Vienna Itinerary Help
Jul 17th, 2006, 11:17 AM
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Vienna Itinerary Help
My wife and I are seasoned travellers headed to Budapest, Vienna & Prague for two weeks at the end of September. I am having a hard time finalizing my Vienna trip and would like some suggestions. Here is the planned itinerary:
Day 1 (Wednesday)-
Arrive Vienna around noon, check into hotel and explore Spiettelberg area & Mariahilfer street for shopping at Mandarina Duck and some Trześniewski for sustenance. Opera House at 2pm for tour. Cafe Sacher afterwards with a stroll down Kartnerstrasse. Explore the Blutgasse District. Visit Figarohaus. Head back towards St. Stephan's area and shop Neues Haas-Haas, Kohlmarkt and Graben streets.
Day 2-Thursday
Catch early train to Melk and explore town and Abbey. Continue on boat to Durnstein and walk the town. Continue on boat to Krems and walk the town. Return via train to Vienna and head over to Kunsthistorisches Museum (open until 9pm). Is this too much for one day? We aren't really museum people so our focus will be on the major exhibits of both the abbey and museum.
Day 3-Friday
Explore Am Hof & Freyung areas with stops at the Doll & Toy, as well as the Clock museum. Detour for Cafe Central. Head to Hoher Markt at noon for the figurines. Shop the Rotenturmstrasse. Figlmueller for schnitzel. Vienna Boys Choir concert at 4pm at Musikverein followed by Marriage of Figaro at Volksoper at 7pm.
Day 4-Saturday
Naschmarkt early followed by a trip to Schonbrunn for half a day with the Hapsburg Palace in town (imperial apartments, library, jewels) in the afternoon. In the evening, head out to a heuriger-maybe Weinbau Zawodsky?
Day 5-Sunday
Depart in the AM.
We love to eat and shop, but I want to make sure we are hitting all of the "must do's". I know a lot of shops are closed on Saturday so we are doing two palaces (Schonbrunn and Hapsburg) in one day. Any suggestions on sights I am missing or ways to reorganize this itinerary. Do I need to cancel the Danube cruise and focus on the city center? Thanks for your help.
Day 1 (Wednesday)-
Arrive Vienna around noon, check into hotel and explore Spiettelberg area & Mariahilfer street for shopping at Mandarina Duck and some Trześniewski for sustenance. Opera House at 2pm for tour. Cafe Sacher afterwards with a stroll down Kartnerstrasse. Explore the Blutgasse District. Visit Figarohaus. Head back towards St. Stephan's area and shop Neues Haas-Haas, Kohlmarkt and Graben streets.
Day 2-Thursday
Catch early train to Melk and explore town and Abbey. Continue on boat to Durnstein and walk the town. Continue on boat to Krems and walk the town. Return via train to Vienna and head over to Kunsthistorisches Museum (open until 9pm). Is this too much for one day? We aren't really museum people so our focus will be on the major exhibits of both the abbey and museum.
Day 3-Friday
Explore Am Hof & Freyung areas with stops at the Doll & Toy, as well as the Clock museum. Detour for Cafe Central. Head to Hoher Markt at noon for the figurines. Shop the Rotenturmstrasse. Figlmueller for schnitzel. Vienna Boys Choir concert at 4pm at Musikverein followed by Marriage of Figaro at Volksoper at 7pm.
Day 4-Saturday
Naschmarkt early followed by a trip to Schonbrunn for half a day with the Hapsburg Palace in town (imperial apartments, library, jewels) in the afternoon. In the evening, head out to a heuriger-maybe Weinbau Zawodsky?
Day 5-Sunday
Depart in the AM.
We love to eat and shop, but I want to make sure we are hitting all of the "must do's". I know a lot of shops are closed on Saturday so we are doing two palaces (Schonbrunn and Hapsburg) in one day. Any suggestions on sights I am missing or ways to reorganize this itinerary. Do I need to cancel the Danube cruise and focus on the city center? Thanks for your help.
