Two of Austria’s most recognisable cities, Salzburg and Vienna are in a bit of a rivalry with each other. The romantically beautiful and musically infused Salzburg sits on the border of Germany, with the Eastern Alps peeking out in the background. By contrast, the classic capital city of Vienna represents Austria’s commercial and cultural capital – a traveler’s favourite.

But if you’re only visiting one, which should you visit? Today, we tackle the question – Should I Visit Salzburg or Vienna?

Handpicked Tours

Both Salzburg and Vienna are good jumping points for day trips, though we give the edge to Vienna in this category - as from the capital, you’ll be able to visit multiple other countries such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary on day trips.

Day Trips from Vienna

Budapest Small Group Day Trip from Vienna - visit the iconic Hungarian capital on this group tour.
Prague Small Group Day Trip from Vienna - fancy a quick trip to the Czech capital? Here’s your chance. 5-star rating on Viator.
Private Tour of Bratislava with Transport and Local Guide - Also rated 5-stars. The Slovakian capital is super close to Vienna.

You can also visit Hallstatt from Vienna on this tour.

Day Trips from Salzburg

Bavarian Mountains including Eagle's Nest and Salt Mines - This tour will take you through to Adolf Hitler’s historic mountain retreat, as well as the picturesque alpine village of Berchtesgaden and its salt mines. You don’t want to miss this tour, trust me.
Hallstatt Half-Day Tour from Salzburg - Hallstatt is one of the world’s most beautiful Alpine towns. This tours takes you through the beautiful town, while also exploring its main attractions.
The Original Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg - So this tour is located within Salzburg, but it still shouldn’t be missed! On this day tour, you’ll get to see the major filming locations of the Sound of Music film.

Where to stay in Salzburg

Austria’s city of classical music is also a city with some great hotels and accomodation options. Here are our top picks.

Where We Stayed: numa | Nora Apartments

My apartment at numa | Nora Apartments was one of the most stylish apartments I’ve ever stayed in, and I would definitely recommend it! Located on a central street in Salzburg and in short walking distance to the Mirabell Palace, I really enjoyed the modern yet elegant interior design of my accomodation here. It was especially perfect for us as we needed three bedrooms for our family.

You can take a closer look at numa | Nora Apartments by clicking here.

Budget: YoHo - International Youth Hostel

The YoHo - International Youth Hostel is Salzburg’s best hostel by quite some margin. Clean, social, extremely central and most importantly - affordable - this hostel is well suited for budget travellers.

You can take a closer look at Yoho - International Youth Hostel by clicking here.

Mid-Range: Mayburg Salzburg

If you’re looking for chicness and style without totally breaking the bank, then the Mayburg Salzburg is definitely our top choice. Just take look at the stylish interior!

You can take a closer look at Mayburg Salzburg by clicking here.

Luxury: Hotel Sacher Salzburg

Salzburg is home to plenty of breathtaking luxury accomodations, and the Hotel Sacher Salzburg is our top pick for its opulent rooms, location in the old town, and near-perfect reviews.

You can take a closer look at Hotel Sacher Salzburg by clicking here.

Where to stay in Vienna

Being Austria’s capital, there’s a greater range of accomodation options in Vienna in comparison to Salzburg.

Where we stayed: Boutique Hotel Nossek

The Boutique Hotel Nossek was a quaint little hotel in Vienna’s City Centre that serviced all our needs. It’s a beautiful boutique hotel that blends architecture of old with new. We loved it especially for its unbeatable location, that literally could not be any more central to Vienna.

You can take a closer look at Boutique Hotel Nossek by clicking here.

Budget: 7brunnen Hostel

The 7brunnen Hostel is only 3km away from Vienna’s City Center, and presents a simple, clean and comfortable lodging option for budget travellers.

You can take a closer look at 7brunnen Hostel by clicking here.

Mid-Range: Hotel The Weekend

Hotel The Weekend is located just outside Vienna’s city centre, in the Neubau district. Reviewers loved the green modern vibe of the property, as well as the outstanding staff - and its surprisingly pretty affordable too!

You can take a closer look at Hotel The Weekend by clicking here.

Luxury: The Guesthouse Vienna

Luxurious interior design? Check. Centrally located in the Old Town? Check. Amazing facilities? Check. The Guesthouse Vienna is a luxury property that has it all.

You can take a closer look at The Guesthouse Vienna by clicking here.

Brief History of Salzburg and Vienna

Salzburg has had a long history dating all the way back to the year 700. It’s known for its Baroque architecture, and incredibly well-kept historic centre, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Looking into the distance, you’ll be able to spot the majestic Austrian alps – giving the whole city a beautiful, romantic aesthetic.

