Austria · SELF-GUIDED TOURS
26 reviewed
Austria books out in summer and at Christmas, and the good self-guided tours go first. This shortlist runs to 15, priced as of today, with the hours each one swallows and why it sits above the next.
Explore Mozart’s preserved Vienna apartment and exhibits with a multi-language audio guide, plus optional Haus der Musik.
“I expect to see whole residence to be decorated but it was completely empty. At least I was expecting to see a musical instrument from Mozart's era.”
Audio tour in Vienna’s New Hofburg Palace with entry ticket. See armor, music instruments, Mozart link, and the Habsburg story.
“Great way to learn history of one of Viennas monarchs and understand the dichotomy of the joint Spanish / Austrian throne.”
Walk Vienna’s Schlumberger wine-cellar labyrinth, learn champagne-style making, try hand-riddling, then enjoy a tasting set at the end.
“The cellar was really nice and worthy a visit. You have to be mindful that this is not in Vienna central but 20 mins away from Stephansplatz with public transport. This included our wine tasting experience which we thought was a great value for money. The environment is also really cool. Be sure to bring jackets with you as the cellar is cold.”
Salzburg Cathedral ticket with optional English or German audio guide. Explore the dome, bells, and organ at your own pace.
Self-guided Vienna scavenger hunt from St. Stephen's to the Hofburg, with 16 puzzle envelopes. Pause anytime, finish with coffee and cake.
“Im Zuge von einem Betriebsausflug haben wir diese Jagd gemacht. War lustig. Wir haben für 12 Stationen 1,5 Stunden gebraucht. Ich denke in 2 Stunden kann man fertig sein.”
A smartphone clue game through Vienna’s old churches, taverns, murals, and landmarks, ending at the Hofburg. Self-paced, no guide.
“We really enjoyed wandering around, following clues to discover medieval artifacts that we would not see otherwise on a regular tour. We travelled through back streets that we would not have discovered on our own. It was fun.”
Vienna self-guided walking tour with smartphone audio and 29 historian tracks across central sights, from St Stephen’s to Hofburg.
“Personally, I loved this walking tour audio guide because I was able to go at my own pace. I like to take a lot of pictures and sometimes I’ll see something along the tour that I will want to stop and spend more time at and this tour allowed me to do that perfectly! I also was able to stop at different cafés along the way instead of just passing along in front.”
A budget-friendly self-guided Vienna audio walk on your phone, with offline maps and stories from Palais Schwarzenberg to St. Stephen’s.
“Cons: Map was next-to-useless. Had to see where next location was and use Google maps. App navigation was not the easiest. Pros: Short, concise explanations. We gave up halfway around due to the inclement weather.”
Self-guided VoiceMap audio walk through Vienna’s center, from Vienna State Opera to Stephansdom, with offline audio and a 1 km route for $11.99.
“No encontramos a nadiie en el punto de encuentro y no pudimos hacer la experiencia, estubimos hablando con ustedes por wasap pero no solucionamos el problema.”
Play a self-guided Vienna game tied to Freud, Mozart, and Beethoven with offline phone puzzles from St. Stephen’s Cathedral to Freud Museum.
“Unable to get purchase into Questro app. No support when requsted. I then had to go to Questro and purchase again.”
Self-guided Vienna Old Town walk with a PDF booklet, marked 3 km route, 14 sights, café picks, and a 10% Rosotravel discount.
“Very easy to follow - took us to great places in the town”
Self-guided Vienna scavenger hunt with GPS audio clues, a 3.5 km walk, major sights, and local tips for about $9.61.
“This was so much fun to do. We saw many important sights and learned a lot about each. My husband, who hates sightseeing tours, loved this one. Hint: bring pen and paper with you.”
Self-guided 1.5-hour audio walk in Innsbruck from Marktplatz to Golden Roof, Nordkette views, Swarovski, and imperial sights.
“We found this tour really easy and self explanatory. I was given an app to download and everything was there! The only reason why I gave 1 less star is because they should let you know to take a power bank with you as the app drains your battery so had to make sure we found power along our route. Otherwise a great tour! :)”
Salzburg Sound of Music Quest is a self-guided smartphone escape game, solving 10 themed puzzles around Mirabell, the cathedral, and more.
“Took a lot of setup at the beginning, you have to download a separate app and setup an account. Once it got going it was fun to see some spots and get the history, but it is difficult sometimes to get to the exact location to make the story continue.”
Solve clue-based tasks through Graz at your own pace, starting at Kunsthaus Graz and hitting landmarks like Rathaus and Glockenspielplatz.
“We loved this. We had a free day but didn’t fancy a walking tour so we chanced this. It ended up taking us a good few hours because we kept finding lovely looking cafes & shops on the route to stop off at. We thought we had already seen most of Graz but we discovered so much more with this . Great fun too solving the clues. We will def be doing more of these when we visit new areas. Great value for money too.”
