Vienna
& Salzkammergut

• Admire incredible art collections, from Old Masters at the Kunsthistorisches Museum to contemporary masterpieces in the new Albertina Modern

• Understand Habsburg history at the Imperial Treasury and on a private visit of the Imperial Apartments, as well as in the last remaining Habsburg villa at Bad Ischl

• Encounter modernist Vienna, in the art of Klimt and Schiele and the architecture of Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos

• Appreciate the stunning natural scenery of Salzkammergut, an emerging destination with a revitalised cultural life

• Take day trips to Salzburg and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Wachau Valley

• Enjoy select fine dining that showcases the diversity of Austria’s culinary culture and regional wine

Monday 31 March – Arrival (D)

We meet in the hotel lobby in the late afternoon. After an orientation stroll, we dine together in a local restaurant. Overnight Vienna.

Tuesday 1 April – Imperial Vienna (B)

The Habsburgs transformed Vienna when they came to power in the fifteenth century, making what had been a smaller regional town into a centre of power. The city, however, remained a heavily fortified citadel that defended Western Europe from the Ottomans until the nineteenth century, when the city was redeveloped with the boulevards, elegant palaces and imperial buildings of the Ringstrasse. Today, after a talk, we explore the history of the imperial city. We begin with a visit to the Imperial Treasury, an astounding collection of decorative arts, including imperial regalia that reveal the history of the Holy Roman Empire. After a break for lunch, we take a guided walking tour of old Vienna, from the sprawling Hofburg, along elegant, history-laden streets to the Imperial Crypt of the Capuchin Church and St Stephen’s Cathedral. The later afternoon and evening are at leisure. Overnight Vienna.

Wednesday 2 April – Imperial Collections (B)

As the rulers of an empire for 450 years, the Habsburgs amassed extraordinary collections that represented their refinement and patronage of the arts and sciences. In the later nineteenth century, these collections were brought together to form an avenue leading to the new entrance of the Imperial Palace. We begin today at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of Europe’s finest collections of Old Masters, with a host of works by Titian, the Breughel dynasty, Caravaggio, Velásquez and Rembrandt. After a guided tour, there is time to enjoy the collections independently. In the afternoon, we visit the Natural History Museum, directly opposite the Kunsthistorisches Museum, whose collections contain the Venus of Willendorf – Europe’s oldest figurative sculpture – as well as the world’s largest collection of meteorites. In the mid-afternoon, we visit the Albertina, which houses exceptional European prints and drawings collected by a branch of the imperial family, and evolved in the twentieth century to become Central Europe’s largest collection of modern art. Returning to the hotel, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Vienna.

Thursday 3 April – Klosterneuburg and Kirche am Steinhof (B, L)

Today we take a day trip into the Vienna Woods, visiting exceptional monuments that are testament to Vienna’s influence on European culture from medieval to modern. We begin with a guided tour of Klosterneuburg, a medieval abbey complex that was expanded by the emperors in emulation of Spain’s Escorial. The collections of the abbey include Nicholas of Verdun’s stunning altarpiece, one of only three known masterpieces by medieval Europe’s finest goldsmith, as well as the well-preserved Imperial Apartments and collections of art from the Gothic to the contemporary. After lunch together, we take a scenic drive through the Vienna Woods to Kirche am Steinhof. This church designed by Otto Wagner is a masterpiece of Jugendstil architecture and Europe’s first modernist church. After a guided tour of the church, we return to Vienna, where the evening is at leisure. Overnight Vienna.

Friday 4 April – The Belvedere Palace and Imperial Apartments (B)

The imperial family had numerous palaces built in and around Vienna, each of which brought in teams of Europe’s leading architects, artists and interior designers. After the end of their rule in 1919, these palaces were nationalised by the new republic and transformed into museums. This morning we take the metro to the Upper Belvedere Palace, a delightful baroque summer palace whose excellent art collection includes works by Lucas Cranach, Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. After a guided tour of the Upper Palace, the afternoon is at leisure and you may wish to explore the other palace-museums in the complex, which include a museum of Gothic art and several exhibition spaces given over to exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. In the evening, we have an after-hours guided visit of the Imperial Apartments in the Hofburg, the primary residence of Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Sisi. Overnight Vienna.

Saturday 5 April – Modernism in Vienna (B)

In the later nineteenth century, Vienna was at a crossroads between the conservatism of the emperors and a growing group of artists, composers and artisans who sought to create new forms of art for a rapidly modernising world. In art and architecture, Vienna became a centre of Jugendstil, Wiener Werkstätte (an avant-garde modernist design movement), and a distinctive modernist architecture that would influence generations of architects in the twentieth century. Today we explore Vienna’s modern evolution, starting with a guided tour of the recently reopened Wien Museum. We then visit the Albertina Modern, a new museum that opened in 2022 to showcase the Albertina’s modern and contemporary collections. After a break for lunch, we take a guided architectural walking tour of Vienna, including a visit to the Secession Building and Klimt’s renowned Beethoven Frieze. Returning to the hotel, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Vienna.

Sunday 6 April – The Leopold and Museum of Applied Arts (B, D)

Today we continue our exploration of modernist Vienna, starting with a visit to the Leopold Museum where the collection focuses on Viennese modernism, including masterpieces by Klimt, Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka. A particular strength of the museum is how it integrates decorative arts and design into its fine art collections, showcasing how artists, designers and artisans of the period interacted with each other’s work. In the afternoon, we take a guided visit of the Museum of Applied Arts to admire its outstanding collections of applied and decorative arts, from Biedermeier to the beginnings of mid-century modernism. In the evening, we dine together at an excellent Viennese restaurant. Overnight Vienna.