Salzburg’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Austrian Alps can be seen from Salzburg

If you think about Salzburg, one thing that might instantly come to mind is the composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although Mozart also worked in Vienna, he was more famously known for being born in the city of Salzburg. In fact, it’s in Salzburg that you can find Mozart-related attractions such as Mozart’s Birthplace, Mozart Residence and Café Tomaselli - the café in Salzburg that Mozart would often sit and write his music at.

Music is really at the heart of Salzburg, as the city and its surrounds are also famously known for being featured as primary filming locations for the classic movie, The Sound of Music. Locations such as Leopoldskron Palace, Frohnburg Palace, Mirabell Palace Gardens, Old Town and the basilica in Mondsee.

Vienna boasts a long and storied past, as it’s known as the country’s cultural, economic and political centre. In the 1800s, Vienna served as the capital of the newly formed Austrian Empire, and that pretty much solidified its role as a major player in European and world politics for future centuries.

Musicians playing in front of Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna

Not to be outdone by Salzburg in the music realm, Vienna is also famous for being the home to composers such as Brahms, Bruckner and Strauss. Today, Vienna is one of Europe’s most populous and bright cities, with an ever-growing future ahead of it.

Where are Salzburg or Vienna located?

First, let’s talk geography. Where are these Austrian cities located?

Map of where Vienna and Salzburg are located

Salzburg is located in the west of Austria, very close to German border. In particular, it’s just a short distance away from the Bavarian city of Munich.

On the other hand, Vienna sits in the east, closer to the capital cities of Bratislava (Slovakia), and Budapest (Hungary).

So what does this mean for you? If it comes purely down to geography, you should visit Salzburg if you’re traveling from Germany, or Western Europe in general.

If you’re visiting from Central or Eastern European countries such as Slovakia, Prague or Hungary, then you should visit Vienna.

In saying that, it’s very easy to visit both cities in one trip:

By car, it will take around just over 3 hours (depending on traffic), to get from Salzburg to Vienna and vice versa.
By train, it will take around 2.5 hours using Austria’s very efficient public transport to get from one city to the other.

Salzburg and Vienna both are serviced by airports, but Vienna’s one is by far bigger and more popular. If you’re planning to fly, it’s much easier to arrive into Vienna from other international destinations.

How to get to Salzburg or Vienna

If you’re already somewhere in the European region, chances are – it’ll likely be easy to visit both Salzburg or Vienna due to the great public transport connections in this region. Depending on where you want to travel from, you’ll be able to take Austrian trains using the OBB. Just input your departure and arrival point, the date and time of your journey, and the OBB website will do the rest.

Wien Hbf is Vienna’s main central station

Bus companies like Flixbus also offer quick and affordable ways to travel between these two cities by using their FlixTrain service.

Day Trip by Tour

You could also visit the other city on a day trip by tour:

This Small Group Salzburg Tour from Vienna is the most economical option, and allows you to visit most of Salzburg’s highlights in one day.
Alternatively, you could take a Private Tour to Salzburg from Vienna, which allows you to customise your itinerary.
If you’re basing yourself from Salzburg, you can take this Private Tour of Vienna from Salzburg - it is pricey, though.

Why You Should and Shouldn’t Visit Salzburg

Breathtaking view from Fortress Hohensalzburg

Salzburg is a city that is easy on the eyes. Within the city, you have dramatic castle-like structures such as Fortress Hohensalzburg, Schloss Hellbrun and Mirabell Palace.

You also have intricately decorated churches such as Salzburg Cathedral, St Peter’s Abbey and Franziskanerkirche. The Old Town, Salzburger Altstadt, is absolutely exquisite as well.

Pair all these attractions with its surrounding mountains, such as the Untersberg, and you have one of the prettiest cities in Europe.

Despite its wealth of attractions, Salzburg is easy to walk around. It’s a lot more compact than Vienna, and you could easily explore most of its attractions on foot in 1-2 days.

Museums are aplenty in Salzburg, with the DomQuartier, MoenchsbergAufzug, Mozart’s Residence and the novelty Red Bull Hangar-7 sure to keep visitors happy for a couple of days. However, it doesn’t have the same reputation that Vienna has when it comes to world-class museums – more on that later.

I loved using Salzburg as a base for day trips around the area. This was absolutely the best thing about the city, in my opinion. Apart from the obvious day trip to Vienna, you can easily get to German Bavarian Alps and into the small towns of Obsersalzberg and Berchtesgaden.

Hallstatt is an easy day trip from Salzburg

The incredibly famous lake town of Hallstatt is also within reach of Salzburg, as well as Innsbruck – considered the gateway to the Austrian alps. You can also visit the lakeside resort town of Velden am Wörthersee, which is just a 45-minute drive from Slovenia’s iconic Lake Bled. Vienna offers good day trip options too, but Salzburg is a lot closer to stunning nature.

