Bernstein-Motel Marchegg
Why we like it: Simple family motel at the entrance to Marchegg, a few kilometres from Schloss Hof and the stork colony, with parking, a bike garage and dogs allowed.
From €40
View details
Duration1 night, Saturday to Sunday
From ViennaCar, about 55 min
Getting aroundBy car
Best timeApril – August
BringBinoculars for the storks
The plan
The plan, hour by hour
Designed for a Saturday and Sunday in spring or summer, by car. Saturday is the palace day; you sleep in Hainburg, beside the Danube, with dinner at the same hotel. On Sunday you start early with the Marchegg storks and return to Vienna past the castles of the floodplain forest.
Saturday
- 110:00Schloss Hof
The imperial rooms and the terraced gardens that descend towards the March, with the Neptune fountain. €24 for adults and €61.50 for the family. A good three hours.
- 213:00Lunch at the Kräutergarten
Inside the grounds, with the palace ticket. They cook with what they pick in the garden.
- 315:30Schloss Niederweiden
3 km away, the hunting lodge that Fischer von Erlach drew in 1693, among fields. Check on the Schloss Hof website whether the interior is open that day.
- 417:30Hainburg
Cross the Danube by the bridge and leave the car in the courtyard of the Goldener Anker. A walk along the bank and the wall, and dinner at the hotel restaurant, which in season serves until 20:30.
Sunday
- 18:30The Marchegg storks
From March to August, the colony of white storks nests in the oaks of the March floodplain forest, free and with open access. An hour and a half.
- 211:00Schloss Eckartsau
The imperial hunting lodge in the Danube forest; the park and its playground are free.
- 312:30Schloss Orth
The centre of the Donau-Auen National Park: the river exhibition, the viewing tower and the Schlossinsel island. €15, from 9:00 to 17:00, from 20 March to 1 November.
- 415:00Return to Vienna
About 45 minutes from Orth.
Schloss Hof can be seen in a day from Vienna, but with one night the trip gains something else: the Danube at dusk in Hainburg, the Marchegg storks first thing and the castles of the floodplain forest on the way home. Everything is less than half an hour by car from each other, in the Marchfeld, the plain east of Vienna between the Danube and the March, the border with Slovakia.
How do you get there from Vienna?
By car, about 55 minutes: the A4 towards the airport, Fischamend exit, the B9 towards Hainburg and the B49 to Schloss Hof. The palace car park is free. Without a car, bus 540 leaves the Aspern Nord metro station (U2) for Schloss Hof, and the REX 7 train from Wien Hauptbahnhof reaches Hainburg; for the rest of the plan you need a car.
Where to sleep?
| Accommodation | Area | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Zum Goldenen Anker | Hainburg, beside the Danube, 13 km | Old house with a restaurant, sauna and bathing pond |
| Bernstein-Motel Marchegg | Marchegg, 7 km | Simple and cheap, beside the storks; dogs allowed |
| Hippo-Campus | Deutsch-Haslau, 22 km | Horse farm for going with children |
And if you have one more day?
Cross to the south bank and spend the day at Carnuntum, the Roman city on the Danube, a few kilometres from Hainburg.
With children
The Schloss Hof family ticket covers two adults and up to three children. The storks and the island at Schloss Orth work very well with children, and Eckartsau has a natural playground. If you want the night to be part of the plan, sleep at the horse farm Hippo-Campus.
Map
The stops, in order
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Plan the trip
Schloss Hof and the Marchfeld, step by step
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
When to go to Schloss Hof and the Marchfeld
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Best timeGood timeLow season
Where to stay
Where to stay in Schloss Hof and the Marchfeld
Hotel Zum Goldenen Anker
Why we like it: Small hotel with a restaurant on the Danube bank in Hainburg, 13 km from Schloss Hof, with a sauna, natural bathing pond and free closed parking.
Hippo-Campus, horse farm in Deutsch-Haslau
Why we like it: Horse farm with rooms and an apartment in Deutsch-Haslau, between Carnuntum and Schloss Hof, with organic breakfast, riding lessons and horse treks.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
Where to eat in Schloss Hof and the Marchfeld
Inside the grounds, with vegetables from its own garden
Restaurant Kräutergarten
What to order: the seasonal dish with vegetables from the palace garden.
Daily during the grounds' opening hours · Only with a Schloss Hof ticket
Gasthof Prinz Eugen
What to order: a seasonal dish on the terrace with a view of the palace courtyard.
At the entrance to the grounds · Terrace for 120 people
Coffee and strudel in the arcaded courtyard
Café Arkadenhof
What to order: a strudel with coffee in the arcaded courtyard.
Inside the grounds · During palace opening hours
Tips
Worth knowing first
Local tip
Check the Goldener Anker restaurant calendar: in winter it is open only Friday to Monday and is closed for holidays from 10 to 26 November 2026 and from 7 January to 4 February 2027.
We'd skip it
Don't go from November to March counting on Schloss Orth or the storks: the castle closes in winter and the storks arrive in March.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does the getaway cost?
Admissions come to €39 per adult (Schloss Hof and Orth). To that add the hotel, which at the Bernstein-Motel starts at €40 per person without breakfast, and meals.
Can I go with a dog?
To Schloss Hof, no. The Bernstein-Motel and the Hippo-Campus farm admit dogs.
Do I need a car?
Yes, to get around between the palace, Hainburg, Marchegg and the Danube castles.
When is it best to go?
From April to August: all the castles are open and the storks are there.