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Vienna

About Vienna
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With its Habsburg history and love of classical music and opera, Vienna established itself very early on as a sophisticated metropolis.

It has for centuries attracted travellers to walk its clean cobbled streets beneath the weight of its pretty palaces, and among the music of brilliant artists like Gustav Mahler and Mozart somehow buzzing in the ether. It is a place where coffee is revered and there are hundreds of cafés, famous or otherwise, to show for it.

Vienna stands in high regard to other European cities for its well-organised public transportation system and its usage of bikes in the city centre. Its CityBike scheme allows you to hop on a public bike and explore for a small fee, but the city is so manageable you can see it all on foot.

Take a break from classical Vienna and explore its modern art at the MUMOK and MAK museums. There are river and canal tours that give you a good lay of the land, which are best to be experienced in the spring and summer. Outdoor summer music festivals thrive here, as do open-air markets selling everything from exotic fruits to 2nd edition copies of Proust. But summer is not the only time to come, as travellers note when they happen to pass through during Christmas time. The city is teaming with jolly Christmas markets, like the Spittelberg along the old Biedermeier houses. Do not leave without trying some of Vienna’s remarkable street food, which is essentially Frankfurter, which you find nowadays influenced, like the city itself, by Slavic, Greek, and Turkish migrations.

Travel Tips

A visit to Vienna would be diminished without a tour of the Schloss Schönbrunn. The palace’s epic architecture is fascinating, as are its Habsburg history, its lavish gardens, and its zoo, one of the oldest in the world. It’s a great place to spend an afternoon, and there are many excellent cafes throughout to refuel before steaming ahead or to simply relax at.
Vienna’s rich history of opera and classical music comes to life at the Staatsoper. This 19th century Viennese music venue is worth a visit, if not to take in one of Mozarts 22-musical dramas, than to be inside this architecturally stunning building or to attend the annual Opera Ball dressed in full regalia.
Wine tasting at Wein & Wasser is great for discovering a world of Austrian wines in a charming candlelit atmosphere. The venue is quaint with vaulted brick ceilings and small intimate tables. A multilingual staff will help you select from the dozens of red, white and dessert wines on offer at this popular watering hole.
Discover Flohmarkt, one of the best and largest flea markets in Europe. Travelers come to Vienna for this market alone for its mountains of antiques and used clothes, some rare books, electronics and a fair amount of rubbish. Nearby is Naschmarkt, famous for its variety of exotic fruits and vegetables, and its lovely food stalls selling cheeses and wine.
Visit Vienna’s Museums Quartier during the day for its wealth of cultural institutions like the Austrian art collections at the Leopold Museum or the modern and contemporary art at the Mumok museum. By nightfall the area is teaming with holiday makers sipping beer and enjoying dinner at the dozens of nearby bars and eateries.