Munich Salzburg Vienna - and a Lake?

[LaLaFlottes]

Hi!

We are keen to do a rail trip in August (only time we can all get time off) and we would like to see Munich, Salzburg and Vienna. Me, DH, DD and her Boyfriend (both 20).

However we are thinking that we might like to break it up with a few days at a lake. Any suggestions? Would it be warm enough for some swimming, paddle boarding etc?

We are hoping to stick to trains rather than hiring a car.

Thank you!

Konstanz is lovely!

I was coming to say konstanz too. It's lovely round there.

Zell am See or St Wolfgang? It should be warm enough for bathing

Thers are some amazing parks in Vienna, you can pay to enter for a day then use the facilities all day, including river access, and access to open air pools, and the water has in my experience been pleasantly warm in August. I don't know if you can take or hire paddle boards with you.

I would highly recommend a Danube cruise between Munich and Vienna.

Good train service, too. I love the town. Very walkable and historic. Great restaurants. I found the people to be very friendly.

Zell am See has lake swimming - there is a big outdoor "beach club" with a cafe, toilets, changing facilities and lawns to sunbathe on right in the centre of the town. There is a small entrance fee, but the place is spotless. There are several other lakeside places, e.g. the sailing club and the camping sites, that also have lake access and facilities. I think that you can rent windsurfing board and paddle boards at a couple of locations. Just down the road (or a stop or two by train) is Saalfelden which has a smaller lake, Ritzensee, where there is also a "beach club" - this one being popular with the FKK members, although clothed bathing is also welcomed.

Zell am See is about 90 mins by train (or bus) from Salzburg, and the lake itself is surrounded by spectacular mountains.

Lake Constance (Bodensee in German) is far bigger than the lake at Zell, but it is a bit of a detour from the proposed Munich-Salzburg-Vienna route. There are some very pretty towns around the lake, including Lindau and Konstanz in Germany, Romanshorn in Switzerland and Bregenz in Austria.

Not your question, but if you go to Salzburg I highly recommend visiting the Wasserspiele ( lit. "water games") at Heilbrunn just outside the city. They do guided tours in English as well as German. Go on a sunny day and prepare to laugh, be enchanted and get wet! 🤣💕

https://www.hellbrunn.at/en/info/group-tours/themed-tours

Sorry typo, Hellbrunn.

Chiemsee is in between Munich and Salzburg and is one of the biggest lakes in Bavaria with lots to do.
Agree that Lake Constance is not really en route for what you're planning.

@SeatonCarew hellbrun sounds amazing! We're staying an hour away but will def go there. Can't seem to buy tickets yet though for July.

@BlueKaftan can you do a cruise one way? Do you know if companies that do this?

Agree with Havanananana .

The Salzkammergut is Austria’s Lake District (around Salzburg) and there are lots of options. Mondsee is beautiful; so is Wolfgangsee; Attersee is where a lot of the Viennese go.

Generally Austria is very hot in the summer.

As someone else said there are also great outdoor pools in and around Vienna and some lovely spots on the river too.

Lovely, hope you enjoy it. Do try and arrange to join a guided tour, so much better than audio guide!

There is a nice little lake 15 mins from Salzburg and just over the border in Germany called Thumsee. It is close to Bad Reichenhall and has a "beach", very clear water to swim in and a nice lakeside restaurant. Buses go there from Bad Reichenhall, which is a few minutes by train from Salzburg.

That makes sense. All of these places sound wonderful! Fun thread!

Thank you so much for your replies - so much lovely information.

We will definitely visit Hellbrunn - looks great fun!

Lots of research to do now! I'm wondering if the Lake side of things could be for another holiday in the future, and we could get some nice down time at the parks in Vienna - lots to think about!

How many days would you recommend in each city? We were thinking maybe 2 in Munich, 3 in Salzburg and 3 in Vienna or maybe 4 in Vienna for day at a nice park to relax?

Sorry another question! Is Neuschwanstein Castle worth a day trip from Munich? Adding on another day maybe? It's a bit further away than I thought?

Neuschwanstein is not really my thing - and it is also one of those places that is so overrun with tourists that all you see is the back of the heads of the bloody tourists in front of you... 😞

@Havanananana ah really - might be best avoided in August then! Thanks 😊

I'd say four days in Vienna so you can do a day at a beach park and then have three days for the immense sightseeing! This one is fabulous although from memory you need to take a couple of connections from the centre: https://www.wien.gv.at/freizeit/baeder/uebersicht/sommerbaeder/gaensehaeufel.html

If you are in Munich in August and you fancy a swim to cool off, I recommend the Müller’sches Volksbad - an unusual indoor art nouveau swimming pool pool.