Where to Stay in Austria: Best Regions, Towns and Hotels

Innsbruck

The capital of Tyrol, with the mountains starting right above the rooftops. It is too far from Vienna for a day trip; plan two nights at least. Our pick of the best Innsbruck hotels below: high guest scores and many reviews, all from Booking's list of the city's most booked stays.

Ski resorts such as Kitzbühel (Kitzbuhel) and St. Anton, with Austria hotels of their own for ski weeks, are in Tyrol too: from Innsbruck you reach Kitzbühel by train with a change at Wörgl (seat61), and from Vienna it is about 4 hours 45 minutes with one change (ÖBB, October 2026).

• An old town with the Golden Roof, and the Nordkette cable car leaving from the city
• About 4.5 hours from Vienna by direct train (ÖBB, October 2026)
• 355 properties on Booking

Best for: The Alps with city comforts, cable cars and skiing

From Vienna: Innsbruck: about 4.5 hours by direct train

Zell am See and Kaprun

The place to stay for lakeside walks, summer hiking and winter skiing. Kaprun has no railway station: the bus from the square outside Zell am See station takes about 20 minutes to Kaprun centre, every half hour during the day (ÖBB, October 2026). Without a car, a hotel near Zell am See station makes life easier.

• A town on the Zeller See, with the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun
• About 4 hours 15 minutes from Vienna by train with one change (ÖBB, October 2026)
• 454 properties on Booking

Best for: Lake, glacier and skiing; mountain walks in summer

From Vienna: Zell am See: about 4 hours 15 minutes with one change

Graz

Austria's second largest city, with an old town far calmer than Vienna's. The train runs over the mountain line of the Semmering Railway (seat61, October 2026). A day trip works, but it means 5 hours on the train there and back; stay one night and you get the evening in the old town as well.

• The old town and Schloss Eggenberg are on the UNESCO World Heritage list
• 2.5 hours from Vienna by direct railjet, hourly (seat61, ÖBB, October 2026)
• 685 properties on Booking

Best for: Baroque old town and Schloss Eggenberg, quieter than Vienna

From Vienna: Graz: 2.5 hours by direct train

Linz

Every westbound train from Vienna stops in Linz (seat61, October 2026). If you want to split the trip to Salzburg or Hallstatt, a night here works; Attnang-Puchheim, where Hallstatt trains connect, is in the same state.

• On the Danube, on the main line between Vienna and Salzburg
• About 1 hour 15 minutes from Vienna by direct train (seat61, ÖBB, October 2026)
• 229 properties on Booking

Best for: A one night stop between Vienna and Salzburg

From Vienna: Linz: about 1 hour 15 minutes by direct train

the Wachau and Krems

The stretch of the Danube between Krems and Melk, and the closest escape from Vienna. It is one of Austria's best known wine regions, with vineyards along the river and wine taverns in Krems and Dürnstein (Durnstein), the two places people search most when they look for Austria hotels in the Wachau.

Melk is about 1 hour from Vienna Hauptbahnhof with a change at St. Pölten (ÖBB, October 2026); smaller villages such as Dürnstein need two changes, so without a car Krems is the easier base.

• The Wachau valley is on the UNESCO World Heritage list; Melk Abbey and Dürnstein are here
• About 1 hour 5 minutes from Vienna Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof to Krems by direct train (ÖBB, October 2026)
• 97 properties in Krems on Booking

Best for: A quiet night on the Danube close to Vienna

From Vienna: Krems: about 1 hour by direct train