2 Weeks in Austria & Northeast Italy

When: September 2024

Danielle’s Highlight: Mountains of Austria, walking around Venice, hiking in Cortina

Jason’s Highlight: Hiking in Cortina, Eagle's Nest, finding a grassy park in Venice

Where we stayed: AirBnBs and Hotels

– Salzburg: harry’s XL Hotel Salzburg

– Venice: Airbnb

– Cortina: Airbnb

– Innsbruck: BinderS Budget City-Mountain Hotel

– Munich Airport: Munich: prizeotel Munich-Airport

TLDR: Salzburg is historic, bigger than Innsbruck. Many day trips nearby and a very walkable city. Innsbruck is more outdoorsy feeling. We would pick Salzburg over Innsbruck if we could only do one, but both are great. Venice is best with 2-3 days to really take it in. Aimlessly wander here. Cortina d’Ampezzo is gorgeous, expensive, and a gateway to beautiful hiking. You can stay in a nearby town for cheaper amenities. Cinque Torri is well worth a visit.

Itinerary: This is our 2 week itinerary with 2.5 days Salzburg, 2.5 days Venice, 2.5 days Cortina, 2 days Innsbruck. We flew in and out of Munich and rented a car.

Day One: We landed in Munich at 8AM and drove 1 hr 45 min to Salzburg. This was a fun and pretty drive through the small towns of Germany. You can also take a train, but we wanted a car for the whole trip. We made one pitstop at the “Memorial Site Mass Grave (Mühldorfer Hart)” which was what is sounds like, a memorial site from WW2. This was a small site and kind of hard to get to, but a worth while stop if you like WW2 history. Once we got to Salzburg we spent the day wandering around. Jet lag got the best of us and we had a very early night. I always recommend not booking things on day one due to excessive sleepiness… Day one is a great day to just walk around and soak in the city.

• Sternbräu: Beer garden in downtown. There were indoor and outdoor tables. We both really enjoyed the food here. I don’t normally like sauerkraut but it was delicious! We ate here twice on this trip.

• Augustiner Braugasthof Krimpelstätter: This was right behind the large Augustiner beer garden. It was smaller and more intimate. It was also very shady and comfortable. We enjoyed a couple drinks and cribbage.

• Mirabell Palace: This was a site from The Sound of Music (which everyone should watch before coming to Salzburg). It was a large garden and a must stop see. It’s in the middle of downtown and very easy to get to.

• Mozartplatz: This is a town square in the old town of Salzburg. It has shops were you can get Mozart chocolate souvenirs and visit the Mozart statue and his old home. Across the river you can also see his birthplace.

• St. Sebastian’s Church & Cemetery: We find old cemeteries interesting, and this one is the resting place of Mozart’s family (he is personally buried in Vienna).

• Wein & Co Platzl: The last thing we did was sit outside, drink gin and tonics, and people watch on a cute, busy street. A great option when you’re sleep deprived!

Day Two: We started the day with breakfast at a nearby cafe. It’s hard to find a traditional American breakfast but we really enjoyed CUP&CINO. We booked a tour for the Eagle’s Nest which was well worth it for history buffs. Unluckily we had cloudy weather so we missed out on the views from the Eagle’s Nest. Lunch was spent in Berchtesgaden which is now a cute town, but has it’s own somber history from WW2. After getting back to Salzburg, we walked to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which is another must see. This castle is one of the largest in Europe. We ended out day meeting up with a family friend and walking the streets and hillside of Salzburg. This would also be a great time to check out the new-town and go shopping, or visit a church or museum.

• CUP&CINO Coffee House Salzburg: Not busy, multiple food and coffee options, friendly staff. The serving sizes were plentiful.

• Eagle’s Nest Tour: We enjoy WW2 history so this was a must see and I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. Technically you can visit without a tour, but I think it is much easier with a guide and bus. We unfortunately visited on a cloudy day, so we could not appreciate the mountain views. It was still an insightful experience. This tour also included a stop at Berchtesgaden.

• Gasthof Neuhaus: Lunch stop in Berchtesgaden. Classic beer garden. I’d come back.

• Hohensalzburg Fortress: This is a gigantic fortress in the middle of the city. You could spend many hours wandering around. We did it in about 2 hours

• Gasthof Goldgasse: We came here for dinner because they have the Salzburger Nockerl. This is the famous Salzburg dessert and is a sweet soufflé sitting on top of fruit jam. Honest opinion: it wasn’t either of our favorite dish, but it wasn’t bad. It basically tastes like a meringue, but slightly more egg-flavored. Worth a try!

