Wachau Valley and Melk Abbey

An hour or so west of Vienna, the Danube cuts through a narrow, steep-sided valley of terraced vineyards, orchards and medieval villages that is one of the loveliest river landscapes in Europe. The Wachau, between Melk and Krems, has been a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape since 2000, and a day there is the classic escape from the city. The day usually begins at Melk Abbey, a Benedictine monastery founded in the eleventh century and rebuilt in the early eighteenth century to designs by Jakob Prandtauer as one of the most spectacular Baroque buildings in the world, its long yellow facades and twin towers rising on a rock above the town and the river. Inside, the visit runs through the imperial corridor and the museum rooms, the Marble Hall with its painted ceiling, a balcony with views up the valley, the magnificent library with tens of thousands of volumes under a frescoed ceiling, and finally the abbey church, a blaze of gold and colour. From Melk, the valley unfolds downstream. Spitz and Weissenkirchen are wine villages of steep lanes and Heurigen, the wine taverns where growers serve their own Gruener Veltliner and Riesling, which from the Wachau's terraces are among Austria's finest whites. Durnstein, with its blue-and-white Baroque church tower on the riverbank, is the prettiest stop, and on the hill above it stand the ruins of the castle where the English king Richard the Lionheart was held captive in the 1190s. In summer, apricot orchards fill the valley, and Wachau apricots turn up in jam, schnapps and dumplings everywhere. The most rewarding way to see the valley is from the water: boats run along the Melk to Krems stretch from spring to autumn, and many day trips combine abbey, villages, a river cruise and wine tasting.

Choosing how to go: a guided day trip from Vienna is the easiest option, especially outside summer, because it handles the logistics of combining Melk, the villages and transport back in one day, typically around eight to nine hours door to door. The booking page lists guided Danube Valley day trips from Vienna; check exactly what is included, as some trips include abbey entry, a boat section and a tasting while others leave time to explore on your own. Independent travellers can take a train from Vienna to Melk, visit the abbey, take a boat downstream to Durnstein or Krems in the cruising season and return by train from Krems, which is very doable but needs an early start and an eye on timetables.

When to go: late spring brings blossom and fresh green terraces, summer has the apricot harvest and the full boat schedule, and early autumn is the most beautiful season of all, with the grape harvest, golden vineyards and the Heurigen at their liveliest. In winter the boats stop, many village taverns close and Melk Abbey switches to a reduced schedule with guided visits only, so a winter trip is best done as a guided tour focused on the abbey. Check the current season's abbey hours before you set off.

Who it suits: couples, for whom a glass of Riesling on a terrace above the Danube is one of the great pleasures of Austria; history buffs, who will love Melk and the Richard the Lionheart story at Durnstein; and families with older children, who enjoy the boat and the castle ruin climb. Wear comfortable shoes for the abbey and the steep village lanes, bring a light layer for the boat deck, and leave room for apricot dumplings. If you have only a few days in Vienna, this is the one day trip worth giving one of them to.