Good base to go hiking in Austria (or somewhere reachable from Vienna if another country)

[BigDahliaFan]

We are planning to go to Vienna in September for a few days. And then, ideally, take a train somewhere to do a bit of hiking/walking for a few days. Where would be a good base for that part of the trip? Somewhere reachable by public transport ideally.

Salzburg would be my pick - a couple of hours by train - and then use it as a base to visit different towns in the mountains.

The Semmering-Rax region is very close to Vienna and some decent hiking trails. Salzburg is quite far from Vienna. This website has some suggestions for car-free holidays.

www.wieneralpen.at/en

Vienna to Villach by train is about 4.5 hours. Villach is a good hiking area https://www.visitvillach.at/en/mountain-experience.html

What type of hiking are you interested in? Easy gentle walks around lakes (look at the Salzkammergut) or hikes up in the mountains with stunning views (any number of places west of Salzburg). Zell am See has mountains and a lake and is on the main railway line. Salzburg itself is also beautiful and quite different to Vienna.

Sol

@Havanananana Hills and lakes I think. We aren't as fit as we used to be but can cope with well waymarked paths in the hills with good views. So not scrambling and climbing - hopefully with a cable car ride up to the tops!

We went to Salzburg for an overnight stopover a wee while ago and liked it.

I was thinking about Zell am See - as it sounded accessible by train - is the walking right from there or is it buses etc into walking areas.

@BigDahliaFan we hiked from Zell. Cable car up the mountains sometimes. You can do a long day hike from Zell to Saalbach (Pinzgau Trail) and get the bus back.
We made excellent use of the free summer card. Does this still operate in sept? Free cable car and public transport as well as many other free entrance fees.

@BigDahliaFan The station in Zell am See is in the centre of town right next to the lake - arriving by train is spectacular.

The walks start from the centre of the town - there is one cable car up from the centre, or a short 5-minute bus ride up the hill to the Schmittenhohe lifts. Lifts and buses are free with the tourist card, which you get if you stay in Tourist Office-approved accommodation. This summer, the public transport throughout Salzburgerland will be free of charge for tourists, including the train out to the waterfalls at Krimml (and the train or bus between Salzburg and Zell am See).

The Pinzgauer Trail over to Saalbach is a challenging hike - it takes over 6 hours so you have to set off using the first lift in the morning (sometimes there is a special early hikers lift) and you need to carry sufficient food, drink and clothing for the hike.

Saalbach-Hinterglemm is also a good base for hiking. It is a 30 minute bus ride from Zell am See. The area has far more hiking and more mountain huts and cable cars than Zell am See (and it has it's own version of the tourist card called the Joker Card) but it doesn't have the lake - although you can always take the bus down to Zell for a lakeside walk. We like to rent e-bikes from the big bike shop in Maishofen and take a leisurely bike ride around Saalfelden, Zell, Kaprun and the surrounding area. (The bike shops in Zell and Saalbach only seem to rent out hardcore mountain e-bikes, rather than the more sedate city e-bikes, so we go by bus to Maishofen for these).

@Havananananathats brilliant thank you.

We are perhaps similar in age and fitness! A couple of years ago we had a lovely walking holiday in the Salzkammergut region - all lakes and mountains.

Ours was actually an Inntravel itinerary based around 3 locations - St Agatha, Hallstatt and Gossau

We stayed in Innsbruck for 2 nights while we were Interrailing a couple of years ago, and there are at least 2 cable cars easily accessible by bus. We went up the Patscherkofel one and then climbed to the summit in the snow (it was Easter) under bright sun- it was amazing. Although we didn't get the chance, there are loads of proper hiking trails up there as well.