Day Three: We chose to spend this day visiting Hallstatt and some nearby lakes. The drive was just over an hour to Hallstatt, but we made a few pitstops to admire the lakes and food stops. It was just cold enough in the morning that we chose not to swim, but we wished we had by mid-day in Hallstatt. If it’s warm enough, we highly recommend a dip in a lake! You can also rent a pedal boat at some of these lakes.

• Hallstatt: This is a very cute town that you can walk through in a couple hours easily. We had lunch, ice cream, a couple drinks, and that’s about it. There are shops people can visit and you can enjoy the amazing views. It is a very small town.

• Fuschlsee: this is a lake we meant to go swimming in, but we missed the warm weather of the day. There are multiple gorgeous lakes between Salzburg and Hallstatt.

• Seegasthof Gamsjaga: This was a little hotel/restaurant on the edge of Wolfgangsee. We ate at the beer garden and enjoyed classic German food. I also splurged and finally ordered apple strudel, which obviously was tasty. This beer garden had a beautiful view of the lake.

  
  

Day Four: We started out trek out of Austria and into Italy. We chose to go the scenic route and travel down through the Grossglockner high alpine road. This was a gorgeous drive. We made our first pitstop in Werfen and visited an old castle. Then we stopped at a Sound of Music viewpoint and pretending we were singing along with Fräulein Maria. We made out way to the Grossglockner and paid the entrance fee to travel the pass. We had lunch at the restaurant on the summit and then moseyed on down to Venice. We parked out car in a long-term parking garage then caught a bus to the Venice islands. Make sure you have cash handy for the bus. The first bus that came by only accepted cash and wouldn’t wait for us to find the correct change. The next bus took card. We wondered if we were getting scammed somehow with the cash-only bus… make sure you know how much the fee is ahead of time so you don’t over pay a bus driver. Once we trudged out way through Venice with out luggage, we checked into the AirBnB and found dinner. There aren’t a ton of late night food options in Venice, so it’s important to consider that when planning your arrival time.

• Werfen: We ate breakfast at a hotel in town. They had a buffet with deli meat, pastries, hard boiled eggs, and coffee. The castle was beautiful. The entrance fee included a guided tour and we lucked out on timing, as it started right when we showed up. I believe they offer them hourly, so time your entrance on that. Werfen had spectacular views. We were glad we made this unexpected stop.

• Sound of Music: If you have seen The Sound of Music (must do before visiting Austria!) then this is a must-do! It was fun to stand in the place that Julie Andrews ran around singing. It was also a beautiful viewpoint and photo opportunity. Online you may see directions for a hike to this viewpoint. You can chose to hike up, but you can also just drive.

• Grossglockner: We were glad we did the scenic route, which only added about 1 hour of driving to our trip. The pass was beautiful and showed a different type of mountain scape compared to the mountains near Hallstatt and Salzburg. The restaurant on the summit was sub-par and only took cash, but it was our only option.

• Trattoria Alla Ferrata: We ate here for dinner in Venice, as it was the only decently rated option open at that time. The food was good. My mind wasn’t blown though. The servers were very friendly and the house wine is always a good choice.

Day Five: Our first real day in Venice. Everyone online says to stay at least 2 days in Venice to truly appreciate it. I fully agree with this. On day one Venice didn’t seem that amazing. It was cool, but it wasn’t until we wandered and got “lost” that I really fell in love. We walked past all the tourist attractions and came up on a large park on the distal end of the city. It was so nice to have grass under our feet as a change to all the cobblestone. This made me realize that there is more to Venice than just canals and narrow cobblestone streets. So, give yourself at least 2-3 days here. We decided to do a museum in the morning and food tour in the evening both days. On day one we did Doge’s Palace, wander around, and then a walking food tour.

• Doge’s Palace: We chose not to do a tour for this to save money, but used the audio guide provided by Doge’s. I believe it was only a few bucks. It basically just said what was written on all the plaques. Still nice to hear someone tell us everything but you could get by with reading if you want to save a little money. Make sure you book in advance for timed entry! When we walked out of the palace, we noticed several people were wearing plastic booties to cover their shoes. Turns out St. Mark’s square floods during high tide! So be aware of this and plan that you may need to get shoe covers or go barefoot for a few minutes. We were able to walk around the area until tide went down.

• Bar Al Calice: We stopped here for ciccheti and pizza. It is highly rate and we enjoyed the food. The whipped cod was said to be a favorite. Jason enjoyed it, but it was a little fishy for me. Venice is great for seafood as one would guess!

