Vienna, Austria
UNESCO world heritage site. (Old town).
* All the writing and photos below are my own work, except for the links.
Vienna (Wien) is nestled on the Danube river, the capital of Austria just exudes culture, history and regal beauty. This city is synonymous with music, often called the music capital of the world, as Austrian-born Mozart lived here, as did Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert.
Vienna music rehearsals of classical music are regularly performed in the open air, free to the public. You can also hear good quality buskers and although most concerts are booked up months ahead of time, they do offer on the day walk-ins and viewing of rehearsals, so everyone that visits Vienna can get to hear world class music somewhere in this city fairly easily. When we were there unfortunately the Opera House was closed for three days as we did want to have a look in there and try for an on the day walk in.
It is a very safe and clean city, easy to get around and great value public transport. We took a train from the airport on OBB to Vienna Mitte (Central station next to the Hilton Park) for just 7.80 Euros for two people, taking 20 mins. There is a faster more expensive train called CAT, but the OBB was direct and comfortable for us and only a few minutes longer duration than the CAT.
Vienna is a very Green city, with Spring a great time to visit. We went in April and one day was 24c the next 15c. There are several picturesque parks and palaces to stroll through, theatres, opera, and museums galore (Over 100 museums). Some small museums and all the churches we visited were free to enter.
Admire the Stunning Baroque architecture, whilst sipping a coffee in one of the numerous high-quality cafes. Cafes are a way of life here and locals are usually well dressed when they frequent these very classy establishments. We did try the Sacher torte and a strudel at the famous Cafe Sacher, which was enjoyable. Vienna was not expensive for us Brits, prices for food and drink were the same or cheaper than in the UK and public transport much cheaper. It is certainly much cheaper than Scandinavia or Switzerland. It is an easy city to walk around the city's main attractions, we didn't need any public transport or taxis to get around the city.
The main income of the city is from electrical machinery, transportation equipment, tourism and electrical products.
Vienna (Wien) is nestled on the Danube river, the capital of Austria just exudes culture, history and regal beauty. This city is synonymous with music, often called the music capital of the world, as Austrian-born Mozart lived here, as did Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert.
Vienna music rehearsals of classical music are regularly performed in the open air, free to the public. You can also hear good quality buskers and although most concerts are booked up months ahead of time, they do offer on the day walk-ins and viewing of rehearsals, so everyone that visits Vienna can get to hear world class music somewhere in this city fairly easily. When we were there unfortunately the Opera House was closed for three days as we did want to have a look in there and try for an on the day walk in.
It is a very safe and clean city, easy to get around and great value public transport. We took a train from the airport on OBB to Vienna Mitte (Central station next to the Hilton Park) for just 7.80 Euros for two people, taking 20 mins. There is a faster more expensive train called CAT, but the OBB was direct and comfortable for us and only a few minutes longer duration than the CAT.
Vienna is a very Green city, with Spring a great time to visit. We went in April and one day was 24c the next 15c. There are several picturesque parks and palaces to stroll through, theatres, opera, and museums galore (Over 100 museums). Some small museums and all the churches we visited were free to enter.
Admire the Stunning Baroque architecture, whilst sipping a coffee in one of the numerous high-quality cafes. Cafes are a way of life here and locals are usually well dressed when they frequent these very classy establishments. We did try the Sacher torte and a strudel at the famous Cafe Sacher, which was enjoyable. Vienna was not expensive for us Brits, prices for food and drink were the same or cheaper than in the UK and public transport much cheaper. It is certainly much cheaper than Scandinavia or Switzerland. It is an easy city to walk around the city's main attractions, we didn't need any public transport or taxis to get around the city.
The main income of the city is from electrical machinery, transportation equipment, tourism and electrical products.
Where to stay
We stayed at the Hilton Park Hotel. I highly recommend this hotel as it is right next to the Vienna Mitte (Central station), overlooks the Stadtpark and is walking distance to all the main attractions, view from my room below.
The main areas to stay include Inners Satart, Neubau, Wieden, Leopoldstadt, Museum Quarter, Landstrasse. Avoid the areas around the Ottakring U-Bahn station, Gurtel Street and parts of Simmeringer Haide.
Popular accommodation options are:
Hotel Kaiserhof
Boutique Hotel am Stephenplatz
Harmonie
Amouris
Boutique Hotel Das Tyrol
Hotel Rathaus
Hilton Park
Hilton Plaza
Adina apartment Hotel
Hotel Spiess & Spiess
Hotel Imperial
Hotel Sans Souci
The Guesthouse Vienna
Hollman Bestage Design
Apartaments Ferchergasse
Fleger Apartments
Popular accommodation options are:
Hotel Kaiserhof
Boutique Hotel am Stephenplatz
Harmonie
Amouris
Boutique Hotel Das Tyrol
Hotel Rathaus
Hilton Park
Hilton Plaza
Adina apartment Hotel
Hotel Spiess & Spiess
Hotel Imperial
Hotel Sans Souci
The Guesthouse Vienna
Hollman Bestage Design
Apartaments Ferchergasse
Fleger Apartments
Places to visit in Vienna
Minoritenkirche (For mosaic of the last supper made in 1850. Most of these attractions are within walking distance of each other, although public transport is reasonably priced for the ones that are a bit further away.
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Places to visit from Vienna
Weather in Vienna
There are all four seasons in Vienna. Winter can be cold with temperatures around 0c or lower in January. Spring is a nice time to visit 10-20c, summer can get into the high 20's or 30's. June can be the wettest weather. Autumn is also a good time to visit with temperatures 10-21c
Food Viennese food is more than just schnitzel, strudel and chocolate Mozart balls (Mozartkugeln), although all these are delicious and widely available. Another popular treat is the sacher torte, photo below taken in Cafe Sacher. A boiled beef dish called Tafelspitz is also popular and was Kaiser Franz Josef's favourite meal.
Vienna's favourite drink is wine and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was, not being very familiar with it. Vienna is also well known for its famous Heuriger, a tavern where locals serve their wine and it's in the 19th district called Grinzing. There is a Saturday flea market opposite the famous Naschmarkt's fruit market. Lots of lovely baklava and Turkish delight available at Naschmarkt market too. Above Sachertorte and strudel from Cafe Sacher
Schnitzel ^
Mozart Balls ^
And finally late at night if you want the poshest hotdogs I have ever seen, served with a glass of Champagne you must try the Bitzinger Wurstelstand opposite the Vienna Opera House. Only in Vienna!
Popular restaurants Dasanabol-cafe
Cafe Sacher (We liked this, but there is a queue!) Sixta-Austrian Om Namo-Indian Joyce- Austrian Opus- Austrian (Michelin) Pizzeria and gelateria Marini Pisqu- Japanese Kuchelmasterei- French/Italian Mini- International Steak Point Rosnowsky- German/Austrian Bangkok- Thai Good Morning Vietnam- Asian Emile- French Hao Noodle- Chinese Kulinerium 7- Seafood Wiener Grill House - Austrian Vegan Loving Hut Ciao Amici - Italian Toranj - Mediterranean Marcos Fresh Greek Da Moritz Huth - Italian. (We liked it here.) Oberlaa Cafe (We liked this.) |
Almost every district in Vienna has an open air swimming pool and there are plenty of lakes for a swim too in the summer.
For more information. Beautiful Vienna. |
We really loved Vienna, so many beautiful buildings and so much to do that we wish we had gone there for longer!
Everyone we met were extremely welcoming and hospitable and we were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed this city. |