Jul 17th, 2006, 11:26 AM
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You definitely have most of the major sights on your itinerary, but overall your itinerary is way too structured for my taste. I personally find it much more enjoyable to have a loose itinerary and take my time exploring, allowing time to stop at cafes, explore sights of interest, and basically enjoy the city. You have plenty of days to explore Vienna so I don't think that you should have to rush.
Day 2 looks rather hectic. The Wachau will probably take most of the day, especially considering how slow the boat moves! But you will want to have time to enjoy some of the towns. If you are interested, I would highly suggest renting bikes and biking from Spitz to Krems. It will allow you time to visit some of the other towns along the way, all equally nice in their own right.
Tracy
Day 2 looks rather hectic. The Wachau will probably take most of the day, especially considering how slow the boat moves! But you will want to have time to enjoy some of the towns. If you are interested, I would highly suggest renting bikes and biking from Spitz to Krems. It will allow you time to visit some of the other towns along the way, all equally nice in their own right.
Tracy
Jul 17th, 2006, 05:10 PM
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A suggestion for Day 2. If you get off the boat at Durnstein, don't get back on another boat for the short distance to Krems. Take the train out of Durnstein. You will have to change trains in Krems.
Jul 18th, 2006, 05:26 PM
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Will we be disappointed with the Imperial Apartments in the Hapsburg after visiting Schonbrunn in the morning? Can anybody give me a general idea of the length of time it takes to see the highlights and/or tour the Opera House? Schonbrunn? Imperial Apartments? Treasury? Figarohaus? Melk Abbey? Clock Museum?
I know this is very subjective, but suggestions are appreciated (especially if an official tour is recommended). Thanks.
I know this is very subjective, but suggestions are appreciated (especially if an official tour is recommended). Thanks.
Jul 18th, 2006, 05:45 PM
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Yes, I think you might, I know your itinerary has left me exhausted reading half-way through it!
First suggestion-drop the Cafe Sacher-you'll see what I mean when you look at it-it's not an inviting place at all-nothing but tourists, running in and out, spilling out onto the Kaerntner Strasse. I'd head for Cafe Central instead (far less touristy, and very interesting gothic arches-a place where the intellectuals hung out at the turn of the century).
Another place I think you would really like - a few hundred yards up from the Cafe Sacher on Kaertner Streass is the exquisitely designed, and very famous "Loos American Bar" designed in 1908 by the turn of the century Viennese architect Adolph Loos. The drinks are great here, and you can admire all the dark marble, black onyx burled wood paneling and mirrors, to make it look larger-it's really a treat-but you must look carefully for it-it's on the left hand side, as you make your way up to Stephansdom. Truly worth it. This is where a lot of the hip young Viennese crowd go at night.
And I don't believe you have the Belvedere Palace, a few minute tram ride from the Opernring-that's an absolute must-you will not have seen Vienna if you don't go there-their collection of Gustav Klimt and other turn of the century impressionist paintings is exquisite, as is the palace and Versailles-like gardens itself.
Also, you should try to stop off and have lunch or dinner in the beautiful Palmenhaus, built as a glass conservatory in 1904-I loved this place and the ambience at night, and they have really excellent food (it's hard to get a bad meal in Vienna, though). Check it out on Fodors.com destination guide for Vienna.
First suggestion-drop the Cafe Sacher-you'll see what I mean when you look at it-it's not an inviting place at all-nothing but tourists, running in and out, spilling out onto the Kaerntner Strasse. I'd head for Cafe Central instead (far less touristy, and very interesting gothic arches-a place where the intellectuals hung out at the turn of the century).
Another place I think you would really like - a few hundred yards up from the Cafe Sacher on Kaertner Streass is the exquisitely designed, and very famous "Loos American Bar" designed in 1908 by the turn of the century Viennese architect Adolph Loos. The drinks are great here, and you can admire all the dark marble, black onyx burled wood paneling and mirrors, to make it look larger-it's really a treat-but you must look carefully for it-it's on the left hand side, as you make your way up to Stephansdom. Truly worth it. This is where a lot of the hip young Viennese crowd go at night.