• Street food tour: We did the “Venice: Street Food Tour with a Local Guide and Tastings” by Food Raphael Tours and Events. We had several stops where we ate cicchetti, which are bite sized snacks, often sandwiches or crostinis. There were drinks along the way and we ended it with gelato. I highly recommend this tour or something like it!

• Do Draghi: A cool gin bar (they had other spirits too) for late night drinks. If you go here, look on the wall for a polaroid of us!

• Chet Bar: Another cool bar right next to Do Draghi. They had tasty cocktails and fun interior.

Day Six: We made our way back to St. Mark’s Square to visit the Basilica. This took about an 1.5 hrs to walk through. We then just wandered around Venice. We found a tasty lunch and then sought out a Gondola ride. We ended our evening with a really fun cooking class. It was great leaving the middle of the day open to just explore and “get lost.” You can walk from one side of Venice to the other within an hour so you don’t really need to worry about getting lost.

• St. Mark’s Basilica: We also chose not to do a tour here. I found a Rick Steve’s audio guide, so we just put our AirPods in and walked through the Basilica while Rick Steve’s explained everything. This worked great for us. We tried to arrive earlier in the day to avoid the line. It was around 10 AM and we waited in line for 10-15 min, maybe faster. Make sure you book tickets in advance for timed entry.

• Muro San Stae: This was a highly rated restaurant that had the best bruschetta! It was sooo fresh and delicious. Jason got a sardine pizza and I got a a ravioli dish was very tasty. Probably my favorite meal in Venice.

• Gondola Ride: When in Venice, you have to do a Gondola ride! Yes its touristy, but worth it! We found a Gondolier at the Ponte di San Polo bridge. We wanted something that went through the small canals but also briefly went into the grand canal. This was a great mix. Make sure you bring cash. It cost about 100 euros. Make sure you go through a legit Gondolier. They will charge you the standard rate that all Gondoliers charge.

• Cooking Class: We did the “Venice: Pasta and Tiramisu Cooking Class with Wine” by The Roman Food Tour. We made the pasta by hand and then Tiramisu. We had bottomless wine after we finished making the food. They cooked everything for us and it was all very good! Simple food but worth it. If I had to pick one food-tour I would would the street food tour we did the previous day, but if you have the time and funds, both were totally worth it!

• Time Social Bar: This was a cocktail bar in the Cannaregio area. They had fun drinks that tasted great. A solid late night option and a fun way to explore another area.

Day Seven: We sadly had to leave Venice, but on to other great things! We picked up our car and started the drive to Cortina d’Ampezzo. This was a very beautiful drive. We made a stop for lunch and then settled into Cortina. We originally planned on wandering the town this day, but it was expected to be the best weather all week so we went to Cinque Torri instead. This is highly recommended!

• Mato: This was a restaurant in San Vito di Cadore. It was super cute and the food was great! We loved the tiramisu especially.

• Cinque Torri: A place for hiking and an open air WW1 museum. So cool! We chose to take the chairlift up the mountain for time and energy sake. The hike would have been miles. This is a ski area in the winter. There is a refugio at the top if you want to get a drink or snack. We didn’t have a ton of time here so we explored the WW1 bunkers and then hiked around for a little before catching the last chairlift ride down. I loved this experience.

• Il Posticino: This was a finer dining restaurant with good food. Cortina is a small town and most of the restaurants were all booked up. It is really important to make reservations in advance. This wasn’t the most bestest food we had on the trip but it was a solid option.

Day Eight: We were supposed to go to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, but unfortunately the weather said otherwise. It was snowing heavily in the mountains so the road was closed to tourists. We decided to wander the town all day. Half the day was spent at the town’s “sports bar” talking with other tourists and playing cribbage. Honestly not a bad way to spend a very rainy day!

• Bar Sport: This was the sports bar, but it looked like a log cabin with skis and outdoor equipment on the walls. It was cozy and intimate.

• Il Vizietto Di Cortina: This was one of the best meals we had on the trip. We fortunately were able to make a reservation, which was a must. The “Amatriciana” was so, so good. It was like carbonara but with some tomato sauce. The carbonara was good too, but the other one was the winner.

• Tre Cime di Lavaredo: This was the plan for the day, but sadly it was closed for weather. Here is the beta I gathered:

  • 6 miles round trip, easy to moderate

  • Takes about 4 hours

  • Can walk up to caves

  • Restaurant at the base for lunch

  • 40 min drive from town

  • Same trailhead--> Cadini di Misurina, 2.3 mile round trip

Day Nine: We attempted to get up to Tre Cime, but the road was still closed due to weather. We found another hike to fill out day and it was amazing! Lago di Sorapis was gorgeous and there was a refugio a the top to warm up with. Once we came back down we grabbed some pizza and hit the hay.