Salzburg city is small, and more difficult to get to than Vienna. While Salzburg does have an airport, it’s not quite as well-serviced as Vienna Airport. When traveling from other highly visited cities such as London, Oslo and Berlin, this might not be a problem. However, if you’re traveling from a more obscure place, you probably won’t find a direct flight or a good connection into Salzburg Airport. In fact, it might be easier to fly into Munich Airport, and then take the train into Salzburg.

You shouldn’t visit Salzburg if the main reason you’re visiting is to find a lively, thriving, busy city. Salzburg only has a population of just over 150,000 people compared to Vienna’s 1.9 million, and this is really felt after day trippers have gone home. The streets of Salzburg are incredibly quiet at night, and it can be hard to find restaurants, shops and other amenities that are open. It’s not the most social city, and definitely nothing compared to Vienna in this regard.

Why You Should and Shouldn’t Visit Vienna

For me, the most appealing thing about Vienna is that you’ll be immersed in the culture of Austria straight away. It’s not that Salzburg isn’t authentic, but in my opinion, it’s more geared towards tourism than Vienna. While walking around Vienna, there will be a lot of tourists, but there will also be a lot of locals, just going about their daily lives – walking to work, catching public transport, spending their weekend in the city.

There are more people in Vienna than Salzburg.

As previously discussed, Vienna is Austria’s economic, cultural and political hub. Everything happens in Vienna, which means it’s also a lot larger than Salzburg in size and population. This can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing, depending on your tastes as a traveller. In Vienna, you’ll find a lot more attractions – churches, castles, famous streets, concert halls, museums – everything is on another scale. You’ll also find a greater variety of restaurants, nightclubs, shopping centres and so on. Because of this, I’d say the dining and food is better in Vienna than Salzburg.

Streets of Vienna, Austria’s capital city

Vienna can get pretty busy with tourists and locals walking around.

When it comes to epic palaces, I’d say Vienna has Salzburg beat. You have to check out Schonbrunn Palace, The Hofburg and Belvedere Castle when visiting Austria’s capital.

When it comes to museums, Vienna is also the winner in this battle. The Kunsthistorisches Museum, Albertina, Natural History Museum and the museums in the MuseumsQuartier Wien are literally some of the most iconic and renowned museums in the entire world.

Other iconic attractions include the Rathaus (City Hall), Karlskirche, Stephanplatz (Stephen’s Square), St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Historic Centre of Vienna, which is basically the city center.

Outside the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna

Vienna is much easier to get to than Salzburg, with international flights departing and arriving very frequently from Vienna International Airport. It’s also the better base if you’re looking to explore other neighbouring capital cities, such as Bratislava, Prague and Budapest. Using Vienna as a base is a great way to tick off 4 different countries in one go.

One downside of Vienna is that it’s not as pretty as Salzburg, in my opinion. While Salzburg is pure eye candy, Vienna is kind of just a good-looking, clean, functional city. There is a lack of breathtakingly gorgeous attractions here – whether they be architecturally, or naturally.

Vienna is a lot more spread out than Salzburg, so if you only have a day or two – probably visit Salzburg, unless you don’t mind rushing through Vienna a little bit!

Which one should I visit – Salzburg or Vienna?

You should visit Salzburg if you’re a traveller who places a high value on beauty. Salzburg is hands down ‘better looking’ than Vienna - both from an architectural standpoint, and a natural one. If you have an affinity towards music, then you should visit Salzburg because of its ties with The Sound of Music and Mozart. Finally, you should visit Salzburg if you’re looking for a strategic base to explore surrounding Alpine regions in Germany and Slovenia.

You should visit Salzburg for these views!

Ralph in Vienna, in front of Belvedere Palace

You should visit Vienna if you want the quintessential Austrian experience, and you’re looking to soak in Austria’s history, museums, churches and local lifestyle. If you’re looking for a bigger city with a lot more people, then you’ll enjoy Vienna more than Salzburg. You should also visit Vienna if you’re planning on visiting other surrounding popular capitals such as Bratislava, Prague and Budapest.

Which city did I prefer? This is a very tough choice to make as I enjoyed visiting both cities! However, Salzburg has a special place in my heart as I am very much a nature-oriented traveller, and Salzburg just had more of a touch of beauty than Vienna.

Vienna was interesting, and rich in culture, but I couldn’t deny Salzburg’s sweeping views, picture-perfect Old Town and surrounding mountains. Vienna is still a highly enjoyable city to visit, but it didn’t capture our attention the way Salzburg did.

Still, I would recommend you check out both cities if you can to decide for yourself!

Austria

Austria is a country that has it all. Beautiful architecture, breathtaking alpine scenery, classic small towns and even something for the music lover - Austria is a true gem of Central Europe.

Should I Visit Salzburg or Vienna? [2024]