← Wachau Marathon·Day trip

Krems Museums: A Flat Monday on the Kunstmeile

Two museums on one square, a gallery café and a level stroll along the valley floor, planned around the museum that opens on a Monday.

DurationDay trip
TransitOn foot from the finish area, no transport needed
DepartsKrems an der Donau

After the Wachau Marathon: Krems Museums

The Route: Krems → Museumsplatz (Kunstmeile) → Krems Logistics: On foot. No train, bus or ticket to buy before you arrive. Marathon Month: September Duration: Day trip

Krems Stadtpark (finish) ──(short walk)──> Museumsplatz ──(short walk)──> Krems centre

The Wachau Marathon finishes in the Stadtpark in Krems on a Sunday, which makes the next day a Monday, and Monday is the day most museums in Austria shut their doors. Krems has a workaround. The Landesgalerie Niederösterreich at Museumsplatz 1 is open Tuesday to Sunday, plus holiday Mondays, from 10:00 to 17:00, so on an ordinary Monday it is closed. The Karikaturmuseum at Museumsplatz 3 lists daily opening from 10:00 to 17:00, and it stands on the same square.

September in Krems: the grape harvest starts in the valley around now, and the days are warm enough for a terrace. The September normal is a daytime high of about 20°C, a night-time low of about 10°C and roughly 45 mm of rain across the month, so a light jacket is enough. Apricot season is over, and the blossom is a spring event, so neither is on offer.

The walk

The museums sit on the Kunstmeile, a cluster of galleries laid out on the valley floor. The ground is level and paved, with no steps between the square and the museum entrances, though each building has its own staircases inside, so ask for the lift. Allow a gentle 20 to 30 minutes on foot from the town centre, and shorter from the finish area. The walking is slow on the morning after 42 kilometres, so give it more time than the map suggests.

The day

Start with the Karikaturmuseum, which is open on Monday and holds cartoons and caricature in a compact set of rooms. Check the current ticket price and whether a combined ticket with the Kunstmeile galleries is on offer at kunstmeile.at.

If it is a weekend or a holiday Monday, add the Landesgalerie Niederösterreich, which is a larger gallery with changing exhibitions. The ground-floor café Poldi Fitzka lists Sunday opening from 08:00 to 18:00, and its Monday hours need checking before you rely on a late lunch.

For a meal in the evening, 2STEIN at Campus West serves burgers and steaks and lists ordinary Sunday opening from 09:00 to 22:00. Its Monday hours should be checked as well, and a table on the evening after a big event is worth booking.

Getting home

Everything here is on foot. If your hotel is in Krems you can leave at any point and go straight back. If you are staying in another valley village, check the last bus or train before you commit to the evening.