Austria Itinerary: Vienna, Salzburg, Zell am See & Innsbruck in the Footsteps of Empress Sisi
© Schloss_Schoenbrunn_Kultur-_und_Betriebsges.m.b.H._Severin_Wurnig This Austria itinerary follows one woman: Empress Elisabeth, the world calls her Sisi. More than a hundred years later, people still walk in her footsteps, through golden palaces in Vienna, a summer villa between two lakes, and up into the mountains she loved so much.
It is a love story, a story of power, rules and freedom. And it is the most beautiful way to discover Austria: from imperial cafés and crystal worlds to turquoise lakes and glaciers, in one journey that brings you back to where you started.
Here is the Imperial Loop the way I would plan it, with the stories the local guides tell, the sweets the court loved, and the small tips that make it feel easy.
A golden palace. An empress who wanted to be free.
Sisi was only 16 when she married Emperor Franz Joseph in Vienna’s Augustinian Church in 1854. Behind the golden walls of the Hofburg she found strict court rules, a powerful mother-in-law and very little freedom. Walk through the Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum and you see her real life, not the film version.
Her hair reached down to her heels, and caring for it took two to three hours every day. She used that time to learn languages. In her rooms she had her own gymnastics equipment, rings and bars, something unheard of for a woman of her time.
At Schönbrunn, look at the colour of the walls. This warm “Schönbrunn yellow” became the colour of the empire, and you will see it again on this journey, all the way to the emperor’s villa in Bad Ischl.
Candied violets at Demel on the Kohlmarkt, the old imperial court confectioner. Sisi loved them. Then a slice of the original Sachertorte at the Hotel Sacher, behind the Opera.
Hofburg
Empress Elisabeth© Österreich Werbung / Cross Media RedaktionThe villa of dreams
Franz Joseph built the Hermesvilla in the Lainz forest for Sisi, hoping she would spend more time in Vienna. She called it her castle of dreams, but she still kept travelling.
The quiet goodbye
In the Imperial Crypt under the Capuchin Church, Sisi rests next to Franz Joseph and their son Rudolf. Many visitors leave flowers for her, even today.
The Golden Quarter
Kohlmarkt, Graben and the Golden Quarter: the great fashion houses next to old shops that once supplied the imperial court. Look for the sign “k.u.k. Hoflieferant”.
Mozart, a fortress and an engagement party.
Take the Railjet west and in about two and a half hours the mountains appear. Salzburg is small enough to walk and full of stories. Mozart was born here in 1756, at Getreidegasse 9, and the fortress of Hohensalzburg has watched over the old town for more than 900 years.
In the Mirabell Gardens, look familiar? This is where the children sang “Do-Re-Mi” in The Sound of Music. And just outside the old town, at Leopoldskron Palace by its little lake, Sisi’s family gathered in 1853 to celebrate her engagement to the emperor. Film fans know the same lake from The Sound of Music.
Pick up your car in Salzburg the next morning, not before. In the old town you walk everywhere. Take the funicular up to the fortress for sunset, and bring home the original Mozartkugel, made by the Fürst family since 1890.
Mirabell Gardens · SalzburgWhere the emperor fell in love.
In August 1853, the young emperor came to Bad Ischl to meet his bride. Not Sisi, but her older sister Helene. Then he saw 15-year-old Elisabeth, and he fell in love. The engagement took place in the Seeauerhaus, today the town museum.
His mother gave the young couple the Kaiservilla as a wedding present. For more than 60 years it was their summer home, and you can still visit it. History happened here too: in July 1914 Franz Joseph wrote his manifesto “To my peoples” at this villa, the beginning of the First World War.
Bad Ischl owes everything to salt. Its brine baths made it the spa of the imperial family. The emperor’s mother came here for a cure, and her sons were soon called the “salt princes”.
Zauner, the legendary confectioner since 1832. Order the Zaunerstollen and sit on the terrace by the river, exactly where the court society once had coffee.
Kaiservilla · Bad IschlThe village of salt, by night.
Bad Ischl lies right between the Wolfgangsee and the Hallstätter See. Half an hour away, Hallstatt sits on a narrow strip between the mountain and the lake, where people have mined salt for thousands of years.
Most visitors arrive at midday and leave before sunset. Stay one night and you see the village like this: the lights in the water, the church tower, silence. That is the Hallstatt I want you to see.
Arrive before 9 am or stay overnight. Read my Hallstatt guide for the salt mine, the skywalk and the quiet corners. Love lakes? Here are the most beautiful lakes in Austria.
HallstattFeel like an empress for a few days.
Now the journey turns from palaces to peaks. Zell am See is our home: a turquoise lake, a little town on its shore, and mountains with snow even in summer.
Where to stay? For an imperial feeling, the Grand Hotel Zell am See stands right on the lake. In front of it lies the small Sisi Garden, directly by the water, with views of the lake and the mountains. In summer, weddings and celebrations begin here with a glass of champagne. Breakfast on your balcony with this view, and you understand why we call this stop the crown of the journey.
The Grand Hotel is one of the places we love here. Visit the Grand Hotel, and tell us your dates so we can plan everything around your stay.
Grand Hotel
Up to the glacier. Over the highest road.
From Zell am See, two days you will never forget. Take the cable cars up the Kitzsteinhorn to the Top of Salzburg platform. At 3,029 metres you have lunch in the highest restaurant in the province, with glaciers all around you, even in July.
The next day, drive the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, bend after bend, up to Austria’s highest mountain, 3,798 metres. Marmots whistle by the road, and at the top the Pasterze glacier waits for you.
