The Wachau & the Danube
Between Melk and Krems, the Danube carves a glorious 20-mile stretch known as the Wachau, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape of terraced vineyards, apricot orchards, ruined castles and storybook river towns. At its western end the magnificent baroque Melk Abbey rises golden above the river, a high point of any journey along the Austrian Danube.
Downstream the wine village of Durnstein, with its distinctive blue-and-white church tower and the castle ruins where Richard the Lionheart was once held captive, is one of Austria's prettiest. This is a region made for slow pleasures: cruising or cycling the riverside path, tasting crisp Gruner Veltliner and Riesling at family wineries, and savoring apricot dumplings in spring blossom or golden fall.
The Wachau is the romantic, gentle face of the Austrian Danube, an easy hour west of Vienna and a lovely counterpoint to the grand capital. We love giving it an unhurried day or two, whether by riverboat, by bike or by car, so you can linger over a glass of wine on a sunny terrace and watch the river slide by below the vines.
