Things to Do in the Wachau Valley

The Wachau is a string of wine villages, two abbeys, castle ruins and a river, and a day tour picks a handful of them for you. This is what each place offers, what it costs to go in, and which Wachau Valley guided tours stop there.

Melk Abbey, at the western gate, has its own page: Melk Abbey prices, hours and tours. The wines you taste in these villages are on the Wachau Valley vineyards.

Dürnstein: the blue tower and the castle ruin

Dürnstein is the stop Wachau days share most. The blue-and-white tower you see from the river belongs to Stift Dürnstein, a former Augustinian monastery; the tower is dated 1733 and has become the landmark of the valley. On the rock above the town is the castle ruin where tradition places the captivity of King Richard I the Lionheart in the 12th century.

The house began as a chapel consecrated in 1372 and became a monastery in 1410. It was dissolved on 7 January 1788 and has belonged to Herzogenburg Abbey ever since. A guided tour in German runs Friday to Sunday and on holidays at 11:00.

The Aggstein ruin above the right bank

The Aggstein ruin runs about 150 m along a crag on the right bank of the Danube, and its history goes back to the 12th century. Unlike the Dürnstein ruin, it is a paid visit with a café, a shop and a castle kitchen.

Open in 2026: 21 March to 1 November, daily 9:00–18:00.

Admission: adults €10.50, children 6–16 €8, under-6s free, family ticket (two adults and a child) €27.

Christmas market: four weekends, 30 October–1 November and 7–9, 14–16 and 21–23 November 2026.

Getting there: by car from the A1 exit Melk, towards Krems, then right before the Danube bridge towards Schönbühel and along the B33.

The day tours from Vienna pass Aggstein by, so plan it as a drive of your own or a stage of the World Heritage Trail.

Spitz, St. Michael and the 1000-Eimerberg

Spitz is the middle of the valley and a working wine village. You come here for a tasting, a lunch, the boat or the ferry.

The 1000-Eimerberg: the vineyard hill above Spitz, one of the single vineyards Vinea Wachau features.

The DDSG pier: Donaustation 15, on Rollfährestraße by the river. The shared wine days board the boat here in season.

The cable ferry: it crosses from Spitz to Arnsdorf on the far bank.

St. Michael: a fortified church downstream of Spitz. The Grand Wachau private day stops for 15 minutes, and the wooden boat from Spitz drifts past it.

The growers of Vinea Wachau and the regional tourist office are both based in Spitz, at Schlossgasse 3.

Krems and Stein at the eastern gate

Krems marks the eastern end of the Wachau and is where coach days from Vienna usually arrive first. Its Stein quarter holds the DDSG pier, Donaustation 24 at Welterbeplatz 1, beside the shipping and World Heritage centre. The Wachaubahn railway starts here and runs along the valley to Emmersdorf, opposite Melk.

You spend between half an hour and two hours in Krems on a day tour. The bike day starts and ends here, because you arrive by train.

Göttweig Abbey across the river

The Wachau runs between two Benedictine abbeys, Melk in the west and Göttweig in the east. Göttweig Abbey stands on its hill above Furth bei Göttweig, across the Danube from Krems, and UNESCO Austria names the two abbeys the high point of baroque building in the valley.

Göttweig is not on the day tours from Vienna, so it suits a second day or a car.

Walking the 180 km World Heritage Trail

The Wachau World Heritage Trail is a 180 km long-distance path through 14 municipalities of the World Heritage area, on both banks of the Danube. It is split into stages through vineyards and forest, past castles and abbeys, and the regional tourist board sells packages that move your luggage between stages.

• You can walk a single stage as a day out from a village with a train or boat stop.
• Cyclists follow the Danube Cycle Path instead, part of EuroVelo 6, which runs along the south or north bank depending on the stage.
• A 7.42 km apricot trail at Krems-Angern takes about two hours on foot.

The midsummer fires on 20 June 2026

On midsummer night the valley lights fires in the vineyards, floats lights on the Danube and ends with fireworks. Lower Austria documents the custom from 1604; it was banned in 1754 and came back as a public festival in the second half of the 19th century. You can watch from a boat or walk up into the vineyards.

Traffic on the valley roads is heavy that evening, so arrive early or take the Wachaubahn, which runs an extra evening train on 20 June.

Apricots from the farm gate

The Wachauer Marille is an EU protected designation of origin, grown by 227 apricot farmers. The fruit is sold almost only from the farm or the orchard, and the growers' association recommends you phone ahead to reserve. The 2026 harvest was over by 1 August.

Which tour stops where

Most days pick three or four of these places. Find the ones you care about, then read along the row to see how long you get.

Questions about the valley's sights

Where each village sits on the river is on the Wachau Valley map, and how to reach them by train, boat or car is on getting to the Wachau Valley.