One of my dreams has been to experience Austria’s storybook mountains, pastel towns, and rich history, and this year we finally made it happen. With our 5 and 3 year old, and baby in tow, we spent a little over a week exploring this incredible country. We didn’t go in with a super detailed plan, but found things to do along the way and Austria with kids ended up being one of our favorite trips as a family.
Traveling with kids always looks a little different. There are slower mornings, more breaks, lots of chaos and everyone needing to be a little more flexible. But that doesn’t mean you can’t experience somewhere as beautiful and culture-rich as Austria. Kids are often so much more adaptable than we expect, especially when they have space to move, opportunities to play, and enough rest (more often than not happening in a stroller or carrier).
One of the things I loved most about visiting Austria with kids was how family-friendly it felt. There were playgrounds tucked into the most beautiful places, so many kid-focused museums, welcoming locals, easy public transportation in the cities, and endless outdoor adventures in the mountains. It really is a country that makes traveling with kids fun.
We spent time exploring Vienna, stayed at one of the most kid-friendly hotels near the Alps, and explored Salzburg and the surrounding region. If you want to see our full 8-Day Austria itinerary, you can read that post here. But in this one I’m highlighting our favorite things to do in Austria with kids and the stops our whole family loved most.
🇦🇹 Austria With Kids – Vienna
1. Explore Schönbrunn Palace + Visit the Children’s Museum
One of the best kid-friendly stops in Vienna (in my opinion) is Schönbrunn Palace. It’s perfect even if your kids don’t love traditional “museums.” The grounds in front are wide open, so our kids loved running around while we soaked in the views.
Inside, the Kindermuseum (Children’s Museum) was such a hit. Kids (and adults!) can dress up in royal outfits and wigs, explore interactive rooms showing what palace life looked like, and enjoy hands-on play areas. We spent hours in here. Tickets were €12 per person ages 3+, and it felt worth every penny.
2. Visit St. Stephen’s Cathedral
St. Stephen’s Cathedral ended up being one of my favorite places in Vienna. The gothic spires, gargoyles, and towering stone details make it feel absolutely magical. You can walk inside for free around the outer sections, or pay extra to go into the main area, up to the tower, or into the catacombs.
Even if your kids don’t care about cathedrals, the sheer scale of it is awe-inspiring, and ours loved wandering and looking up at everything.
**Bonus! Right across from St. Stephen’s is a Lindt chocolate shop which makes the perfect reward after sightseeing. We grabbed hot chocolate and treats and it was such a fun little break for everyone.
3. Ride the Ferris Wheel and Play at Prater Amusement Park
Prater is Vienna’s classic amusement park and such a fun way to end a busy day with kids. It’s home to the oldest operating Ferris wheel in the world, and the view over Vienna from the top is beautiful.
Beyond the ferris wheel, there are kid rides, fair games, and that lively carnival atmosphere that kids absolutely love. We stayed much longer than planned because everyone was having such a good time.
🇦🇹 Austria With Kids – Salzburg & Surrounding Region
4. Stay at Kinderhotel Waldhof (A Kid Dream Hotel)
If you’re visiting the Salzburg region with kids, Kinderhotel Waldhof feels like the ultimate family base. It’s tucked in the prettiest alpine valley and is truly designed for families.
Our kids loved:
- Pools + water slides
- Giant outdoor playground
- Trampolines and climbing areas
- Pony rides, alpaca walks, and easy hikes
And for parents, the family + adult saunas, incredible food, and available childcare made it feel like an actual vacation. Even if you don’t normally stay at “resorts,” this is one that really enhanced our whole trip.
5. Hike Through a Beautiful Gorge
One of our favorite outdoor experiences was hiking through a stunning gorge along the river. There are lots of stairs, so it definitely isn’t stroller friendly, but our 5-year-old did great and our 3-year-old did a mix of hiking and being carried. It was adventurous, dramatic, and such a cool experience for the kids.
6. Ride the Jennerbahn Cable Car + Explore at the Top
Just across the border in Germany, but an easy day trip from Salzburg, is Nationalpark Berchtesgaden and the Jennerbahn cable car. This was one of my favorite things we did on the whole trip.
You take the gondola up to incredible mountain views, and once you’re at the top you can explore trails, take pictures, and soak in the alpine scenery. There’s also a restaurant at the top if you want to eat with a view. Even our kids were totally wowed.
7. Take a Boat Tour across the Famous Königssee Lake
We unfortunately did not have time to do this but it looked incredible. It’s the same parking lot as the Jennerbahn Cable Car. If you arrive early enough, you’d probably have time to do both.
8. Visit the Sound of Music Picnic Hill
Just outside Salzburg, in Werfen, you can visit the hill where the “Do-Re-Mi” picnic scene was filmed. You can drive right up, and there are plaques explaining the movie history. It’s peaceful, scenic, and shockingly uncrowded. We listened to the song, took photos, and it felt like such a fun, magical stop.
If you’re up for a hike, you can actually hike up the Sound of Music trail to the Picnic spot. There are bridges, open spaces, and fun little stops that made it super engaging for them.
9. Explore Hallstatt (A Real-Life Disney Frozen Village)
Hallstatt feels like walking into a fairytale, and it was extra special because our daughter is obsessed with Frozen. We explored the colorful town, walked through the church, and she could not believe this wasn’t Elsa’s castle.
Right behind the church is a playground with swings overlooking the lake, which might be one of the prettiest playground settings in the world. This stop was magical and totally worth the day trip.
10. Wander Mozartplatz + Historic Salzburg
On our Salzburg city day, we took the train in and explored around Mozartplatz. It’s such a charming area to wander with kids — plazas, street scenes, and beautiful architecture everywhere. We grabbed hot dogs from one of the many stands and they were SO good.
The kids also loved watching people play the massive outdoor chess set and even helped reset the pieces between games.
11. Visit Mozart’s Birthplace
We visited Mozart’s birthplace museum, which is full of history, instruments, and unique exhibits. Even if your kids don’t know Mozart, there’s enough visual interest to keep them curious, and it’s such a cool “only in Salzburg” experience.
12. Play for Hours at the Salzburg Toy Museum
If you’re visiting Austria with kids, the Toy Museum in Salzburg is a must. It’s basically one big play space full of rooms where kids can build, create, and explore. After busy sightseeing days, this was such a gift. Our kids were in heaven and we stayed until closing. There were rooms full of books, puzzles, Brio train sets, slides…basically a kids paradise.
13. Do a Sound of Music Family Bike Tour
One of the best family activities we did was the The Sound of Music Bike Tour in Salzburg. They had so many options for kids to be able to join which I loved. They had baby bike seats, bike trailers, ride along bikes, bike for kids, and tandem bikes. For our family of 5 we did a rida long bike for our 5 year old and a bike trailer for the younger two. I think our 5 year old could have ridden his own bike, but with it being the end of our trip, I didn’t want him to get tired and not have fun and the ride along bike was perfect and he loved it.
You ride through stunning scenery, stop at film locations, listen to the soundtrack, and learn behind-the-scenes facts. Even if you aren’t a huge Sound of Music fan, it’s an incredible family bike ride and such a fun way to see Salzburg.
14. Visit Melk Abbey (Great Stop Between Salzburg & Vienna)
On our drive back toward Vienna, we stopped at Melk Abbey, and it absolutely blew us away. Sitting high above the Danube River, it’s grand, golden, peaceful, and full of history. It wasn’t crowded, the kids enjoyed walking through, and it made the perfect road-trip break.
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