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 Slovenia or Croatia (like we did 😍).
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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 Austria 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.
- After spending a couple of nights in Munich, we started our road trip south to Innsbruck, then Zell am See and 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 Austria road trip!
Day 0.5: Innsbruck
After doing a walking tour of Munich, we drove 2 hours from Munich to Innsbruck.
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. 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. Take your time exploring the shops and boutiques around the town square.
Top the day off with dinner downtown and a walk along the Inn River afterwards.
Day 1: Innsbruck/Zell am See
Day 1 will consist of finishing up what you want to see in Innsbruck before heading to Zell am See!
Innsbruck:
- Early morning views from the restaurant Licktblick in Innsbruck
- Free to walk around the ledge of the restaurant which will give you a great city of the Innsbruck rooftops!
- Bergisel Ski Jump
- Whether you are a skier or not, go up to the top for even higher panoramic views of Austria! This is going to be one of the easiest and best views you can get in Innbruck!
- Tickets are $10 per person and can be booked here!
- “Painted ladies” of Innsbruck
- 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 information on maximizing your 24 hours in Innsbruck!
4. After seeing the colorful house row of Innsbruck, begin you 2 hour journey to Zell am See. Getting there before nightfall, you will be able to check into your room (click here for some great options) and explore downtown Zell am See. Visit the Grand Hotel and its gorgeous landscape before having dinner!
- During the drive from Innsbruck to Zell am See, keep your eyes peeled for the beautiful Austria countryside views!
Side note: 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 in order to spend the remaining daylight hours walking along the 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!
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.
For a list of everything we saw in Salzburg and a guide on recommended restaurants, where to stay and more, click here.
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 our future trip to Hungry and Slovakia 🙂
- 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!
I hope you love Austria as much as we did; we have every intention of returning again because there is honestly so much beauty in Austria!
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