Perchtoldsdorf

Perchtoldsdorf sits where the Vienna Woods meet the plain and has been a wine town for centuries, its slopes planted and its centre built around a market square. The dominating structure is the Wehrturm, a free-standing defensive tower of the fifteenth century about sixty metres high, unusual in not being attached to the church beside it; the church itself was fortified, and in 1683 the townspeople sheltered in it during the Ottoman advance on Vienna and were killed after surrendering - an event the town's memorials do not soften. There is a market square with a plague column, a castle, and Heurigen through the streets pouring the local wine. Hugo Wolf lived here. It is close enough to Vienna to be a tram-and-walk afternoon.

What you actually see

• A free-standing defence tower - sixty metres, fifteenth century, apart from the church.
• A fortified parish church - and the memorial to what happened here in 1683.
• A market square - with plague column and the castle beside it.
• Wine taverns - Heurigen pouring from the slopes above the town.

When to go

April to October; autumn for the wine. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The tower has limited opening. It is a small town - half a day is plenty. Heurigen open by rota. Weekend evenings fill the taverns with people out from Vienna.

Nearby

Mödling and Liechtenstein castle are south; Vienna is twenty minutes away.