 2 : Munich: the old town and the Residenz

   A walking day in central Munich

   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Munich
   Détail du jour 2

   We start on foot at about 8:30 am, before the shops open, when Marienplatz is quiet and the neo-Gothic New Town Hall catches the morning sun. Your guide leads the group past the Old Town Hall to the Frauenkirche, whose two onion-capped towers set the city's skyline, and through the stalls of the Viktualienmarkt as the traders set up. Mid-morning we go into the Munich Residenz, the palace of the Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria for four centuries: the Renaissance Antiquarium, the state rooms and the treasury. We come back out to Marienplatz in time for the Glockenspiel at noon, when the figures on the tower re-enact a royal wedding and the coopers' dance, then sit down to a Bavarian lunch together. The afternoon is free: watch the surfers on the Eisbach wave in the English Garden, see the Old Masters at the Alte Pinakothek (closed on Mondays), or take the S-Bahn and bus to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site.

   Compris

   • Morning walk with your guide: Marienplatz, the Frauenkirche and the Viktualienmarkt
   • The Munich Residenz: the Antiquarium, the state rooms and the treasury
   • The Glockenspiel on the New Town Hall at noon
   • Bavarian lunch

   Activités en option

   • Alte Pinakothek (closed on Mondays)
   • Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site (entry free; guided tour paid on site)

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free

   Activité : About 6 km on foot, mostly flat.

3. Jour 3 : Over the Alps to Innsbruck

   Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald, then over the Seefeld plateau to Innsbruck

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Innsbruck
   Détail du jour 3

   We leave Munich at 9 am in our own vehicle and drive south as the Alps rise ahead, with the Zugspitze, at 2,962 m Germany's highest mountain, in view above Garmisch-Partenkirchen on a clear day. After about an hour and a half we stop in Mittenwald, a violin-making town since the 17th century, whose houses are painted with frescoes in the Bavarian Lüftlmalerei style. Walk the main street with its painted facades and have lunch together before crossing into Austria. The road climbs onto the Seefeld plateau, then drops down the Zirler Berg into the Inn valley, with Innsbruck spread below the wall of the Nordkette. We reach the hotel by about 2:30 pm, and a local guide walks the group through the old town: the Golden Roof, built for Emperor Maximilian I around 1500, the Hofburg, and the Hofkirche, where 28 bronze figures stand around Maximilian's empty tomb. The evening is yours.

   Compris

   • Drive from Munich to Innsbruck with your guide, via Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald
   • Mittenwald's painted houses, with lunch
   • Innsbruck old town with a local guide: the Golden Roof, Maria-Theresien-Strasse and the Hofburg
   • The Hofkirche and the tomb of Maximilian I

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : About 2.25 hours of driving in two legs, and about 4 km on foot.

   

4. Jour 4 : The Nordkette cable car and the Alpenzoo

   Innsbruck to Hungerburg, Seegrube and Hafelekar, then back down by the Alpenzoo

   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Innsbruck
   Détail du jour 4

   Innsbruck is a city where a mountain railway starts in the centre. At about 8:30 am we board the Hungerburgbahn funicular at its Congress station, one of four stations designed by Zaha Hadid, ride up to Hungerburg, then change to the cable cars to Seegrube at 1,905 m and Hafelekar at 2,256 m. Early is best: the air is clearest before cloud builds over the peaks around midday. From Hafelekar a path of about 15 minutes leads to the summit at 2,334 m, with the wild Karwendel range to the north and the Stubai Alps across the Inn valley to the south. We come down to Seegrube for lunch on the terrace, then stop at the Alpenzoo on the way down, where lynx, wolves, ibex and other Alpine animals live in enclosures on the hillside. Back in town by about 3 pm, the rest of the day is free: Ambras Castle, the Bergisel ski jump, or a drink on the riverbank.

   Compris

   • Hungerburgbahn funicular and Nordkette cable cars to Seegrube and Hafelekar, up and down
   • The path to the Hafelekar summit (2,334 m)
   • Lunch at Seegrube
   • The Alpenzoo

   Activités en option

   • Ambras Castle
   • Bergisel ski jump

   Option plus facile : Stay at Seegrube (1,905 m) for the view and a coffee, and skip the last cable car and summit path.

