Danube and Wachau Valley Towns Along the River

The Wachau Valley is the UNESCO stretch of the Danube between Melk and Krems, where baroque abbeys sit above vineyards and apricot orchards. Here is how the towns line up along the river, what each one is worth, and how to move between them by boat, train, bike or car.

The Danube Cycle Path is the best-known riverside bike route in Europe, and the Wachau between Melk and Krems is where it looks its best. This guide explains how the Passau to Vienna section works, why you plan crossings rather than maps, and how the abbey, the valley towns and the memorials fit a day on two wheels.

Dürnstein packs a blue-and-white baroque abbey tower, a Gothic lane of town houses and a ruined castle above the Danube into a few hundred yards of riverbank. Here is how the town is laid out, what to see first, and how it fits a day in the Wachau.

Krems an der Donau is a Danube town of about 25,000 people roughly 70 km west of Vienna, with a medieval core around the Steiner Tor and a modern art axis in Stein. Use it as the practical gateway to the Wachau Valley, with the abbey at Melk and the terraced vineyards of Dürnstein as natural extensions of the route.

Melk is a compact Wachau town at the foot of Stift Melk: a main square with a baroque fountain, narrow lanes, a late-Gothic parish church and a Danube landing, all within a short walk of the abbey gate.

Spitz an der Donau is a compact Wachau wine village on the north bank of the Danube, backed by the steep Tausend-Eimerberg vineyard hill. Two hours covers the old center and a look at the river; a half-day adds the terraces and waterfront. This guide explains the layout, how trains and boats reach it, and how it fits a route between Krems an der Donau and Melk.

A Wachau cruise is a scheduled river boat linking Melk, Spitz, Dürnstein and Krems, not a loop tour. Here is how to pick a direction, what passes on deck, and how the train brings you back.

Weissenkirchen in der Wachau is a compact riverside village built around a white fortified Gothic church, with the Teisenhoferhof, a small Wachau museum, a Danube ferry and a local train stop linking it to the rest of the valley.

Most Danube cruise passengers see Linz for a port day within a longer voyage, while Donauschifffahrt Wurm & Noé runs its own sightseeing boat trips from the Linz waterfront. Here is how the two differ, where the local boats leave from, and how to spend a shore day on foot.

The Schlögen Danube loop, or Schlögener Schlinge, is a near 180-degree river bend in Upper Austria between Schlögen and Haibach ob der Donau. You reach the classic view at the Schlögener Blick on foot, either up the Ciconia nature trail from Schlögen or by a short forest route from the Schlögenleiten car park.