Wachau
Good to know
- Best time to go
- April to October; April–May for apricot blossom
- Budget
- $$
- Accessibility
- limited
- Coordinates
- Open in maps
A 36-kilometre reach of the Danube between Melk and Krems in Lower Austria where the river carves through the Bohemian Massif, the Wachau is a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape. Terraced vineyards above the river produce a celebrated dry Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, while ruined fortresses crown the hilltops above riverside villages of apricot orchards and Baroque parish churches. Dürnstein, with its ruined castle where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned in 1192, is the most storied of the valley villages.
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