Monday 7 April – The Wachau Valley (B)

Today we leave Vienna by coach and enjoy the day in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Wachau Valley. This valley is one of the most beautiful sections of the Danube, lined with romantic castles, well-preserved Renaissance hamlets, and terraced vineyards that produce one of Austria’s most sought-after wines, Grüner Veltliner. Our journey through the valley is by boat up the Danube to Melk, where a splendid baroque abbey looks out across the landscape. After a break for lunch at leisure in the abbey’s cafe, we take a guided tour of the complex, the result of centuries of patronage by the Babenberg and Habsburg families. After our tour, we continue by coach to Bad Ischl, a nineteenth-century spa town favoured by the imperial family. Overnight Bad Ischl.

Tuesday 8 April – Kaiser Villa and Hallstatt (B)

Salzkammergut is a delightful region of Austria where the Alps descend into deep lakes and narrow forest valleys. In addition to its natural beauty, the region has a fascinating history that stretches from the prehistoric Halstatt culture to millennia of salt-mining and a reputation as a summer retreat for Vienna’s aristocracy and intelligentsia. We begin our exploration of the region this morning at Kaiser Villa, a villa built by Emperor Franz Josef for the Empress Elisabeth. This villa, designed in the shape of an E, was the only imperial property the Habsburgs were allowed to keep in Austria, and it remains the residence of Habsburgs today. Part of the villa is now a museum, and our guided visit explores its historic rooms and the study where Franz Josef signed the declaration of war on Serbia that marked the outbreak of World War I. We then travel by coach to Hallstatt, one of Austria’s most beautiful lakes. After a break for lunch by the lake, we visit the Welterbemuseum, which has a fine collection of Iron Age sculpture, ceramics and objects from daily life in the prehistoric Hallstatt culture. In the mid-afternoon we return to Bad Ischl, where there is the option of visiting some of the town’s sites and museums with your tour leader. Overnight Bad Ischl.

Wednesday 9 April – Salzburg (B)

Today we take a day trip by coach to nearby Salzburg, a medieval town that grew wealthy through the export of salt from the mountains of Salzkammergut. Ruled in the past by an independent Prince-Bishop, the town’s historic sites include its fortress above the town, townhouses and palaces of the city’s elite, and Mozart’s birthplace. We begin with a walking tour, exploring the cathedral and delightful gardens of Schloss Mirabel before a break for lunch and time to explore the city independently. In the mid-afternoon, we travel the short distance to Hellbrunn Palace. This Italian-inspired Mannerist palace was built in the early 1600s by a Prince Archbishop seeking to entertain his guests, and is replete with trick fountains, playful grottoes and 200 water-powered automata. Returning to Bad Ischl, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Bad Ischl.

Thursday 10 April – Wolfgangsee and Mondsee (B, L)

Today we enjoy the lakes and villages of Salzkammergut. We begin with a gentle walk along the beautiful Lake Wolfgang, with the Austrian Alps reflected in the views across the lake. Our walk concludes at St Wolfgang, a delightfully well-preserved lakeside village, where we visit the extraordinary carved and painted altarpiece by Michael Pacher, a fifteenth-century artist who introduced Renaissance Italian aesthetics to the German-speaking world. After lunch together at a lakeside inn, we continue to Mondsee to stroll along the lake and enjoy the views over coffee (and cake), before returning to Bad Ischl. Overnight Bad Ischl.

Friday 11 April – Heiligenkreuz monastery (B, D)

This morning we take a scenic drive through the mountains to Heiligenkreuz Abbey. After a break for lunch, we visit the Romanesque abbey, founded by the Cistercians in the twelfth century and today the oldest continuously inhabited Cistercian monastery in Europe. After our visit, we continue to Baden bei Wien, a spa town at the boundary of the Vienna Woods. This region is home to some of Vienna’s finest restaurants, and we enjoy a farewell meal at a medieval monastery that has been converted into a winery restaurant. Overnight Baden am Wien.

Saturday 12 April – Departure (B)

The tour concludes after breakfast this morning. Transfers are available to Vienna Airport or the city centre, both of which are a conveniently reached from Baden bei Wien.

Hotel Royal 4* Vienna, 7 nights

https://www.hotelroyal.at/en/hotel-royal-vienna

Wonderfully central family run hotel means the great sites of Vienna are on your doorstep.

Hotel Goldenes Schiff 4* Bad Ischl, 4 nights

https://www.goldenes-schiff.at/en/

Modern, comfortable rooms in a historic hotel on the riverfront in Bad Ischl.

Hotel at the Park 4* Baden bei Wien, 1 night

https://www.atthepark.at/en/start-english/

Modern hotel in a quiet spa town, Baden bei Wien.

NB: hotels of a similar standard may be substituted.

• 12 nights’ accommodation at 4* hotels

• All breakfasts and 5 lunches or dinners

• All ground transport, guided tours and entrance fees to sites as mentioned in the itinerary, and tipping

• Talks by and expertise of an Australian tour leader throughout

• Services of an Austrian tour manager throughout

A $1,000pp deposit is required at the time of booking to hold your place on tour.

We will invoice you for final payment for the tour, due on 15 January 2025.

When you book on one of tours, we ask you to accept our terms and conditions. You can read our terms and conditions here.