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To get to Salzburg, Austria while river cruising on the Danube, dock in Linz, and then head for the hills. Most river cruise companies provide all-day excursions to Salzburg, known as the film location for The Sound of Music. Highlights include: Salzburg’s Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a visit to Mozart’s birthplace, and exploring the Hohensalzburg Fortress just above the city center.

Clear alpine lakes, bucolic valleys, dramatic craggy peaks, fresh mountain air, perfect chalets, the gentle tinkling of cowbells carried on the breeze: The Swiss Alps remain the most iconic mountain landscape in the world. Drive over breathtaking mountain passes, hike meticulously maintained trails, ski pristine powder, indulge in a world-class spa – the picture-perfect scenery will stay with you long after you leave.

It’s pretty amazing what you can do with some old stables. Vienna’s vast former quarters for the imperial horses, designed by the great baroque architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, were turned in recent years into the MuseumsQuartier. It could take days to see all the works in this 15-acre, multi-museum complex that lies just off the Ringstrasse and is devoted to collections of modern and contemporary art. The limestone Leopold Museum for Austrian art is named after an early collector of the bold painter Egon Schiele. Its Café Leopold includes courtyard seating under umbrellas. For your Picassos and Giacomettis, the nearby MUMOK specializes in the giants of modern art. The MuseumsQuartier’s huge courtyard is a popular Vienna hangout where many festivals take place and DJs spin on weekends.

Snowcapped mountains piercing the sky, Alpine lakes lapping against sun-drenched shores, and a range of outdoor activities to get your heart pumping—it’s no wonder the Bavarian Alps continue to draw curious travelers from all over the world. No matter the season, the iconic region displays nature at its best. In summer, Alpine valleys blossom with a verdant array of flora that encircles traditional villages and emerald lakes. In the colder months, waterfalls freeze, lakes frost over, and blankets of snow cover mountainsides, forming a winter wonderland befitting any fairy tale.

Austrian wines are made all the better by a visit to the many vineyards and wine taverns (Heuriger) on the outskirts of Vienna. Wieninger vineyard is located north of the city on the Nussberg. A light meal and wine outdoors among the vineyards is a great way to cap off an evening in Vienna. Trams run from the city center to Nussdorf. To explore more heuriger, the little Vienna Heurigen Express train runs from Nussdorf to Kahlenberg and Grinzing.

Cemeteries don’t often end up on a traveler’s “must-see” list - unless they are going to Vienna. The massive Zentralfriedhof, or Central Cemetery, isn’t actually centralized. In fact, it lies far to the south of the city. With over 300,000 internments and around 495 acres, it’s one of the world’s largest cemeteries and the final resting place for a who’s who of Austrian cultural icons. Most notable are the final resting places of Vienna’s greatest musicians, including Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Strauss I & II, and even Falco. Architect Adolf Loos, sculpter Fritz Wotruba, and a crypt of Austrian presidents also make for a fascinating look at the country’s more well-known residents. The grounds also hosts the Art Nouveau Dr. Karl Lueger-Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church), a Russian Orthodox Chapel, and burial grounds for Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist faiths. The cemetery is easily reached by S-Bahn and bus. Buses also travel between the sections, as do horse-drawn carriages.

The Ritz-Carlton conjured true Viennese grandeur by occupying not one, but four former 19th-century palaces along the Ringstraße for its first Austrian location. Upon entering, guests will be suitably impressed by the beautifully ornate ceiling of the Melounge Lobby Lounge, where they can enjoy a light meal, tea, cocktails, and sweets. Rooms face either a courtyard or out to the city, and all offer plush beds and marble baths. All suites have a terrace or balcony from which to look out on this magical city. The extravagance reaches new heights with the incredible views from the Atmosphere Rooftop Bar, where stylish locals and visitors mingle. During the holiday season, it turns into the city’s most elevated and most exclusive Christmas market.

Street-food markets are all the rage the world over, and in Vienna you have the chance to visit one that’s been around for many centuries. Built literally over the channeled Vienna River, just beyond the Ringstrasse, the Naschmarkt is devoted to what its name happens to sound like in English: noshing. Whether you order a spicy wurst, browse the fish and cheese stalls, or purchase local products like pumpkin-seed oil and apple vinegar, the Naschmarkt is one of the city’s most enjoyable simple pleasures. In recent years, some gastronomic and ethnic food stalls have expanded into full restaurants. For decades, 400 dealers have set up their Saturday flea market next door, where shoppers hunt for bargains among books, record albums and CDs, and antiques.

