Vienna and where else?

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We’ve booked a summer city break to Vienna, but want to combine it with somewhere else with as many of the following as possible:
Great hikes
Great views/stunning scenery
Things for the dc - for example mountain coasters, cable cars, caves, boat trips, train trips, ebikes

It must be doable by public transport.
Any ideas? We’ve looked into Salzburg but accommodation is too expensive.

Head south to the Austrian Lakes in Carinthia. The worthersee is probably easiest as it’s a direct train from Vienna to Klagenfurt. Then local transport should get you to the lake.

Or go via Salzburg down to Zell am see

Can you stay outside Salzburg by one of the lakes?

Saltzberg? Sing the hills are alive?

You can get the train.

We did Vienna, Salzburg and Söll last summer. Söll has many of the mountain activities you’re looking for, although there may be other places with more activities. It has cable cars, great for hiking, e-bike rentals, lakes for swimming etc. Not sure about caves, coasters or boat trips though. We did it all by public transport.

Salzburg is great but small, can you do just one night ?

Try Innsbruck, it's a bit further than Salzburg on the train but cheaper to stay. Has cable cars mountains hiking etc,

You can get a train from there through the brenner pass to Verona for stunning scenery.

We went Berlin, Prague, Vienna Salzburg, Innsbruck and Verona last summer with 2 teenagers and trip to 'top of Innsbruck' was their favourite day out.

You can also have a go on the Olympic Bobsleigh run in Innsbruck if you time it right.

We stopped in Salzburg as a day trip on the way to Innsbruck from Vienna because it was too expensive to stay so you could cover both. There is luggage storage at the station if you need it.

Zell am See.

Stunning scenery and lots of easy hikes to mountain restaurants. Cable cars. A nice lake for swimming, lakeside lidos with beaches, sailing, a boat trip, windsurfing and for walking around. A big cave at Lamprechshohle - the 260 Zell-Salzburg bus stops there. White water rafting at Base Camp in Lofer - again reached by bus 260. Summer coaster at Kaprun, next to the cable car that takes you to the top of Kitzsteinhorn at 3,000m. E-bikes. At Zell am See there is a narrow gauge railway to Krimml waterfalls - in summer this is pulled by a steam locomotive once a week, otherwise it is diesel powered. There's a disused old silver mine at Hutten/Leogang which is open for guided tours. Zell offers a free summer card to tourists that includes use of most of the cable cars and many other attractions.

Take the train from Vienna, via Salzburg.

An alternative would be Munich? You can get a direct train.