Vienna - long weekend
Discussion
Art galleries are impressive in Vienna , so is the Schonberg palace (600 rooms) and gardens.
Just wandering around the city is great , hopping on and off trams with passes etc.
Museums and large public buildings like the town all are all in one area.
It's worth going to some of the historic areas - jewish district etc. for architecture alone.
Belvedere gallery for the Klimt paintings - gets very busy so go early.
I'd not bother with hotel Sacher - famous for Sacher torte - overated and over priced. Not even that friendly.
this place fits the bill food wise - https://www.weisser-rauchfangkehrer.at/en/ typical regional food. Interesting story to the name as well.
Hotel Imperial is also good for proper Schnitzel - and it's not expensive for lunch.
Boat trips through the city - meh - spoilt by the graffiti EVERYWHERE so i wouldn't bother.
However -
Vienna itself is quite small - so you could consider a trip to Budapest for the day - only about 2 hrs by train and £25 return. About 75 mins if you hire a car.
Have you got a hotel booked? If not, I'd recommend Aparthotel Adagio. It's a great location, everywhere is walkable, and you get a suite type arrangement with a mini kitchenette. Really good value!
I suspect it's worth booking Opera House if that's your bag. Otherwise, most things should be OK on the day.
Worth a visit to Prater amusement park for a ride on the Ferris Wheel (v easy tram ride or long walk from centre).
We had a long weekend there this time last year and loved it. We did have Sacher torte but at the Cafe Central - lovely. Spent most of the time wandering around the centre. The Rinderwahn Am Markt was well flagged in the guidebooks - not worth the walk tbh. But there's loads in the centre....treasury building, opera house, St Stephens church, etc, etc.
I suspect it's worth booking Opera House if that's your bag. Otherwise, most things should be OK on the day.
Worth a visit to Prater amusement park for a ride on the Ferris Wheel (v easy tram ride or long walk from centre).
We had a long weekend there this time last year and loved it. We did have Sacher torte but at the Cafe Central - lovely. Spent most of the time wandering around the centre. The Rinderwahn Am Markt was well flagged in the guidebooks - not worth the walk tbh. But there's loads in the centre....treasury building, opera house, St Stephens church, etc, etc.
Bit late on the reply, but thought I could be of help.
I live in Vienna so should have some amazing tips, but in reality the main tips are the same as what you'll read in any guide book.
Schönbrunn Palace is a must - you have to get a coffee in the Gloriette house at the top of the hill behind the palace.. stunning place. The zoo next door is not bad either!
I would also recommend getting out of the main inner city in general. If you like old buildings and museums, then sure, its great, but its also just street after street of the same (admittedly, very impressive same!)
If the weather is good, then hop on a tram to Grinzing (tram 38) and take a walk into the vineyards, which are on the hills overlooking Vienna. There a loads of Heurigers, which are essentially little wine taverns, where big groups of Viennese sit on picnic benches placed basically between the vines, drinking wine and eating chilled meats. The atmosphere can be fantastic if you find a good spot. The views can also be amazing.
Another nice spot, which is a bit out of the way, is the Türkenschanzpark - its a big park in the middle of Vienna's fanciest district, with some lovely walks between lakes and big pine trees, surrounded by mansions on every side. In my opinion, well worth taking an hour to have a wander around well out of the tourist areas.
If you want a bit of esoteric WW2 history, then get a tram out to the Augarten, which is a lovely park in its own right, but at one side has a gigantic WW2 Flak tower plonked on one side. In my opinion well worth a visit just for the sheer randomness of it.
If you type "1070" into Google Maps, it'll highlight the 7th District, which is quite a hip area to walk around. Lots of little boutique stores and cafes etc, also quite off the main tourist trail.
Finally, a really strange thing about Vienna, is that you can be in an area full of bars and cafes at 8pm on a Saturday night and it will be totally dead. And I mean really really dead.
If you come here expecting cheap thrills, and an abundance of nightlife like you might find in Budapest or Prague, then you'll be disappointed, but if you're wanting something a little bit more lowkey, where the atmosphere is inside, rather than on the streets, then you should be ok.
The inner city is basically just a big museum, mainly geared for tourists without much in the way of real people going about their everyday lives (although you'll find some great restaurants there), but go a few steps outside of the main ring, and in my opinion thats where the best parts of the city are.
