Proud as I am of my home town, Europe obviously has one or two other cities also worth a visit. But what are the distances and travel times from Vienna to Budapest, Prague or Venice, for example? See below for answers.
All times are rough estimates for the actual journey time from Vienna to help you plan: don’t forget you may have to add on delays for peak traffic, slower trains, check-in, buying tickets, etc..
- See also:
Common destinations
(The river in Salzburg)
Services change, so you can get up-to-date journey times yourself using the links at the bottom of the article.
Bratislava
The capital of neighbouring Slovakia is remarkably close.
- Air distance (km / miles): 55/34
- Car: 1 hour
- Train: 1 hour
- Bus: 1-1.5 hours
- Plane: too close to deserve scheduled flights
You can also reach Bratislava on a boat excursion from Vienna, since the Danube river connects both cities.
Graz
Nice little city in Austria’s south with a slightly alternative vibe to the place.
- Air distance (km / miles): 145/90
- Car: 2 hours
- Train: 2.5 hours
- Bus: 2-2.5 hours
- Plane: 35 mins
Hallstatt
The famously Instagrammable historical village built into a lakeside mountain.
- Air distance (km / miles): 215/135
- Car: 3.5 hours
- Train: no direct rail link
- Bus: no direct bus link but available on a day trip* from Vienna’s old town
- Plane: nope
Budapest
Capital of Hungary and one of the Habsburg triumvirate of cities alongside Vienna and Prague.
- Air distance (km / miles): 214/133
- Car: 2.5 hours
- Train: 2.5 hours
- Bus: 3 hours or available as a day bus tour* from the centre of Vienna
- Plane: 50 mins
Prague
Plans exist for a fast rail link from Vienna to Prague (and Berlin) which will cut train journey times in half, but don’t expect it until the 2030s.
- Air distance (km / miles): 251/156
- Car: 3.5 hours
- Train: 4.5 hours
- Bus: 4 hours
- Plane: 50-60 mins
Salzburg
Mozart’s birthplace with its gorgeous centre makes for an excellent day trip by train.
- Air distance (km / miles): 251/156
- Car: 2.75-3 hours
- Train: 2.5 hours
- Bus: I can never find scheduled bus services direct to Salzburg from Vienna. This is possibly (?) because the train service is fast, frequent and not too expensive
- Plane: 50 mins
Zagreb
Capital of Croatia.
- Air distance (km / miles): 268/167
- Car: 3.75-4 hours
- Train: 6.5+ hours
- Bus: 5 hours
- Plane: 50 mins
Munich
Just over Austria’s border with Germany but well west of Vienna.
- Air distance (km / miles): 356/221
- Car: 4-4.5 hours
- Train: 4+ hours
- Bus: 5.5-6 hours
- Plane: 60 mins
Venice
A city that needs no introduction.
- Air distance (km / miles): 427/265
- Car: 5.5-6 hours (you cannot actually drive into Venice itself, of course)
- Train: 7.5+ hours
- Bus: 9.5-10 hours
- Plane: 70 mins
Belgrade
Capital of Serbia.
- Air distance (km / miles): 492/306
- Car: 5.25-6 hours
- Train: ?
- Bus: 8.5 hours
- Plane: 70 mins
Berlin
A bit of a journey by anything but plane, sadly.
- Air distance (km / miles): 524/326
- Car: 7-7.5 hours
- Train: 8+ hours
- Bus: 9 hours
- Plane: 70 mins
Paris
A city needing even less of an introduction than Venice.
- Air distance (km / miles): 1035/643
- Car: 10.5-12 hours
- Train: 10+ hours
- Bus: 18+ hours
- Plane: 120 mins
Useful links
- For driving times: Google Maps
- For train times: Austrian Railways
- For bus times: Flixbus
- For flights: Vienna Airport