Can anyone help us decide whether to attend an excursion offered by our riverboat cruise company to attend a Kursalon evening in Vienna? Dinner and music. I have read a few reviews on the web which are not encouraging, but I also don't want to miss something decent. We also have a few days in Vienna on our own before boarding for a Danube cruise, and will attend a concert at Musikverein, do a lot of walking, go to Naschmarkt, etc. Thanks.

You really do not need to book these type of activities in advance. There are tons of options in Vienna for those wanting a Mozart concert/dinner or just a concert. The players usually dress in 17th century clothing (sort of) for the tourist trade.

When I was in Vienna during the summer of 2007, there were people (in 17th century clothing) all over Vienna selling these concerts and competing with one another to do so. It got to be so funny I took some photos of people doing this.

We did not go to the conert at the Kursalon, but did attend a similar one at the Opera House (mostly to get in the building during the summer when nothing else was on because regular subscribers were on vacation elsewhere).

All these concerts are fun even if "touristy" (that lovely word frequently bashed on fodors). Just know when you go that it will not be the Vienna Philharmonic. We thoroughly enjoyed the one we chose, but, having done one, one was enough.

The Kursalon is a favorite attraction for tourists in Vienna but it is a fun outing. As already stated though, you don't have to pay your tour company's price. You can do a google search for Kursalon Vienna and find many places that have info on concerts.

Here is the Kursalon's website:

www.soundofvienna.at/sound/9.0.html?&L=2

You can easily book online.

The Kursalon is a historic building in the park. They play "greatest hits" of Johann Strauss and Mozart. In a musical sence, very light fare.

The Musikverein has two faces. One face is serious classical music, some of it played by the world's greatest orchestras. The other face is the Wiener Mozart Orchestra which plays light tunes for tourists (greatest hits of Mozart and Strauss).

www.musikverein.at

I would do only one of these concerts because they are pretty similar. The Musikverein has more Mozart, the Kursalon more Strauss.

A third option would be Schönbrunner Schlosskonzerte. They play - guess what? - Mozart and Strauss.

http://www.oeticket.com/portal/en/cu...konzerte/288/?

I did just the concert last December, not the dinner and I thought it was great. The building as just so beautiful and of course all the Christmas lights made it look magical.
I was very pleased with the quality of the orchestra.

Which of these venues look the best, the Schonbrunn Orangery?

Or the Musikverien?

I don't suppose even these touristy lightweight orchestras will permit photo/video or sound recording?

The Musikverein is one of the premier and most beautiful concert halls of the world.It is home to the Vienna Philharmonic and the world known New Years Concert. It was built specifically as a concert hall with superb acoustics.
The Schonbrunn Orangery is a former large Hothouse for winter storage of plants.
I hope that this answers the above question.
Photos not permitted at most any good venue. Those attending to listen to music do not really like having constant flash bulbs in their eyes.