Anniversary and others in Munich, Salzburg and Vienna

April 29, 2008 1:22 AM

We are going to Vienna, Salzburg and then Munich for our holidays in the summer. How should we spend our 5th Anniversary in Munich and tips for the other places?

In this question:

where go?


we had some helpful answers and decided on Vienna, Salzburg and Munich....so please give me some tips.

Most importantly a way to spend an amazing day for our anniversary - and a great restaurant for the evening.


Hope that's not too much!

posted by trashcan to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

I would say spend the actual day in Vienna, taking in a horse carriage ride, the Prater, and long coffees. If you like classical music, get tickets to see the Vienna Boys Choir or an opera (pick one you know or in a language you know, the surtitles will generally be in German).

It's been a couple of years since I was last there so I don't remember any restaurant names but there are plenty of very good dining options there.
posted by wingless_angel at 4:24 AM on April 29

(oops after posting saw that you want to spend the actual day in Munich) Munich is lovely but far less romantic. Though a stroll through the Englishergarten would be delightful in summer.
posted by wingless_angel at 4:25 AM on April 29

Belvedere Palace would definitely be worth seeing in Vienna. Place is like out of a dream. It's also an art museum. There's many spots in Austria that cater to artist residencies that may be worth investigating. Quartier21 hosts some of these via an open call that would be worth your time.
posted by phylum sinter at 4:41 AM on April 29

I was in these three cities last August, and I can tell you that Vienna was godawful hot. Which is fine, actually, but plan for it, if you're going to be walking around much. Schoenbrunn, in particular, is crowded and entirely bereft of shade. That's not to say you oughtn't see it, but be aware.

I can't recommend any romantic restaurants in Munich, but a walk through the Englischer Garten (as suggested) is really nice in the summer. And heck, if you'd rather have oompah and some beer on your anniversary (some would!), the Chinesischer Turm is a really picturesque beer garden, and smack in the center of the park. It's particularly pretty at twilight.

Salzburg is a really beautiful city. I think the Sound of Music is an American phenomenon, but if you're at all interested, the hokey Sound of Music bus tour is actually quite nice. They'll ferry you from site to site, and you get some breathtaking views on the way out of the city proper.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:56 AM on April 29

If you have a day free while in Munich, I'd highly recommend Regensburg - an hour from Munich by train, and a very beautiful city.
posted by YouRebelScum at 6:07 AM on April 29

Take the trip to the top of the Stephansdom in Vienna. You can see the whole city from above. (I'm a little scared of heights, but it was still worth it.)
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 6:43 AM on April 29

In Salzburg I'd recommend seeing Festung Hohensalzburg right in the heart of the city with great views and its a beautiful place. Also, if you have time Schloss Hellbrunn is a lot of fun, seeing the waterworks where the Prince-Archbishop would play tricks on his guests is pretty hilarious. As I recall the gazebo from the Sound Of Music is also on the grounds of Schloss Hellbrunn (though I think it was moved there from its original location).

I also enjoyed a salt mine tour.

Ich liebe Osterreich.
posted by Reverend John at 7:41 AM on April 29

Oh, and in Munich spend an evening in the Lowenbrau brewery beergarden. Have some leberkase and some bier.
posted by Reverend John at 7:42 AM on April 29

There's a thread about romantic restaurants in Munich on toytowngermany.com, a site for English-speaking people in Germany.

I know Munich fairly well but I'm kind of drawing a blank on a place for a "romantic dinner" - there are places I know that could have little tucked away nooks but I would probably have to call ahead and try to reserve something specifically tucked away.

I don't know enough about you to suggest how you should spend your day - you probably don't want to spend the day in a beer hall or beergarden getting blasted if you want to have a nice romantic dinner, so alternatives might be a visit to the Lenbachhaus, my favorite museum (in the world), which has the world's greatest collection of Blaue Reiter paintings. On the other hand, my wife would probably find that boring, so you might consider something like Mike's Bike Tour as an activity. Or, as corny as it is, you might take that day to visit Neuschwanstein, which looks romantic from a distance but isn't really that interesting close up. Another idea would be to take the S-bahn (commuter train) to Starnberg and there take a ferry ride around the lake.
posted by thomas144 at 8:21 AM on April 29