Upper Danube Upper Danube & Mühlviertel Travel Guide: Best Hotels, Restaurants & Experiences

The Upper Danube carves through granite highlands where the Bohemian Massif meets the Austrian lowlands, creating a landscape of forested ridges, hidden valleys, and medieval market towns. The Mühlviertel—named for its historic water mills—stretches north toward the Czech border, its rolling terrain dotted with granite farmsteads and apple orchards. This is Austria's cider country, where Most (fermented fruit juice) accompanies hearty regional cooking in wood-paneled taverns.

Accommodation here favors intimacy over scale. Converted farmhouses offer thermal spa facilities drawing on the region's mineral springs, while riverside properties in towns like Grein and Aschach occupy restored merchant houses with views across the Danube's narrowest stretches. The Schlögener Schlinge—a dramatic horseshoe bend where the river nearly doubles back on itself—anchors the region's most scenic touring route. Local dining emphasizes game, freshwater fish, and the distinctive Mühlviertler Karpfen (carp raised in monastery ponds since medieval times).