• Lago di Sorapis: So we started this hike thinking we might not make it all the way. We were tired and just wanted to get some steps in. I thought the sign said it was 1-2 hours round trip… Turns out that was one way. The hike is 3.6 miles and takes about an hour and a half (one way). We kept thinking we were almost there until we finally just committed to doing the whole thing. It was borderline via ferrata a few times. The view was so worth it! And to top it off, there was a refugio where we could eat pasta to warm back up. So amazing.

Day Ten: We made our way to Innsbruck and arrived mid-day. There was a bit of traffic going to and from the Dolomites towns. It’s important to consider roadwork and possible delays to the schedule. Most areas are single lane highways. We checked into our hotel in Innsbruck and then wandered the town. It felt more modern in ways and was smaller. We easily saw the main streets and sites in one day of walking around. I loved the colorful buildings that can be seen when you walk along the river. Golden Roof is one of the popular sites to see and the road that leads to it is filled with shops and restaurants.

• La Mara: This was an Italian restaurant we went to for lunch. I had the gnocchi and it was very good. It’s right on Maria-Theresien-Straße, which is where the town square is.

• Dunlin Bar: This was a cool, chill cocktail bar in downtown. They had unique and tasty drinks.

Day Eleven: After brunch at a beer garden, we decided to spend this day checking out the Nordkette cable car. This takes you from the downtown to the top of Innsbruck. The views are spectacular. It also passes by the zoo, which we spent our afternoon exploring. We were pretty exhausted by this point, so we had a nice dinner and then passed out.

• Stiftskeller: This was a beer garden just a very short walk from the Nordkette station. I had the spätzle and it was probably one of the best I’ve had!

• Nordkette: There are a few different spots that you can get on. It was quite busy. We decided to go all the way to the top first and then were going to make our way down and see the zoo. We made it to the end of the first cable car and walked around this base area (the Seegrube). There was a restaurant and playground, and a jetty we could walk out onto for the best view and photos. The snow was pretty deep so very few people ventured this far. We then got on the other cable car that took us towards the summit (Hafelekar). It was cold and windy at the top so we didn’t actually walk to the summit, but it was still worth going up this cable car!

• Alpenzoo: We got on the cable car to come back down towards the zoo. There was a line to get back down, so keep this in mind. We wandered around the zoo for a couple hours. It was overall pretty small, but fun and worth while. It’s all mountain animals- bears, wolves, sheep, etc. Great option if you have kids! The biggest downside here was trying to get back on the cable car. They were all full from the people coming down from the mountain. Eventually we found our way in though.

• Mamma Mia: We enjoyed one more meal in Innsbruck eating Italian. Jason recommended the calzone and I had carbonara, which I’d give a 6/10.

Day Twelve: Our last day of the trip! We toured the Swarovski crystal museum before leaving Innsbruck. Once we arrived in Munich we got lunch and decided we were too tired for anything more. Our night ended with take out pizza, a movie, and re-packing the suitcases.

• Swarovski Kristallwelten: This was a museum we typically wouldn’t have sought out, but it was on the way out of town and had great reviews. The museum took just a couple hours to leisurely explore. It was really cool! It was impressive to see what people could make with a bunch of tiny crystals. They had beautiful sculptures and several celebrity costumes made with Swarovski crystals. The gift shop was also fun

• Hamburgerei ZWEI: Late lunch stop in Munich. This was one of the better burgers we’d had in Europe. It’s in the eastern side of Munich. Worth it if you’re in the area, but I wouldn’t travel across the city for it.

Overall Tips:

• You need to buy an Austria highway pass

• Purchase a Salzburg Card and an Innsbruck Card. These are tourism cards you can buy for x number of days and they allow you entrance to several museums/sites and include public transit. If you plan on using public transit and want to go to multiple museums, this could be very financial beneficial!

• Be prepared for any kind of weather in the Dolomites. We were expecting 60s and sun. It snowed.

• Always bring a raincoat when in Europe!

• Think about what luggage you can haul around in Venice. Jason graciously carried my big suitcase up the many flights of stairs you encounter in Venice. Every canal crossing was a little bridge and at least 5 steps, if not more. It’s also mostly cobblestone. If you have issues with mobility you may need to plan out hour you’re going to get around.

Auf wiedersehen and arrivederci! Hope you enjoy this itinerary and your trip to Austria and Italy!– D & J