Bratislava on the Danube east of Vienna is the Slovak capital in a one-hour train ride, the old-town Beisl cooking Bryndzove halusky and the Modra wineries north of the city pouring Slovak Gruener Veltliner.
Tip: Modra and Pezinok in the Small Carpathians north of Bratislava run serious cellar tours; rent a car for the wine-village circuit.
Salzburg, 2 hours 25 minutes west of Vienna by Railjet, runs the Augustiner Braeustubl beer garden and a long Konditorei tradition, the Salzburger Nockerl the canonical local sweet.
Tip: Pair the Augustiner Braeustubl with a Konditorei Fuerst Mozartkugel stop; both rooms take walk-ins without a booking.
Gumpoldskirchen south of Vienna sits on the Thermenregion's main Heuriger row, the small-town wine taverns and Zierfandler white wine a 35-minute S-Bahn day-trip from the city.
Tip: The Heuriger row runs along the main street; pick the tavern with the bushy spruce branch outside (a Buschen, indicating new wine).
Klosterneuburg's Augustinian abbey north of Vienna runs the country's largest monastic wine cellar, the abbey-side restaurants and Heuriger taverns a 20-minute S-Bahn ride from Heiligenstadt.
Tip: The Sankt Leopold feast in mid-November (15 Nov) is when the abbey opens its largest cask; book the lunch table six weeks ahead.
Baden bei Wien south of Vienna is the Habsburg-era spa town reached by the city's longest tram, the Hauptplatz Konditoreien and the casino restaurant the canonical day-trip dining destinations.
Tip: Pair the Roemertherme thermal bath with a Hauptplatz coffee-and-cake stop; the spa town runs a long tradition of Sunday roast lunch.