Must sees during a short trip to Vienna
 

My husband and I will be stopping in Vienna for three nights (2 1/2) days in September, and we were looking for advice on sights we shouldn't miss during this short visit. We're also interested in any other money saving advice you may have.<BR><BR>Thanks!

Walk around in the evening in the inner ring of the city. The combination of the setting and the pedestrian traffic, in my opinion, is remarkable, especially if an outdoor concert can be overheard (as I experienced).

The "Not to be missed list" is a function of your interests. For example, a performance at Die Volksoper or the Staatsoper was a "must see".<BR>For someone else, it could well be a <BR>"must flee".<BR>Another example, the Kunsthistorische Museum (art museum) was a "must see."<BR>Again, for some people, it means nothing.<BR>I think most people would agree that Sch&ouml;nbrunn Palace is a must see.<BR>It is easy to free lance; take the Ubahn to the closest stop and walk to the palace. Rent an audioguide and take the 40 room tour. There are plenty of people around to help out in many languages. In fact, I get the idea that many Austrians are proud of their linguistic skills. There was one guide in the palace who could handle Hungarian and English with equal skills.<BR>I could not judge the quality of her Hungarian, but it was smooth. Her English was good. (She wore a badge telling us which languages she spoke: German, English, Italian, and Hungarian.)<BR>And there is the old imperial palace known as the Hofburg. It offers several attractions ticketed separately.<BR><BR>

1. St Stephens<BR>2. Ride around the "ring"<BR>3. Residenz apartment tour<BR>4. Kunthistoriche Museum<BR>5. Local Mozart or Strauss concert<BR>6. Upper and Lower Belvedere<BR><BR><BR>US

See if you can find a copy of the Hachette guide A Great Week-End in Vienna. The Hachette "great week-end" guides are ideal for people who only have a few days to spend in a place.

xxx -- do they have those in English? In the US? I never checked Amazon or anything like that, but I've never seen them in the stores. I LOVE those guides!

Chris, yes they do (both questions). I just checked on the Amazon.com web site. The Vienna guide (which I have and find very helpful) is listed at $9.95 and in stock. Search books under A Great Week-end in Vienna. The great week-end series covers 12 big European cities, from Amsterdam to Venice and also New York.