Berlin: Off the Wall

Sacher is synonymous with luxury in Vienna. It’s the name of not just the hotel, but also Austria’s most famous cake, the delectable Sacher-Torte. Eduard, son of Sacher-Torte creator Franz Sacher, opened the hotel in 1876, though it was his young widow Anna who really established the property after he died. In 1934, a few years after her death, the Gürtler family took over the hotel—and continues to maintain it to this day.

Notable personalities like John F. Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth II have walked the halls of this Vienna institution. It was also here that John Lennon and Yoko Ono introduced “Bagism” to the press while inside a giant bag, an event chronicled in the Beatles’ Ballad of John and Yoko. The Belle Epoque–influenced rooms are a symbol of elegance and comfort, while the two restaurants, two bars, and illustrious Café Sacher make it possible to enjoy the hotel’s timeless charm without even being a guest. Be sure to try the famous torte—it’s an essential Vienna treat.

One of Vienna’s most notable structures is its stunning Rathaus, or City Hall. Designed by Friedrich von Schmidt between 1872 and 1883, the imposing Gothic structure is the seat of both the mayor and city council, and is also the backdrop for one of the most popular Christmas markets in the city.

Classic-film buffs well know the pivotal scene on the Riesenrad, the giant Ferris wheel in Vienna’s Prater park which lies between the Danube and one of its side canals. In the film version of Graham Greene’s noir tale The Third Man, Orson Welles, as Harry Lime, relates his famous Swiss cuckoo clock analogy to Joseph Cotten while on the ride. Built in 1897 for Emperor Franz Joseph I’s golden jubilee, the Ferris wheel was for a long time the world’s tallest. After a period of scruffiness late last century, the Prater and its old-fashioned amusement park are again popular. The greenery alone makes for wonderful strolling or biking, with the Schweizerhaus restaurant’s beer garden the perfect place for schnitzel or succulent Schweinsstelze (pig’s feet).

As rivalries go, this one is up there with Coke vs. Pepsi. Which of these two cultural institutions’ pastry chefs make the best version of Vienna’s famous Sacher torte? The Hotel Sacher is a historic property and, by legal right, has been recognized as the original home of the classic dessert. But a few blocks away on posh Kohlmarkt street, just steps from the Hofburg Palace, the pastry shop Demel proudly still carries the official title of royal confectioner. Both houses ship this spongy chocolate cake, covered with chocolate icing and layered with apricot jam, all over the world. But nothing beats tasting the sweet treat right there in old Vienna.

Just off the Ringstrasse, the Stadtpark gives visitors to Vienna a chance to marvel at the genius of Otto Wagner: The architect’s art nouveau U-Bahn metro station is a landmark there. With the little Wienfluss (Vienna River) running through it, the 28-acre, English-style, manicured Stadtpark was laid out in the middle 19th century and is perhaps the finest city park in this greenest of cities. For maintaining the historic fountains, ornamental plants, and decorative trees along its winding paths, the botanical specialists and gardening team deserve a tip of the hat. Fine statues of composers Franz Schubert and Anton Bruckner, as well as a gilded-bronze likeness of a violin-playing Johann Strauss II—who performed here—are famous. The café in the Italianate Kursalon Hübner concert hall is a good place for a break from sightseeing.

You might think of Vienna’s Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) as a Mittteleuropa Walk of Fame. Some of the city’s most important figures are buried in this graveyard that opened in 1874, from Beethoven (his remains were moved here in 1888) to 1980s pop star Falco, with Brahms, Schubert, and Schoenberg in between. The cemetery, which measures almost one and a half square miles, has a section for Austria‘s presidents, and another for Sephardic Jews who came from the Ottoman Empire—the elaborate Alhambra-style Elias family mausoleum is especially impressive. Thanks to shady groves of maple and ash and a beautiful church constructed in the early-20th-century Jugendstil style, it is worth the effort to travel to Simmering, a neighborhood southeast of the city center—even if only for the bucolic setting.