kpiepen

Hello our family (mum/dad/two teens) has just settled in to our apartment for our Christmas week in Vienna. We don't have a lot of tourist visiting planned as are midway through a longer trip and see this week as a chance to have family time and enjoy a big Christmas city. We have bought a small Christmas tree and are making homemade decorations.

Having said that, we would like to see a few things. Today we grocery shopped then walked around the Resselpark market and the Naschtmarkt to suss out where to buy food for Christmas cooking and to get some lunch at the food stalls. Last night we wandered around a bit on Kamntner strasse. We are located right near the Opera - great location but things are quite expensive around here.

My husband got a last minute ticket to the Opera tonight and I will take the kids over to the Rathaus Christmas market. We may be able to get Symphony tickets tomorrow night or choose to take a chance on cancellation tickets for adults for the Othello opera. And I have booked tickets for my daughter and I to go to the Spanish riding school performance Sunday morning.

Are there other concerts/cultural events that people would know about and could recommend this week that teens might enjoy? I have an armload of brochures from the Tourist office and am a bit overwhelmed.

Also, do you think the kids would enjoy a tour of the Hofburg palace? We are finding it very cold so I am thinking this could be a better option than Schonburg? Any other must sees?
We have just been to Florence and done a lot of museums and churches so I would have to
limit those a bit in order to sell them to my kids.

Thanks for all your help. Thanks to those who gave advice about our apartment. I had a last minute availability come through at this location and we decided to take it.

annhig

definitely the Hofburg - they tell the story of the Empress Sissi in a very engaging way, and the hot chocolate in the cafe afterwards should go down well too.

There is a zoo at the Schoenbrunn but as you say it might be very cold out there this time of year.

joannyc

Are the Vienna Choir Boys singing at Sunday mass at the Palace Chapel?

joannyc

Yes, the are. I just checked their schedule.

http://www.wienersaengerknaben.at/en/dates/austria

joannyc

Sorry, the = they

kpiepen

thanks! we are booked for the Riding school at that time so can't do the boys choir. Looking around for a Christmas eve or day celebration that we could attend. There is one at a church nearby but it is predominantly an organ concert - not our first choice!

travelanywhere

http://www.wien.info/en/music-stage-...stmas-concerts

Here is a listing of concerts.

joannyc

I saw the boys choir at Mass then immediately following went to see the show at the Riding School. It worked out for me, I'm happy to say!

Have fun!

Michael

For a different cultural experience, the Hundertwasser Museum.

http://www.kunsthauswien.com/en

Aramis

Try the schnitzel - Thank you, thank you, you're there all week.

Pa-dum-pum.

kpiepen

Annhig thanks we did make it to Hofburg today. We enjoyed the visit and the Imperial apartments but unfortunately It was extremely crowded. Empress Sissi's hair routines make my teenagers hours in the bathroom pale in comparison!

We did take a break in the cafe and I had a really good apfel strudel and my daughter had her best "outside of France" croissant. Tonight I am taking my son to the symphony if we can get last min. tickets at the box office.

Little bit of snow here but not enough to stick.

annhig

kpeipen - glad you enjoyed the Hofburg - told you the cafe was good!

if you have a sunny day, you might like to think about getting the bus to the top of the Kahlenberg for the views over Vienna, and a visit to a Heurige [a wine tavern] in Doebling or Grinzing might be nice.

adventureproject

If you like the music scene but fancy something alternative, the Marionnetten Theater is quite unique for puppet opera, our kids loved it. And the Haus der Musik is excellent also. I think both are open over Christmas. Been to both with the kids and highly recommended. Some reviews on our site if you're interested I can post some links later.

kpiepen

Thanks we may try the Haus der Musik tomorrow evening as it is open late and just around the corner!
Is the Mozart House worth taking teens to see? They have seen a marionette show and are not clamouring for more right now...

My son loved his outing to the MusikVerein this evening. It was in the beautiful big hall, Bach and Schubert choral concertos. What a wonderful evening.

Joannyc we have standing room tix for the Spanish riding school tomorrow so have to be there early - won't be able to swing both. Michael my son might well check out the current exhibit at the kuntshauswien as he is a keen photographer.

Have to fit in some last minute Christmas shopping and of course buy all the food. We thought of eating dinner out but it is quite exorbitant and my kids really want to eat at home. Looking forward to shopping for Christmas food at the Naschtmarkt.

ansh_jain_97

How about Prater- a ride on the Riesenrad- the ferris wheel; it offers good views of Vienna.

annhig

ansh - good idea but so far as I can tell most of it's closed between October and March -

http://www.praterservice.at/en

it looks as if the wheel and the area around it may be open though - but it would be a good idea to check with the TI before going.