An Amazing 3 Day Austria Itinerary: Innsbruck, Zell-am-See, Salzburg
A 3 day Austria itinerary! Actually, if we’re being honest its more like a 3.5 day itinerary. Either way, it is a great PTO-friendly itinerary to Austria if you are trying to see a bit of Austria with Germany or Slovenia (like we did 😍).
This itinerary includes the western portion of Austria, mostly within the Austrian Alps, and can easily be looked from Munich, Germany! We fell in love with Austria on this trip and have since been back for more!
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3 Day Austria Itinerary Summary
Though cities in Austria are well-connected via train or bus, we opted to do a road trip that began in Munich and went through Austria to Slovenia. It was a BEAUTIFUL road trip and we loved being able to stop in smaller Austrian towns and take our time through the mountains.
- Munich is a great option for an international airport to fly into to start this road trip. It typically has well-priced flights and it is only 2 hours from Innsbruck (and the drive is 😍)
- After spending a couple of nights in Munich, we started our road trip south to Innsbruck, then Zell am See and, lastly, Salzburg.
- From Salzburg, you have several options: you can continue your road trip to Slovenia or you are under two hours from completing a loop back to Munich!
Rent a car for an epic Austria road trip!
Day 0.5: Innsbruck
If you are coming from Munich, finish up your Munich explorations and head south! The drive from Munich to Innsbruck is about 2 hours.
If you are driving from Munich to Innsbruck, take the slightly longer route through Garmish-Partenkirchen to see gorgeous mountain views and stop in Garmish if you have the time!
Arriving in early afternoon, you will have time to explore and have dinner in downtown Innsbruck.
Immediately head to downtown Innsbruck!
- You’ll notice the vibrant and colorful architecture as soon as you turn on the central pedestrian street and it’s beauty is only magnified by the backdrop of the Austrian Alps.
- Here you will find loads of shops and restaurants to explore!
Top the day off with dinner downtown and a walk along the Inn River afterwards.
Need an Innsbruck hotel recommendation?
Nala Individuellhotel is one of the centrally located hotels with a cheaper price tag or we stayed at a cute little BnB Hotel Heimgartl (about a 15 minute walk from downtown) that I would highly recommend as well!
Day 1: Innsbruck/Zell am See
Day one: Find as many epic views of Innsbruck as you can before heading to Zell am See!
Morning in Innsbruck:
Begin your morning getting views of Innsbruck from the restaurant, Licktblick!
- It is free to walk around the ledge of the restaurant which will give you a great city of the Innsbruck rooftops!
After you get your feel of the views at Licktblick, head to the Bergisel Skip Jump where you can find epic views from even HIGHER!
- Whether you are a skier or not, go up to the top for panoramic views of Innsbruck! This is going to be one of the easiest and best views you can get in Innsbruck!
- Tickets are $10 per person and can be booked here!
A must-see while in Innsbruck is the iconic row of “painted ladies”!
- I don’t think the colorful houses located along the Inn River are actually called the “painted ladies,” but they are worth seeing and have become an identifying landmark for Innsbruck.
Click here for more details on maximizing your 24 hours in Innsbruck!
After seeing the colorful house row of Innsbruck, begin you 2 hour journey to Zell am See! Zell am See is a quaint little Austrian town on Lake Zell. It is primarily known as a ski town, so you will see a lot of ski decor and traditional ski-town architecture. It is beautiful!
- During the drive from Innsbruck to Zell am See, keep your eyes peeled for the beautiful Austria countryside views!
Getting there before nightfall, you will be able to check into your room and explore downtown Zell am See.
Need a hotel recommendation in Zell am See?
Hotel Steinerwirt is a cute, centrally located hotel that offers spa services and offers comparable or cheaper prices compared to other hotels in the area!
Explore the streets of Zell am see and make your way to the Grand Hotel! It is a gorgeous hotel with a beautiful landscape that sits on the edge of Lake Zell (see photos below!)
Continue your walk down the picturesque Zell am See Esplanade before having dinner!
Side note: As I said before, Zell am See is a ski town located on a gorgeous lake. Like any other ski town, it is bustling in the winter for skiing as well as in the summer when there is outdoor fun like hiking and enjoying the lake. So, while we visited in October, Zell am See was a ghost town! Many stores weren’t even open, so the options for dining and things to do in town were slim this time of year.
Day 2: Kitzsteinhorn Gondola
The main purpose of adding a pitstop in Zell am See to this 3 day Austria itinerary was to ride the gondola up to Kitzteinhorn and see the glacier at the top; it was one of the highlights of this trip! I recommend it for ANY Austria itinerary.
- However, we had quite the time trying to plan our trip to include the views at Kitzteinhorn. We weren’t exactly sure what it was called or what town it was located in.
- I’ve provided all details in the guide here, including how to get there, which gondola to take, what to expect at the top and more!
After finishing at Kitzteinhorn, drive 2.5 hours to Salzburg to spend two nights. You will arrive about 2 hours before nightfall, so spend the remaining daylight hours walking along the Salzach River before having dinner.
- Again, the drive is another beautiful drive so enjoy the views!
If you are looking for a dinner recommendation, we ate at a local restaurant and beer garden called Sternbrau and really enjoyed it!
Stay at Leonardo Boutique Hotel Salzburg Gablerbräu, cute boutique hotel that has an EXCELLENT location in downtown Salzburg, plus has a reasonable price tag!
Day 3: Salzburg
Salzburg’s hills really are alive (iykyk)! The last day of this 3 day Austria itinerary will be spent exploring Salzburg.
We traveled in a group of 4, so our morning was split in two:
- Elizabeth and Frances, lifelong Sound of Music fans, went on a “Sound of Music” tour. They absolutely loved it, so if you are a fan of the movie, you shoulder consider doing this in Salzburg!
- My husband and I (not lifelong fans lol) took a self-guided tour around Salzburg using our headphones and an app with information about the main sights to see around Salzburg.
- We would have preferred a free walking tour, but they were not happening during shoulder season. If you visiting during shoulder season and can’t get a walking tour, this is a great alternative.
After the walking tour, I highly recommend:
- The climb to Hohensalzburg Fortress for the views
- You can climb to the fortress for free, but you have to pay to enter. You can also ride a cable car to the top if you aren’t excited about hiking up the hill.
- The fortress is one of the top things to see in the city! Learn more about it here.
- Stiegkeller Brewery
- You will pass this brewery if you choose to walk up to the fortress; it has a GREAT patio that overlooks the city!
- And Augustiner Brewery (has been open since 1621 🤯) and more!
- You go into the brewery, grab a stein off the shelf, rinse it in the fountain and have it filled out of the barrel! It is a very cool, traditional experience.
3 Day Austria Itinerary Recap (including possible additions/changes)
This is a fast-paced 3 day itinerary to Austria. However, we felt like we got to see a lot of Western Austria! Our end-goal of this trip was to travel down to Croatia, so we decided to leave out Vienna on this particular trip and fit it into a future trip! 🙂
- Also, with more time we would have added a stop in Hallstatt on our drive from Zell am See to Salzburg. However, exploring Kitzsteinhorn took us longer than we expected, so we took it off the itinerary. Add it to yours if you have time
- UPDATE: I took a day trip to Hallstatt from Vienna and Hallstatt is definitely worth adding to this itinerary if you have time (easier to get to from Salzburg!)
I hope you love Austria as much as we did!
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