   Option plus active : From Hafelekar, walk part of the Goetheweg, a high path along the ridge, for an hour or so before turning back; good shoes and sure footing needed.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free

   Activité : Up to 2,334 m if you take the summit path. It is often 10 to 15 °C colder than in town, so bring a warm layer. The lifts close for maintenance for a few weeks a year; we set departures around them, and in poor visibility we go up the next morning instead.

   

5. Jour 5 : Kitzbühel and Zell am See to Salzburg

   Innsbruck to Kitzbühel and Zell am See, then through Lofer to Salzburg

   • Environ 3.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Salzburg
   Détail du jour 5

   Today has the longest drive of the trip, about 235 km and three and a half hours in all, split into three legs. We leave at 9 am and follow the Inn valley east, then turn into the Kitzbühel Alps for a coffee stop in Kitzbühel's medieval centre (about 1.25 hours). The road then crosses the Pass Thurn, at 1,274 m, and drops into the Pinzgau to Zell am See (about an hour), where we have lunch by the lake and take a boat out on the Zeller See, with the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun across the water. Mid-afternoon we drive the last leg through Lofer to Salzburg (about 1.25 hours), arriving around 5 pm. Before dinner your guide takes the group on a first walk: through the Mirabell Gardens, across the Salzach on the Makartsteg footbridge and along the Getreidegasse, with its wrought-iron shop signs, as the evening light falls on the fortress. Dinner tonight is your choice.

   Compris

   • Drive from Innsbruck to Salzburg with your guide, via Kitzbühel and Zell am See
   • Coffee stop in Kitzbühel
   • Lunch in Zell am See and a boat on the Zeller See
   • Evening walk in Salzburg: the Mirabell Gardens, the Makartsteg and the Getreidegasse

   Temps libre : Evening free from about 7 pm

   Activité : The longest driving day, about 3.5 hours in three legs of under 1.5 hours each.

6. Jour 6 : Hallstatt and the Wolfgangsee

   Salzburg to Hallstatt, then St. Wolfgang, a boat to St. Gilgen and back to Salzburg

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Salzburg
   Détail du jour 6

   We leave Salzburg at 8 am and drive about an hour and a quarter through the Salzkammergut lake country to reach Hallstatt around 9:30, ahead of most day-trip coaches. The village sits on a narrow ledge between the Hallstätter See and the mountain, part of the Hallstatt-Dachstein Salzkammergut landscape listed by UNESCO in 1997. Your guide walks the group along the lakeside lanes to the market square and the bone house beside the Catholic church, then we ride the Salzbergbahn funicular to the Skywalk, a viewing platform about 350 m above the roofs. Salt has been mined in this mountain for some 7,000 years, and a guided tour of the Salzwelten mine goes underground, down two wooden miners' slides. Lunch is in Hallstatt. In the afternoon we drive to St. Wolfgang and take the boat across the Wolfgangsee to St. Gilgen, where our vehicle meets us for the 40-minute drive back to Salzburg, arriving about 6 pm.

   Compris

   • Hallstatt village walk with your guide
   • Salzbergbahn funicular and the Skywalk viewing platform
   • Guided tour of the Salzwelten Hallstatt salt mine
   • Lunch in Hallstatt
   • Boat across the Wolfgangsee from St. Wolfgang to St. Gilgen

   Option plus facile : Skip the salt mine and spend the time on the Skywalk and in the village, with a coffee by the lake.

   Option plus active : Walk up to the Skywalk on the steep zigzag path from the village, about 45 minutes, instead of riding the funicular.

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : The salt mine stays cool all year, so bring a sweater; the tour involves stairs and slides and takes about 90 minutes. If we miss the Wolfgangsee sailing, we drive straight back to Salzburg instead.

7. Jour 7 : Salzburg in the morning, the train to Vienna

   Salzburg old town, then by train to Vienna

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Vienna
   Détail du jour 7

   We are at the FestungsBahn funicular when it opens and ride up to Hohensalzburg, the fortress that has watched over the city since 1077. Walk the ramparts for the view over the domes and spires of the old town, the Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg on UNESCO's list since 1996, and across to the Alps. Back down, we visit the cathedral, rebuilt and consecrated in 1628 with its broad baroque facade, then Mozart's Birthplace on the Getreidegasse, where he was born in 1756 and the family lived until 1773; his childhood violin is in the collection. After an early lunch in the old town, our vehicle takes the group and the luggage to the main station for a reserved train to Vienna, about two and a half hours through Upper and Lower Austria. A transfer takes us from Vienna's main station to the hotel by late afternoon, and the evening is free.