And I don't believe you have the Belvedere Palace, a few minute tram ride from the Opernring-that's an absolute must-you will not have seen Vienna if you don't go there-their collection of Gustav Klimt and other turn of the century impressionist paintings is exquisite, as is the palace and Versailles-like gardens itself.
Also, you should try to stop off and have lunch or dinner in the beautiful Palmenhaus, built as a glass conservatory in 1904-I loved this place and the ambience at night, and they have really excellent food (it's hard to get a bad meal in Vienna, though). Check it out on Fodors.com destination guide for Vienna.
Jul 18th, 2006, 06:12 PM
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Whew! I just got back and didn't do half of what you are planning in Vienna!
Anyway, you can do an inside tour at the Schonbrunn Palace that takes about an hour, though it does not include seeing the gardens. It uses those audio phones which describe things as you walk through.
Also, the cafe at the Sacher did look busy and crowded, but we had lunch at the Sacher Hotel and really liked it. The hotel is gorgeous.
Just my opinion, but I really think you are trying to fit in too much. You are going to be racing around from place to place. But, since you say you are seasoned travellers, I trust you know how you want to do this. Personally, I try to choose one major thing for morning and another for afternoon, and if I manage to fit in more than that, great.
Anyway, you can do an inside tour at the Schonbrunn Palace that takes about an hour, though it does not include seeing the gardens. It uses those audio phones which describe things as you walk through.
Also, the cafe at the Sacher did look busy and crowded, but we had lunch at the Sacher Hotel and really liked it. The hotel is gorgeous.
Just my opinion, but I really think you are trying to fit in too much. You are going to be racing around from place to place. But, since you say you are seasoned travellers, I trust you know how you want to do this. Personally, I try to choose one major thing for morning and another for afternoon, and if I manage to fit in more than that, great.
Jul 19th, 2006, 12:41 AM
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No detour to Demel Konditorei for pastry and coffee?
Cafe Sacher IMHO is over-rated and the place looks like a tourist trap. While the rooms are gorgeous, the exterior of the hotel is nothing much to shout about.
Try Restaurant Placutta for its signature beef dish.
Cafe Sacher IMHO is over-rated and the place looks like a tourist trap. While the rooms are gorgeous, the exterior of the hotel is nothing much to shout about.
Try Restaurant Placutta for its signature beef dish.
Jul 19th, 2006, 05:23 AM
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It is Plachutta at Wollzeille 38.
They also have other restaurants in Vienna
see
www.plachutta.at
for more info
They also have other restaurants in Vienna
see
www.plachutta.at
for more info
Jul 19th, 2006, 09:43 AM
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I have heard a lot of rave reviews about Plachutta and their Tafelspitz. Right now, our reservations for dinner are: Wednesday night at Julius Mein am Graben, Thursday at the Palmenhaus Cafe, Friday at Kim Kocht (after Figaro at the Volksoper) and Saturday at the Weinbau Zawodsky (heuriger). We are planning on eating breakfast at the hotel (I heard the Altstadt has a nice breakfast) and lunch, as always, will be on the run with wursts and schnitzel and of course frequent stops at the cafes.
Any other suggestions on length of time for tours of our destinations in question?
Any other suggestions on length of time for tours of our destinations in question?
Jul 19th, 2006, 10:08 AM
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We too enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Hotel Sacher. The room was gorgeous and the meal very good. Perhaps it was because we were there in March, but there didn't appear to be a lot of tourists. Just a lot of ladies lunching together.
I also highly recommend the Cafe Central. We stumbled across this place quite by accident and were very happy we did so. Its such a neat building, and the cafe is very cozy and inviting. I had a apfelstruedel to go with my coffee that was divine.
We spent several hours in the Melk Abbey. We took a tour that lasted about an hour and then we strolled around by ourselves for awhile.
Tracy
I also highly recommend the Cafe Central. We stumbled across this place quite by accident and were very happy we did so. Its such a neat building, and the cafe is very cozy and inviting. I had a apfelstruedel to go with my coffee that was divine.
We spent several hours in the Melk Abbey. We took a tour that lasted about an hour and then we strolled around by ourselves for awhile.
Tracy
