Vienna

[justin220]

Me and the girlfriend and thinking about going away for a city break for 4-5 nights early December, to do some Christmas shopping, see some sights, and would like a Christmas Market etc..

Has anyone been to Vienna at Christmas time? Or in fact, been to Vienna anyways?

Where is best to stay? Any must do or see things?

I was looking at the Sofitel just beside the river. We'd like to be close to the action, bit of nightlife, shops and nice restaurants.

Any hints or tips about anything really would be ideal. I have tried the search, but as usual its not working.

Thanks in advance

[shirt]

schonbrunn is decent, has a good zoo as well.

st stephen's cathedral is probably the only interesting cathedral i've been to. well worth going up on the roof and they also do a tour of the catacombs where you will see some of the 10,000+ plague pit bodies and the royal crypts.

we had a few beers at the top of the tv tower which had a cracking view from the danube over the city to the mountains beyond. if it is clear then definitely do this. the prater amusement park is close by with the famous ferris wheel [the one from the opening of the living daylights]

we wanted to do the storn drain tour but didn't have time

http://www.drittemanntour.at/en/the_tour

had some cracking cakes in the various coffee houses. vienna was only lightly damaged in ww2 so you can take your pick of cafes where mozart frequented, hitler, stalin, etc etc.

you can also get to bratislava in an hour by hydroplane on the danube, which is well worth a daytrip.

nightlife is good and varied - from old school classy bars [whisky & cigars, live music] to all night blind drunkenness.

Edited by shirt on Thursday 5th July 11:39

[beanbag]

justin220 said:

Me and the girlfriend and thinking about going away for a city break for 4-5 nights early December, to do some Christmas shopping, see some sights, and would like a Christmas Market etc..

Has anyone been to Vienna at Christmas time? Or in fact, been to Vienna anyways?

Where is best to stay? Any must do or see things?

I was looking at the Sofitel just beside the river. We'd like to be close to the action, bit of nightlife, shops and nice restaurants.

Any hints or tips about anything really would be ideal. I have tried the search, but as usual its not working.

Thanks in advance

Hi Justin,

I lived there for six years so I know it very well. I also intend to return soon as well as the city is amazing as is Austria.

Vienna at Christmas is superb with a lot of atmosphere, but to get the best of it, you need to move away from the big tourist traps!

The Sofitel is very nice but there is no direct transport outside of the hotel. You will need to walk over the river to get to Schwedenplatz but from there, you have a lot to see.

At Christmas, I would recommend the following:

- Stephansplatz and the cathedral. Go inside! It's stunning.
- A walk down Graben is pretty impressive. Lots of gluhwein places down there.
- Resselpark has a nice Christmas market too. Not too big and with some great food. Just keep in mind all food served in these places costs a lot more than average. St. Charles church is also impressive you can take a lift to the top to check out the view.
- I also highly recommend the Spittelberg Christmas market (naschmarkt). More locals there and a better atmosphere but it's definitely worth visiting the Rathaus (City hall) Christmas market just to see it.

Food/bar wise I can recommend 100's of places so it depends on what you like to eat and the kind of atmosphere you're after. PM me and I can recommend a few places.

Either way, you won't be disappointed. Vienna is my favourite city and I can't wait to return.

[justin220]

Thank you both for your quick answers. Much appreciated.

If the Sofitel is a bit off the beaten track, which hotel/area would you recommend? We're mid 20's so ideally with nightlife to suit. Few nice bars. GF loves her tea and I'm a coffee drinker so little cafes will be nice.

I'll maybe PM you once we get something booked, I don't want to waste your time incase we dont end up going

[Roger645]

justin220 said:

Thank you both for your quick answers. Much appreciated.

If the Sofitel is a bit off the beaten track, which hotel/area would you recommend? We're mid 20's so ideally with nightlife to suit. Few nice bars. GF loves her tea and I'm a coffee drinker so little cafes will be nice.