   Compris

   • Hohensalzburg Fortress at opening, with the FestungsBahn funicular
   • Salzburg Cathedral
   • Mozart's Birthplace
   • Lunch in the old town
   • Reserved train from Salzburg to Vienna, with transfers to and from the stations

   Temps libre : Evening free in Vienna

8. Jour 8 : Schönbrunn at opening, the Hofburg and a coffee house

   Schönbrunn Palace, then a walk through central Vienna

   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Vienna
   Détail du jour 8

   Schönbrunn, the Habsburgs' summer palace, gets busy by mid-morning, so we arrive by underground at opening with timed Grand Tour tickets: 40 rooms, from the Mirror Room where the six-year-old Mozart played for Empress Maria Theresa in 1762 to the Great Gallery and the apartments of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth. Afterwards climb through the gardens to the Gloriette for the view back over the palace to the city. Lunch is together near the palace. In the afternoon a local guide leads a walk through the centre: the Hofburg, the imperial palace in the city, and Heldenplatz with its equestrian statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy, then the Graben and St. Stephen's Cathedral, its roof patterned in glazed tiles. We finish at a traditional coffee house for coffee and cake, and the evening is free; your guide can suggest a concert or the standing places at the State Opera.

   Compris

   • Schönbrunn Palace Grand Tour at opening, and the gardens to the Gloriette
   • Lunch near Schönbrunn
   • Walk through central Vienna with a local guide: the Hofburg, Heldenplatz, the Graben and St. Stephen's Cathedral
   • Coffee and cake at a Vienna coffee house
   • Public transport tickets for the day

   Option plus facile : Skip the climb to the Gloriette and rest in the palace café before lunch.

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : About 8 km on foot, including the slope up to the Gloriette.

   

9. Jour 9 : The Belvedere, a free afternoon and a Heuriger

   The Upper Belvedere, then out to the vineyards on the edge of Vienna

   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Vienna
   Détail du jour 9

   This morning we visit the Upper Belvedere, the baroque summer palace built for Prince Eugene, at opening, so the group can stand in front of Gustav Klimt's The Kiss, painted in 1907 and 1908, before the crowds gather. The collection runs on through Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, and from the terrace the gardens fall away towards the Lower Belvedere and the towers of the old city. The rest of the day is free. Your guide can point you to the Bruegels in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the horses of the Spanish Riding School at morning exercise on the days it runs, or a walk through the Naschmarkt. In the early evening we take the tram out to the vineyards on the city's edge, where Vienna's wine taverns, the Heurigen, serve the year's own wine with a buffet of cold meats, cheeses and spreads. This is our farewell dinner, at long wooden tables with the city below.

   Compris

   • The Upper Belvedere at opening, with Klimt's The Kiss
   • Farewell dinner at a Heuriger wine tavern, with a glass of wine
   • Tram tickets to the vineyards and back

   Activités en option

   • Kunsthistorisches Museum
   • Spanish Riding School morning exercise

   Temps libre : Late morning and afternoon free

10. Jour 10 : Vienna and home

    Vienna to Vienna International Airport

    • Environ 30 min de route
    • Petit-déjeuner
    Détail du jour 10

    A last morning in Vienna, with breakfast at the hotel and no group activity planned. If your flight leaves later in the day there is time for a final walk on your own: the Naschmarkt stalls open early (except on Sundays), the Stadtpark has its gilded statue of Johann Strauss, and the lift up the north tower of St. Stephen's gives a last view over the rooftops. The hotel will hold your bags after checkout. A driver takes you to Vienna International Airport (VIE), about 20 km south-east of the centre and around 30 minutes by road, at a time set by your flight. If you are travelling on by train to Budapest, Prague or elsewhere, we drop you at the main station instead. Your guide checks everyone's onward times the evening before and says goodbye at breakfast; the driver handles the transfers.

    Compris

    • Drop-off at Vienna International Airport (VIE) or Vienna main station

    Temps libre : Free until your transfer

    Activité : Book a flight leaving after about 11 am.

Faune et météo : May and June bring snow on the high peaks and green valleys; July and August are the warmest and busiest, with afternoon thunderstorms in the mountains, so we go up the Nordkette early. September is often the clearest month. The lake boats and the Hallstatt salt mine run from spring to autumn, which is why the trip does not run in winter.

• Munich2 nuits
• Innsbruck2 nuits
• Salzburg2 nuits
• Vienna3 nuits