This was the final stop of our Austria drive before we hit Vienna for our flight home. I made sure…read moreour travels included a stop at the abbey since it was a large UNESCO site, high above the Danube River and had some impressive rooms inside.
The signage throughout the city of Melk was plenty and clearly directed us to the parking lot above the abbey. Remember to take your parking ticket for free validation at the ticket office.
It was around a 10 minute walk from the parking lot to the main ticketing desk. Don't go to the garden ticket booth unless you have a ticket or only want to pay for the garden visit.
Admission included access to the church (amazing detail), museum, library (open but under renovation), gardens (with a must see interior of the Pavilion main hall), bastion (panoramic views above Melk and Danube) and the Marble Room (beautiful ceiling paintings). We joined the English guided tour for 4 Euros per person (Skippable IMO) and ended in the library as the guides were not allowed into the final stop, the church.
From the guided tour one of the most important highlight was the famous Melk Cross, with a splinter of the true cross, had been stolen twice and fought over (Vienna and Melk) but now was no longer on display due to its condition.
Since this was an active abbey photos were not allowed once inside by policy. Sometime the docents would stop you but other times not (ie. adult chaperones overseeing a school field trip).
Guided tour took almost one hour but by the time we wrapped up our visit a storm moved in. We missed taking photos from the city of Melk to show just how large this complex was.
If you're visiting Vienna then take a side trip out here. It will be worth it.