I live in Vienna so should have some amazing tips, but in reality the main tips are the same as what you'll read in any guide book.
Schönbrunn Palace is a must - you have to get a coffee in the Gloriette house at the top of the hill behind the palace.. stunning place. The zoo next door is not bad either!
I would also recommend getting out of the main inner city in general. If you like old buildings and museums, then sure, its great, but its also just street after street of the same (admittedly, very impressive same!)
If the weather is good, then hop on a tram to Grinzing (tram 38) and take a walk into the vineyards, which are on the hills overlooking Vienna. There a loads of Heurigers, which are essentially little wine taverns, where big groups of Viennese sit on picnic benches placed basically between the vines, drinking wine and eating chilled meats. The atmosphere can be fantastic if you find a good spot. The views can also be amazing.
Another nice spot, which is a bit out of the way, is the Türkenschanzpark - its a big park in the middle of Vienna's fanciest district, with some lovely walks between lakes and big pine trees, surrounded by mansions on every side. In my opinion, well worth taking an hour to have a wander around well out of the tourist areas.
If you want a bit of esoteric WW2 history, then get a tram out to the Augarten, which is a lovely park in its own right, but at one side has a gigantic WW2 Flak tower plonked on one side. In my opinion well worth a visit just for the sheer randomness of it.
If you type "1070" into Google Maps, it'll highlight the 7th District, which is quite a hip area to walk around. Lots of little boutique stores and cafes etc, also quite off the main tourist trail.
Finally, a really strange thing about Vienna, is that you can be in an area full of bars and cafes at 8pm on a Saturday night and it will be totally dead. And I mean really really dead.
If you come here expecting cheap thrills, and an abundance of nightlife like you might find in Budapest or Prague, then you'll be disappointed, but if you're wanting something a little bit more lowkey, where the atmosphere is inside, rather than on the streets, then you should be ok.
The inner city is basically just a big museum, mainly geared for tourists without much in the way of real people going about their everyday lives (although you'll find some great restaurants there), but go a few steps outside of the main ring, and in my opinion thats where the best parts of the city are.
Edited by Shay HTFC on Monday 25th March 16:49
I went for Christmas last year, 4 days is about right albeit I’d go to Bratislava instead of Budapest if you want a day trip out. You can take a Soviet era hydrofoil between the 2 cities in less than an hour and is an experience all by itself. Budapest warrants its own trip whereas Bratislava does not.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCsRiWJwtjs
Our Christmas dinner was at the hotel sacher. Very old school, admittedly decent if not memorable. Doubt I’d be in that queue for a coffee and overrated cake though.
Our best meal was, whisper it, vegetarian. Tian is a Michelin starred place with a sister bistro, we ate at the latter. Everything comes as a very generous sharing menu and it was excellent. I normally view the obligatory veggie choice of any holiday as something I have to endure as the resident meat eater. Not so in this case. Beers and wines were also top notch.
https://www.tian-bistro.com/
If staying central, Loo’s American bar would be my choice for post dinner drinks. Tiny though and they don’t tend to be kind to insta seeking tourists. Stay for several drinks and a chat and they warm up enormously.
ETA: as already mentioned, the Klimt / schiele collections at the Leopold are a must do. We also enjoyed the furniture museum as we are odd. Sisi herself reminds me too much of a crazy Russian ex so didn’t enjoy that one so much!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCsRiWJwtjs
Our Christmas dinner was at the hotel sacher. Very old school, admittedly decent if not memorable. Doubt I’d be in that queue for a coffee and overrated cake though.
Our best meal was, whisper it, vegetarian. Tian is a Michelin starred place with a sister bistro, we ate at the latter. Everything comes as a very generous sharing menu and it was excellent. I normally view the obligatory veggie choice of any holiday as something I have to endure as the resident meat eater. Not so in this case. Beers and wines were also top notch.
https://www.tian-bistro.com/
If staying central, Loo’s American bar would be my choice for post dinner drinks. Tiny though and they don’t tend to be kind to insta seeking tourists. Stay for several drinks and a chat and they warm up enormously.
ETA: as already mentioned, the Klimt / schiele collections at the Leopold are a must do. We also enjoyed the furniture museum as we are odd. Sisi herself reminds me too much of a crazy Russian ex so didn’t enjoy that one so much!
Edited by shirt on Monday 25th March 17:15
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