vienna

The Rough Guide to Vienna 5 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
$19.99
compelling city. The full-colour section introduces Vienna��s highlights, from high baroque churches to the Staatsoper, the Prater��s iconic Ferris wheel, and mountains of mouth-watering freshly made cakes. Using informed accounts written by expert authors, clue-up on every top sight from the spectacular crown jewels of the imperial Schatzkammer Museum to the city��s multicultural Naschmarkt and the tuxedoed waiters of the Kaffeeh���user. The guide takes a detailed look at Vienna��s fascinating history, literature, and cultural life with expert background on everything from the magnificent Habsburg palaces to the cutting-edge galleries of the MuseumsQuartier. There are plenty of practical tips on all the best accommodation, transportation and restaurants plus lively reviews of hundreds of shops, bars and clubs. Explore the best of Vienna with the clearest maps of any guide.

Rick Steves' Vienna, Salzburg, and Tirol
$17.95
We used this book on our recent trip to the Bavarian Region. It was very good for Salzburg, Innsbruck, the Berchtesgaden region, and the Fussen/Garmich region and it is a great packing size. However, Rick's books focus on traveling by train, so if you are traveling by car they do not include other good options. So you may want to consult other books. I used both Frommer's for good towns to visit and Karen Brown's books for good driving itineraries. Karen provides good info on lots of small towns, beautiful scenery, and pretty lakes to visit. We didn't do all of her itinerary since it would take too much time.

I do wish Rick had included Munich as part of the book, as it is part of Bavarian Germany and would have been perfect for our use (I didn't want to carry around the larger Germany book for just that info).

I do agree with the other reviewer that didn't feel that Hallstatt was worth so much fuss. It is nice, however there are many beautiful lakes and towns in this region and if I did it again, I would not go out of my way just to see Hallstatt.
The hotel we stayed in was not very comfortable and I am not sure there are any really good options.

A couple of general notes on the area. The drive between Innsbruck and Fussen was incredibly scenic through the mountains and not too difficult to drive (it is windy). Also the Alpenstrasse is very nice. The boat ride at Lake Koenigssee near Bertesgaden is nice, but slow. The boat is not gas powered and moves pretty slowly so it takes 35 minutes one way to the church. It doesn't bother you too much on the way there, but the trip back seems slow. They have a good guide giving funny commentary but it was all in German.

Just remember when you go to this area that there will be so many scenic spots that you don't have to focus on just one. Also be aware that it can rain and be fairly cloudy over the mountains.

Vienna (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
$23.00
I ordered this book for my daughter because she was planning on going to Vienna with her university's Study Abroad program and I thought it would be helpful. I guess I was right, because a few weeks later my daughter received a list of books that she would need to buy for the trip from the university, and this book was at the top of the list. It is required reading for anyone traveling to Vienna with this university's Study Abroad program. And the relatively compact size is great for travel.

Top 10 Vienna (EYEWITNESS TOP 10 TRAVEL GUIDE)
$14.00
This book has great information. I think it will help guide myself through the city. Thank you.