Opposite Dürnstein

Probably the most well know view in the Wachau Valley. Right opposite of Dürnstein, there is a small beach. From there, you get a wonderful view of the town, framed by the hill behind it. If you do long exposure photography, you will even get a nice reflection in the Danube.

If you staying in the town of Dürnstein, you can get to this spot by taking the little boat ferry that goes across every few minutes. By car is not as easy to get across, as the closes bridge is in Krems.

Also, be careful when a bigger ship passes by. The water level on the beach can go up rather quickly from the created waves.

On top of Dürnstein Castle

The view from the other side is also great. You can walk up to the Dürnstein castle ruins and have the whole town under you. It’s not an easy climb as the steps are quite steep, but it’s manageable. There are many spot along the walk that make for a good photo oportunities. These two photos are from the complete top, from a huge rock in the middle of the ruins.

Abbey Church of Dürnstein

You can also visit the Abbey Church while in Dürnstein. I’m not 100% sure if tripods are still allowed inside, as I have not been inside in a while, but last time they had no problem with them. So you can always try :)

Spitz castle ruin

The Spitz castle ruin is another great spot with a great view. It’s on a small hill above the town of Spitz. You have to walk a bit up from the parking space, but it not far. The ruin is freely accessible (as the sign says, enter at your own risk) and can be entered at any time.

You can also walk up to the tower that’s in the middle of the ruin, but the steps there are a bit more steeper.

Red gate in Spitz

On the completely opposite side of Spitz you will find the Red gate. This is also a ruin, a part of a fortification. You can get really close to it by car and there is a small parking space for few cars next to a nearby house.

The area is freely accessible, there are not fences or anything like that there.

Spitz vineyards

Right form the Red gate, you can walk into the vineyards in Spitz. You will find no fences or gates here, and you can walk all around the town through them. The vineyards make for a great foreground element when you try to take photos of the town of Spitz.

Aggstein castle ruin

Let’s continue to another castle. The Aggstein castle ruin is on another hill further down the in the valley. Again, it’s very easy accesible, as there is a road going completely up to the castle. There is also a big parking space right next to it.

The castle is not always open (there is a winter break) and you will have to pay an entrance fee. You can use a tripod inside without any issues. You can go up to both sides of the ruin and from one you get a nice view of the castle, from the other the view in the Wachau valley is just spectacular.

The rocks behind the Aggstein castle ruin

Right behind the castle, there is a huge rock formation. It looks like you can’t climb onto it, but that’s not the case. If you go along the walkway, that is in front of it, you can get around and on top of it. From there you get to view the whole castle. But be sure, there are no railing or anything, so you enter there at your own risk.

Melk Monastery

The monastery in Melk is just huge. You can go in for a tour, but you can’t take photos there. Still if you like to see a very beautiful cathedral from inside, you should visit it.

It’s not that easy to get a nice shot from the outside, as the monastery is on the hill. But my favorite spot is from the nearby bridge, where you can see the front of the monastery in a reflection.

I’m missing a photo here, as while I have been in the are few times, I either had no time to get a shot or the monastery was under reconstruction. But will add one here as soon as I have one :)