I'll maybe PM you once we get something booked, I don't want to waste your time incase we dont end up going

Do a search on "the bermuda tiangle" in Vienna, that used to be the best place for night-life when I worked there.

[beanbag]

Roger645 said:

Do a search on "the bermuda tiangle" in Vienna, that used to be the best place for night-life when I worked there.

Urgghh....full of 16 year old kids throwing up in every street corner. It's actually very close to the Sofitel but I wouldn't recommend going there unless your idea of fun is hanging out with 16-18 year old kids, f***ed out of their heads.

There are much better bars and clubs to go to...

[justin220]

Ha! I'll have a look, but sounds like its not what we're after

Not so much nightclubs, just some trendy bars with some atmosphere!

[beanbag]

justin220 said:

Thank you both for your quick answers. Much appreciated.

If the Sofitel is a bit off the beaten track, which hotel/area would you recommend? We're mid 20's so ideally with nightlife to suit. Few nice bars. GF loves her tea and I'm a coffee drinker so little cafes will be nice.

I'll maybe PM you once we get something booked, I don't want to waste your time incase we dont end up going

The Sofitel is very nice and you get some good bargains there. I also wouldn't really call it off the beaten track but if you look at Google maps, you have to cross the bridge to get to the nearest Ubahn:

http://goo.gl/maps/1Ydc

In winter, that can be very uncomfortable as it can (not always), be bitterly cold around then. The coldest time is in Feb/March but that's another story altogether!

If you can get a good deal, I would recommend the Hilton Landstrasse. (Don't take the Hilton next to the Danube. Miles away from anything!). The Landstrasse Hilton has great connections and is very central. For a little less, you can stay at the Mercure Landstrasse which is a short walk away from the Hilton but closer to the Ubahn. Plus there's also the Marriott on the ring. Great hotel.

Having said all that, the Sofitel is a very nice hotel and you also have "Le Loft" on top which is a great bar / restaurant, albeit a little pricey.

Whatever you choose, just make sure it's close to an underground stop. The best two lines to choose are the U1 and U3. From those two, you can get to most places without switching.

[justin220]

Thanks, I'll have a look into the Hilton now.

All much appreciated!

[Fas1975]

Spent a lot of time in Vienna working the Telekom Austria. Stayed at the Sofitel, but as said, it's a little off the main drags, but it's only a 10 minute walk to the centre from there

My favourite bar was the sky bar

http://www.skybar.at/

Better quality crowd, nice chill vibe and decent food in the restaurant area too.

[justin220]

Well we've finally got round to booking.. 4 nights in December for both of our birthdays

Any other advice would be much appreciated.. We're thinking about going to see an orchestra/concert, worth going to?

I like my coffee and cake so any little recommendations for that would be super.

Will try the sky bar aswell.

Where is the best place to spend an afternoon shopping? Christmas presents, clothes etc.

Will it be cold, or damn freezing?

[beanbag]

justin220 said:

Well we've finally got round to booking.. 4 nights in December for both of our birthdays

Any other advice would be much appreciated.. We're thinking about going to see an orchestra/concert, worth going to?

There are loads of concerts going on daily. If you want a big one, check online now as they sell out fast. I've not really gone much myself but you can always walk outside the Opera building (Oper), and you'll be mobbed by ticket sales people dressed as Mozart. They are the official sellers and generally good value.

justin220 said:

I like my coffee and cake so any little recommendations for that would be super.

Hotel Sacher all the way if you want the traditional Viennese chocolate cake. Otherwise there are loads of coffee houses everywhere selling good coffee and cake. A good inexpensive one is Aida. You can find one near Stephansplatz. You'll recognise it as the outside is pink.

justin220 said:

Where is the best place to spend an afternoon shopping? Christmas presents, clothes etc.

