Walking the Wachau Heritage Trail

Day 1: Arrive in Krems

If you arrive early, you will have an opportunity to explore this wonderful town with its old medieval centre.
Overnight Hotel Unter der Linden 3*, Krems (breakfast included).

Day 2: Krems to Durnstein 12KM/7.5MILES

Begin your walk from the centre of Krems, making your way through vineyards and forest roads to an observation tower with views over the city of Krems and the Danube. Continue over the hilltops to Fesslhutte and the ruins of Durnstein as you follow this scenic trail to the banks of the blue Danube.

Visit Domane Wachau winery in the afternoon for wine tasting (one wine tasting is included, either in Durnstein or in Spitz).
Overnight Hotel Sanger Blondel 3*, Durnstein (breakfast included).

Day 3: Durnstein to Weissenkirchen 12KM/7.5MILES

Take the ferry to the other side of the Danube to Rossatz (paid locally) where you walk through vineyards. Alternatively, you can follow the route through the largest apricot growing area of Austria before ascending to the Seekopf observation tower. There you will have a wonderful view of the Danube valley before walking down a zig-zag trail to St Lorenz. Cross the Danube again to the town of Weissenkirchen (paid locally).
Overnight Hotel Kirchenwirt 4*, Weissenkirchen (breakfast included).

Day 4: Weissenkirchen Circular 4KM/2.5MILES

Enjoy a rest day in Weissenkirchen, the biggest wine growing area in the Wachau and surrounded by vineyards. If you'd like a short walk, there's a trail leading through the local vineyards with the opportunity to sample the produce back in the town. There are also museums to visit in the wonderful historic old town.
Overnight Hotel Kirchenwirt 4*, Weissenkirchen (breakfast included).

Day 5: Weissenkirchen to Spitz 12KM/7.5MILES

Today is a gentle start through the vineyards from Weissenkirchen to Joching. There you head through the upper vineyards to the forest and to an observation tower with views towards Gschwendt in the northwest and of the Danube. There is a gentle descent before a final small climb to the 'Red Gate', one of the old seven defence gates of Spitz. It gets its name because of the blood shed when the Swedes took it in the Thirty Years War; here you have a beautiful view of Spitz below.

Enjoy wine tasting at Klosterhof in Spitz after completing your walk (one wine tasting is included, either in Spitz or in Durnstein).
Overnight Hotel Goldenes Schiff 3*, Spitz (breakfast included).

Day 6: Spitz to Melk 15KM/9.5MILES

Begin by taking the ferry across the Danube to Arnsdorf (paid locally). A longer walk today, with some quite steep climbs through woodland, culminating in a visit to the pilgrim church of Maria Langegg located in a small village in the hills. The church is a hidden beauty, off the beaten track, built originally about 1600. It is on Austria's pilgrim Route of St James so you could follow it all the way to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, but we only go as far as Aggstein, a ruined castle, and then onward to Aggsbach Dorf, where there is a former Carthusian monastery. From Aggsbach Dorf you take the bus to Melk (paid locally).
Overnight Hotel Post 4*, Melk (breakfast included).

Day 7: Melk to Krems

In the morning, we highly recommend a visit the imposing Melk Abbey, which dominates the city. As well as visiting the abbey, there are extensive gardens to stroll around; the city of Melk is also worth a visit. In the afternoon you take a river cruise (included) back down the Danube past the towns where you have stayed during your walking week - Spitz, Weissenkirchen and Durnstein, before finishing at Krems for your final night.
Overnight Hotel Unter der Linden 3*, Krems (breakfast included).

Day 8: Depart Krems

Leave Krems.