Wachau Valley Wachau Valley Travel Guide: Best Hotels, Restaurants & Experiences

The Danube carves through this UNESCO-protected stretch of Lower Austria between Melk and Krems, where apricot orchards tumble down terraced hillsides and medieval villages cluster around Baroque abbey spires. Dürnstein's blue church tower rises above the river bend where Richard the Lionheart was once imprisoned; Spitz and Weissenkirchen maintain their winemaking traditions in steep Riesling vineyards that have produced Grüner Veltliner for centuries.

Accommodation here tends toward intimate riverside properties and converted wine estates rather than large-scale developments. The dining scene draws heavily on the region's legendary apricots — distilled into schnapps, folded into dumplings, preserved in marmalades — alongside river fish and seasonal game from surrounding forests. Wine taverns called Heurigen serve the current vintage alongside cold cuts and fresh bread, often in shaded courtyards overlooking the water.