The Grossglockner road is open in the warmer months only and has a toll. Go early in the day, when the light is clear and the road is quiet. More tips in my Zell am See & Kaprun summer guide.
Grossglockner
KitzsteinhornA city of emperors, with mountains at the end of every street.
Innsbruck was an imperial city long before Sisi. Emperor Maximilian built the Golden Roof around 1500, with more than 2,600 gilded tiles, so he could watch the festivities on the square below. Maria Theresa later turned the Hofburg into a palace worthy of the empire. Sisi stayed here on her journeys south to Merano, and her apartment is still preserved, so you can see her style for yourself.
In the Court Church, 28 giant bronze figures stand guard around Maximilian’s tomb. The locals call them the “Black Men”. The secret? Maximilian is not buried here at all.
And the Triumphal Arch tells a whole family drama in stone. Maria Theresa built it in 1765 for her son’s wedding. Days later her husband died suddenly. So one side celebrates the wedding, the other side mourns the emperor.
Innsbruck
A world of light, made of crystal.
If you love everything that sparkles, this is your paradise. In Wattens, behind a giant green head with a waterfall, a magical world of art and crystal opens up. Walk into the Crystal Dome and you stand inside thousands of mirrors.
There is always a new exhibition, and at the end the surprise waits: the shop, with a huge selection of crystal. The perfect gift from Austria, for yourself or for the people you love.
The Imperial Loop in 10 days
One circle, back to where you started. Train for the cities, a car for the lakes and mountains. This is how I would plan it:
- Days 1–3ViennaHofburg, Sisi Museum, Schönbrunn, Demel, Sacher, the Golden Quarter.
- Day 4Railjet to SalzburgAbout 2.5 h by train. Mozart, Mirabell Gardens, sunset at the fortress.
- Day 5Bad Ischl & HallstattPick up your car. Kaiservilla and Zauner, then Hallstatt by night.
- Days 6–8Zell am SeeGrand Hotel, Sisi Garden, Kitzsteinhorn glacier, Grossglockner road.
- Day 9Innsbruck & SwarovskiGolden Roof, Hofburg, Crystal Worlds. Drop the car.
- Day 10Railjet back to ViennaAbout 4 h 15 through the Alps and the countryside. Or fly home from Munich.
An imperial journey needs perfect timing.
Palace tickets, trains, a car for the mountains, hotels with a view. Every part is easy on its own. Together they need someone who knows how they fit. That is what we do.
- The right order and the right number of nights in each place
- Railjet tickets and the best seats, plus the car only where you need it
- One-way car hire from Salzburg to Innsbruck, vignette and tolls sorted
- Hofburg, Schönbrunn and Kaiservilla timed so you avoid the queues
- Hotels with character, from Vienna to the Grand Hotel on the lake
- Café tables, dinners and the small local places most visitors miss
Imperial Austria itinerary FAQ
How many days do I need for this Austria itinerary?
Ten days is perfect. With seven days you can do it, but you drive more and stay less. If you have only a few days, we tell you honestly which stops to keep.
Can I do it by train only?
Vienna, Salzburg, Zell am See and Innsbruck are all on the main railway line, so yes. For Bad Ischl, Hallstatt and the Grossglockner road a car is much easier. We plan the mix that suits you.
When is the best time to go?
From June to September, when the Grossglockner road and the mountain railways are open and the lakes are warm. Vienna and Innsbruck are also magical at Christmas.
Can I start in Munich instead of Vienna?
Of course. Many guests fly into Munich and start in the mountains. Have a look at our Austria itinerary from Munich, or let us build the loop the other way round.
Where can I learn more about Sisi?
The Sisi Museum in the Vienna Hofburg, the Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl and the Imperial Crypt are the three places where her story feels closest.
Travel like an empress. Without the court rules.
Tell us your dates and how you like to travel. We plan the palaces, the trains, the lakes and the hotels, so you can simply enjoy Austria the way Sisi did: free.
Plan my Imperial Austria tripEvery great journey starts somewhere. Let’s find yours.
Coffee in Vienna. A sunset over the Danube in Budapest. Wine in the Tuscan hills while the bells ring out across the valley. In Europe, two hours on a train changes the language, the food and the light. We live right in the middle of it. We know which trains to take, which squares to linger in and which tables are worth the wait. You bring the curiosity. We’ll connect the dots.
Rail · Alps to ItalyBreakfast in Bavaria. Dinner on a canal.
Over the Brenner Pass, through South Tyrol’s vineyards, and the light turns Italian. You just watch the Alps turn into Italy.
Night train · RomeFall asleep in Munich. Wake up in Rome.
A cabin with a real bed, the Alps in the dark, Tuscany at sunrise. One night saved, one day gained, one story for life.
Rail · 3 capitalsThree capitals, one window seat.
Palaces, coffee houses and music, each a few hours apart. Watch the Danube appear and Prague’s spires rise on the horizon.
7 nights · Italy to AustriaIt starts with Prada. It ends with cowbells.
Milan’s style, Lake Garda’s lemons, South Tyrol’s wine, then the Alps open up and everything becomes quiet.
5 nights · by seaYou came for Venice. The Adriatic kept you.
Water taxi into Venice, the bacaro trail, Murano glass, then the catamaran to Istria and Rovinj at sunset.
8 nights · one coastlineFive cities. Every version of Croatia.
Dubrovnik’s walls, Split’s fish market, Plitvice’s lakes and the sunset Hitchcock never forgot.