Kärtnerstrasse is the absolute centre of Vienna but not the best shopping street. They've recently built a Peek & Cloppenburg department store which gives good choice but that's about it unless you're after Gucci, Louis Vuitton or the like. For more choice you want Mariahilferstrasse. Just take the Ubahn (U3), to Neubaugasse. You can pick this up from the Ubahn at Stephansplatz.

justin220 said:

Will it be cold, or damn freezing?

Hit and miss I'm afraid. The seriously cold months come in February / March but it is bloody cold still in December. Also a good chance of snow. Whatever the case, wrap up nice and warm and take a hat. The wind literally bites your ears off...

btw...what hotel did you choose in the end?

[justin220]

Superb! Thanks again for your help

We ended up booking the Sofitel I'm afraid, the rooms and the bar sold it to me. Maybe not the perfect location but we don't mind walking about, at least we'll see a bit..

[StevieBee]

Connected in Vienna on way back from Belarus late last year and had a choice of a 50 min or 6 hour stopover option. Took the latter and got the CAT into the City Centre for a look round. Arrived in the centre at 6.00am and spent the most wonderful morning just strolling round what is a wonderful city watching it come to life.

Was one of those special moments that stay with you.

Planning to taking the OH there later this year so a welcome thread for me this!

[beanbag]

StevieBee said:

Connected in Vienna on way back from Belarus late last year and had a choice of a 50 min or 6 hour stopover option. Took the latter and got the CAT into the City Centre for a look round. Arrived in the centre at 6.00am and spent the most wonderful morning just strolling round what is a wonderful city watching it come to life.

Was one of those special moments that stay with you.

Planning to taking the OH there later this year so a welcome thread for me this!

I can't wait to move back there one day. 6 years simply wasn't enough.....

[justin220]

Well only two weeks until we head over! Getting excited!

We were thinking about a day trip to Bratislava? Is it worth seeing?

Whats the best way to get from the airport to hotel? Should we prebook a taxi?

Any other advice would be appreciated

[LeftMuffin]

Sorry read it as venice not Vienna

Edited by LeftMuffin on Wednesday 14th November 22:47

[beanbag]

justin220 said:

Well only two weeks until we head over! Getting excited!

We were thinking about a day trip to Bratislava? Is it worth seeing?

Whats the best way to get from the airport to hotel? Should we prebook a taxi?

Any other advice would be appreciated

Don't worry about pre-booking a Taxi. It's €32 each way, fixed. You save a little if you pre-book but it's not really worth the hassle. If you want to pre-book however, use this company:

http://www.airportdriver.at/index.php/en/?lang=en

They're very good and it's the same one I used for years without problem.

I wouldn't really bother with Bratislava. Only the centre is nice but as with most other Eastern European ex-Soviet block countries, it's a bit of a dump. There is the odd nice think but nothing much to bang on about.

If you want a day trip, I highly recommend heading up past Krems to Dürnstein:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCrnstein

You get to try out all the different varieties of schnapps plus I'm sure there will be Christmas markets as it'll be December.

Also talking of Christmas, the outdoor ice-skating rink will be open next to the Intercontinental. If it is, I highly recommend it with your missus. Skating around with a cup of hot gluwein is rather nice. (Especially if you're lucky and it starts snowing).

And back to Christmas markets, visit the Rathausplatz (City Hall), one for it's absolute amazing lights and market. Just keep in mind this is aimed at tourists and is very very expensive.

The locals tend to go to the Spittelberg Weihnachtmarkt. This is much more fun and not as cheesy as the main Rathausplatz market.

http://www.spittelberg.at/index.php?de_wm_weihnach...

Enjoy!

[JuniorD]

Instead of going for a day trip to Bratislava (which you can do by boat) why not get the train to Salzburg? The trains are frequent and great value. It's just over 2.5 hours away on the quick train. Salzburg is a beautiful little city, I love Vienna, having spent much of my youth there, but Salzburg is particularly lovely.

[justin220]

beanbag, thanks again for your help. All very much appreciated.

I'll look into Salzburg and Dürnstein