#32 best destination in the world

 

Schönbrunn Palace

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  • 1,441 room Baroque palace
  • Former imperial summer residence
  • Over 300 years old
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site

 

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  • City that has a long tradition as a region of universities
  • One of the best preserved city centers in Central Europe
  • More important to Solvenes politically and culturally than the capital of Slovenia
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site

 

Wachau

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  • Valley formed by the Danube river
  • Settled in prehistoric times
  • Known for its ancient monasteries, castles, ruins, vineyards, and urban architecture of its towns and villages
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site

 

Vienna

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  • Largest city in Austria
  • Originally inhabited by early Celtic and Roman settlements that created Medieval and Baroque architecture
  • Known in European music as the center of the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century
  • The number 1 destination for international congresses and conventions
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site

 

Hofburg

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  • Former imperial palace in the center of Vienna
  • Built in the 13th century
  • Once the seat of power of the Habsburg dynasty rules, now the residence and workplace of the President of Austria

 

Österreichische Galerie Belvedere

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  • Museum house in Belvedere palace
  • Baroque landmark established in 1903
  • The palace was the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy

 

Hohensalzburg Fortress

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  • One of the largest medieval castles in Europe
  • Construction started in 1077 under Archbishop Gebhard von Helfenstein

 

Stephansdom Crypt

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  • Just beneath the stone floors of this Cathedral lie the skeletal remains of over 11,000 people
  • In a section known as ducal crypt, the organs of princes, queens, and emperors are kept
  • Along with hearts, over 60 jars of imperial intestines rest
  • Not long ago, the seals on one jar broke, leaking 200-year-old visceral fluid onto the floor

 

Clock Museum

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  • A collection of clocks from 1400s onwards in a Viennese house, with hourly chiming

 

Habsburg Imperial Crypt

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  • Final resting place for the remains of 143 Habsburg royalty
  • The Habsburgs were major imperial royal dynasties of Europe, as well as the Holy Roman Emperors from 1438 to 1740, the Habsburgs ruled over much of Europe until their downfall in World War I

 

Schmetterlinghaus

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  • Art nouveau palm house, home to hundreds of butterflies housed in a tropical rainforest setting

 

Vienna Crime Museum

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  • Museum which displays skulls, medieval torture devices, bloody gloves, depictions of murder, death masks, and rusty axes

 

St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna

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  • Mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna
  • Features Romanesque and Gothic architecture
  • Built in 1137
  • The most important religious building in Vienna, St. Stephen’s Cathedral has, with its multi-coloured tile roof, become one of the city’s most recognizable symbols

 

Grossglockner High Alpine Road

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  • Highest surfaced mountain pass road in Austria
  • Elevation 8,215 ft at its height
  • The road is named after the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest mountain
  • Built as a scenic route, a toll is assessed for passage

 

Costs

Number of Days: 17 days

Best Time To Fly: April-May, Sept-Oct

Airline tickets: $1,464

Seattle -> Vienna (round trip) = $1,464

Food: $38/day x 17 days = $646

Metro/bus pass: $125

Rental car: $211

$30/day x 7 days = $211

Gas: $63

Entertainment: $167

Airbnb: $106/day x 15 days = $1,596

TOTAL: $4,272