It’s that time of the year again! As days are getting longer and temperatures rise, Nature awakens from its winter sleep. Birds are singing, bees humming and there’s the sweet scent of a fresh start in the air.
The perfect time for visiting this Spring paradise at Wachau Valley is now. Around 100,000 apricot trees cover the beautiful region with a rosy-white sea of blossoms. From Vienna it’s a one hour drive which makes it a perfect destination for a day or weekend trip.
Apricots from Wachau
The Wachau region is famous for its delicious apricots. Wachau Apricots are one of the few Austrian products protected as its own brand within the EU.
Various factors such as the special climate and soil in the region, make the apricots unique in taste, aroma and composition.
With their juicy sweet flavor, you’ll find apricots often in Austrian dessert cuisine. From apricot dumplings, cake, pancakes, strudel to jam – you have to try it all.
Fresh fruits for these delicious dishes get harvested around mid of July.
Best Time for Apricot Blossom
Depending on the weather, the Apricot blossom period starts at the end of March and ends at mid of April. Once the blossoms are open they’ll last a bit less than a week. Due to the warm weather this year, the first apricot blossoms have already started to bloom now in March.
A helpful resource to determine the best time to see the apricot blossoms is the Apricot Webcam. The picture gets updated every 10 minutes.
Best Spots for Apricot Blossoms
Apricot Trail (Marillenweg)
A picturesque 4.5 kilometer walk takes you along several stations where you will learn everything about the Wachau apricot that you need to know. You will wander through apricot orchards and wine yards with a beautiful view towards the Göttweig Abbey.
Refreshment stations along the way invite you to stop for a delicious apricot drink or a glass of wine from the Wachau region.
The circular trail begins and ends at Weinhof Aufreiter at Dorfstrasse 34 in 3506 Krems-Angern.
Apricot Orchards along the South Danube Banks
We’ve found the most beautiful apricot orchards along the Southern Danube bank between Arnsdorf and Rossatzbach. In some places the trees are so packed with blossoms that they form beautiful tunnels.
Rossatzbach is definitely worth a stop anyways. From across the Danube, you’ll have an amazing view across the river towards Dürnstein.
Act Responsible! Don’t enter any fenced areas or orchards with a “no-enter” sign. Don’t pick any branches or blossoms from the trees. Better take pictures as memories, they’ll last longer.
Where to stay
We’ve spend 2 nights at the Orange Wings hotel in Krems* which is an incredible budget friendly option. Two years ago we visited during Apricot blossom for the first time and looked last-minute for a hotel in Krems. This was the only one still available at a reasonable price. If you stay there, please do yourself a favor and get your breakfast at Cafe Bruckner, a bakery across the street. Best pastries I’ve ever had!
*This page contains affiliate links. If you make your booking through these links, there is no extra cost for you but in this way you can support my blog. I may receive a small commission that will help to cover part of my expenses incurred by running this blog.
Ich war vor zwei Jahren das letzte Mal bei der Marillenblüte und will unbedingt dieses Jahr wieder hin! Echt super schöne Fotos Kathi ☺️💕
Lustig, wir waren auch vor zwei Jahren das letzte Mal. Damals waren wir ein bisschen zu spät dran, deswegen hat es mich umso mehr gefreut, dass es diese Jahr so gut geklappt hat. Wir würden gerne wieder im Sommer oder Herbst in die Wachau fahren, zu den Jahreszeiten muss es sicher auch total schön sein.