Easter weekend

Hi,

We are planning to take a cruise from Melk to Krems on Easter Sunday, but would it be better to go on Monday instead? I am wondering if the restaurants and shops will be closed on Sunday? Thinking of cancelling the cruise, since we will only be in Vienna for 4 days.

Should we make reservations for the museums in advance such as the Schoenbrunn, Belvedere and Kunsthistoriches museum?

Here’s what I have planned for our trip:

Friday – (arriving late afternoon)

Walking along %26amp; around the Graben and visiting the Haus der Musik

Saturday – Visiting the Schoenbrunn %26amp; the belvedere

Sunday – Wachau Valley cruise? Music performance at the Musikverein at 7.30pm

Monday – Since all the museums are closed on Mondays; relax and wonder around the old city. Visit the Zentralfriedhof

Any recommendations for more sights or places to be in? Thanks.

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I would re think your plans as many museums and other sights will be open Easter Sunday and also Easter Monday-

Examples The Fine Arts Museum ( kunsthistorisches museum )

www.khm.at

you can buy tickets on line no reservation to my knowledge

no reservations

Belvedere open daily

Schönbrunn

www.schoebrunn.at

you may wish a little extra time there as they have an Easter Market open until Easter Sunday.

www.ostermarkt.co.at

Tickets available on line - with this no waiting

Other sights to consider The Hofburg Palace and nearby Schatzkammer ( Royal Treasury) - open Sunday and Monday

Much more but I think your time will be full with thos things you contemplate.

tour Melk Abbey, boat tour to Krems - then back to Vienna by train

for boat www.ddsg-blue-danube.at

for trains

www.oebb.at

If you look to make the boat trip from Vienna to the wachau- I would not recommend it- the time Vienna- Krems is not very interesting.

Normal shopping is closed Sunday and Monday- tourist kiosks - most all open-

enough restaurants too.

Re Wachau- check schedules carefully - if you need to be back for the concert at the Musikverein you may not wish to do this that day -

This is a full day trip - assume you refer to the combi trip with train to melk ,

Also best done in good weather - no fun in the rain-

perhaps you consider switching saturday and sunday

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Vienna is usually quite crowded during the Easter holidays, especially at the long weekend, so I believe opting to buy tickets in advance for Schönbrunn and the KHM, and perhaps the Belvedere, too (here it depends more on the current special exhibition, I think) is not a bad idea for possible queue-jumping purposes.

Shops are generally closed on Sundays in Austria as well as all bank/church holidays except for Dec 8. Some bakeries may be open Sunday morning as well as supermarkets attached to a main train station, and the Mostly Mozart souvenir shop chain seems to be open, too, in the Old Town. Restaurants should generally be open, but if you are thinking of specific restaurant/cafes it is always good to enquire beforehand (if small) or make a reservation during such busy times (Cafe Central in the Old Town, for example, will surely be bursting).

Many museums are actually open on Mondays, even if it is a bank/church holiday! Here is a list of their opening times www.wien.info/article.asp?IDArticle=10214. You may wish to visit Haus der Musik in the evening - it is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and should be less busy from 6 p.m. Do plan 1,5 to 2 hours for it though, you´ll find a lot to actively try out and explore whilst there. Some other museums have late night opening on Thursdays and/or Fridays.

There is a combination ticket for Schönbrunn and the Imperial Palace (State Apartments, Silver Collection and Sisi Museum) and you might perhaps also enjoy a visit to the Albertina (which should be packed, too, I should warn you. Even with the Van Gogh exhibition being past). Also, you will be able to walk around the lovely Easter market in front of Schönbrunn while you are in town and there is a smaller one on Freyung, opposite of Palais Ferstl. Here is some info www.wien.info/article.asp?IDArticle=15673 .

As for the Wachau cruise, the souvenir shops in Dürnstein, should you get off there during the cruise, would probably be open Sunday and Monday, but if you´ve only got 4 days in Vienna in total you might perhaps miss out on a lot if you spent one day in the Wachau.

Hope this helps.

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Hi Heyerette %26amp; Vertical,

Both of you, thank you so much.

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