Melk sits on the Danube roughly halfway between Vienna and Linz, and the abbey stands on the rock above the town. You can arrive by train, by boat, by car or by bike. Most Melk Abbey group tours meet by the Vienna State Opera instead.
Regular trains run to Melk from Vienna and St. Pölten. Trains also come in from the west, from the direction of Amstetten. Journey times and fares change with the timetable, so check them on ÖBB before you travel.
A train ticket to Melk covers Melk. If you also want Dürnstein or Krems on the same day, a tour or a car links the valley towns more easily than a timetable.
You walk from Melk railway station through the town centre and up to the abbey gate. Tickets are sold in the first courtyard, just inside. Aiming for an English guided tour? From May to September they start at 10:55, 13:55 and 14:55, so leave the station 20 minutes before.
Regional buses stop in the town, a few minutes' walk from the abbey. Routes and times are on the VOR timetable, the transport network for eastern Austria. A bus suits you if you are staying nearby; from Vienna the train is simpler.
Local river boats and cabin cruise ships dock at the pier on the Danube, below the town. The walk up to the abbey takes about 30 minutes.
Tours with a boat leg each handle it differently. The Wachau coach days sail only in their summer season. The private Danube Valley tour with the abbey visit sails from Spitz to Melk. Another private day leaves the boat out of the fare.
The abbey car park takes cars and coaches, and it sits close to the A1 motorway. Parking is free when you buy an admission ticket. Take your parking ticket to the ticket office in the first courtyard and have it validated as you pay.
If you only drop someone off, you can drive out free within 15 minutes of taking a ticket. For an evening concert, validate the ticket at the machine by the concert hall before it starts. Disabled parking bays and a lift to the entrance level are on Melk Abbey accessibility.
Melk lies directly on the Danube Cycle Path, and the abbey is a few minutes' ride from it. You can leave your bike at the bike parking by the abbey. From there you walk in through the gate to the ticket office in the first courtyard.
The shared days leave from the Opera kerbs in the first district. A 9:00 coach leaves on the minute, so aim to arrive early.
| Tour | Where you meet | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wachau day with 2 hours 30 minutes in Melk | Operngasse 8, next to the Vienna State Opera | 8:00, back about 18:00 |
| Danube Valley coach day with 90 minutes at the abbey | Opera Fountain in front of the State Opera, Operngasse 8 | 9:00; be there 10–15 minutes early |
| Wachau coach day with a 75-minute abbey tour and a summer boat | Operngasse 8, by the State Opera | On your booking; ends at Biogena Plaza |
| Hallstatt coach with a photo stop at the abbey | State Opera hop-on hop-off stop, Opernring 2 | On your booking; staff in yellow uniforms |
| Small-group day to Melk, Hallstatt and Salzburg | Your hotel | On your booking |
Compare the days that leave from the State Opera with the ones that collect you from your hotel, and check which fares include the abbey ticket.
A private day starts where you are. These are the pickup times each private tour sets.
Hotel pickup at 7:30: the private car to Melk, Hallstatt and Salzburg. You spend an hour at the abbey before the long drive west.
Hotel pickup at 8:30: the private day with a private abbey tour. It includes the river cruise from Spitz to Melk.
Hotel pickup at 9:30: the private castles and wine day, with an hour at Melk at the end of it.
A time you choose: the private Danube Valley day starts at your hotel at any time from 9:00 to 18:00.
Vienna at 8:00 or 9:00: the private Wachau days that leave at a set time give you two hours at Melk. Your booking confirms where you are collected.
Days that go on to Hallstatt stop at Melk on the way west, so your time there comes early. Wachau days often reach it later, after Dürnstein. Private days compared side by side are on Melk Abbey private tours.
The lowest shared fare, with two hours in Krems, ninety minutes in Dürnstein and two and a half hours in Melk, where you buy the abbey ticket yourself and pick your own pace.
From $79 per person
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A 9:00 coach from the State Opera to Dürnstein, a short Danube cruise from April to October and 90 minutes at the abbey, with admission and a guided tour on the option that includes them.
From $142 per person
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Krems, Dürnstein, an hour free in Melk and a 75-minute guided abbey visit, which is in the fare on winter dates and on the all-inclusive option in summer, when a Danube boat joins the day.
From $136 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: plan the visit itself on visiting Melk Abbey, check the season on Melk Abbey weather, or compare every fare on Melk Abbey Tours.