Unique Vienna activities
 

Will be visiting Vienna in late September/early October and I'm looking for some unique activities aside from palaces,museums, pastries etc. Thinking of taking in a symphony or opera, and possibly a bike trip in the Wachau valley. We will have 3 days in Vienna and while I realize that's not enough time to scratch the surface we prefer to enjoy our select activities and try not to cram everything in. As always any advice is appreciated.

Would the Vienna Boys Choir or the Lipanzaner horses interest you?

Rhe borses are amazing.

A performance by the Lipizzaners - if you can get tickets - is probably the highlight of any visit to Vienna - unless you attend one of the opera or similar balls (and that is VERY expensive)

Last month, My husband and I really loved this classical musical concert in Vienna in an extraordinarily beautiful church:
Classic Exclusive / St. Anne Church
Event begin: 20:30
Admission: 30 minutes before begin time
Venue: St. Anne Church
Address: Annagasse 3b, 1010 Wien/Vienna
Number of Tickets: 2
Price / Category: 29 EUR Each

You could take a Third Man or Art Nouveau walking tour or tour the Statsoper.

http://www.viennawalks.com/indexe.php?page=detail&id=1

http://www.viennawalks.com/indexe.php?page=detail&id=6

A hike through the vineyards with a stop at a local heuriger (wine tavern) is not something most tourists do on a first trip to Vienna. If you're in Vienna the last weekend of September for the Wien Wienwandertag, there will be well-marked trails and many open heurigen at which to sample the new wines and enjoy small snacks and spectacular views.

I like the boys choir. Get tickets by emailing the church directly and they are much cheaper.

We go to the opera and believe it or not, we stand. Four euro and I could touch the people who paid 210 .

I would definitely be more interested in the opera or the symphony as opposed to an animal entertainment. (I find them cruel.)

But on beyond classical music, you might find something that catches your eye here

http://anko-no-mochi.blogspot.it/201...ky-vienna.html

And before you give up on museums, how about the Third Man Museum?

"The Third Man Museum shows historical artifacts and original effects relating to the classic movie which was directed in Vienna in 1948 by Carol Reed. Highlights include film posters, cinema programs, around 500 sound recordings and video clips, and the most valuable exhibit of all: the original zither that Anton Karas used to compose the score for the movie in London. This lovingly designed private museum just off Naschmarkt delivers an unprecedented insight into life in post-war Vienna and the cinematic history of this unique film. A fully functioning projector from 1936 is used to show short sequences from the film."

There are other choices for quirky museums here:

http://b2b.wien.info/en/press-media-...quirky-museums

If you have not seen the movie "The Third Man", I highly recommend watching it before you travel to Vienna. I am quite fascinated with the movie!

Yes, and also watch Before Sunrise.

And after watching "The Third Man" ride the ferris wheel just as they did.
We did and it made for a wonderful evening.

But, leave bread crumbs as you make your way to the park. It's easy to find the ferris
wheel given its size, but not so easy to find your way home!

And here you can buy tickets for the Lipzzaners https://www.oeticket.com

Another vote for the Prater amusement park, especially since its late hours won't impinge on fanatical museum-going during the day.

I, too, rode the ferris wheel just as they did in "The Third Man". Loved it!

This is wonderful:

http://www.palaisliechtenstein.com/

A performance at the Staatsoper is an event. I had to pay a huge markup from a ticket agency but don't regret it.

I was going to post what forufortravel said - we got a bus to the top of the Kalhenberg hill above Vienna, and then walked down through the vineyards to Heiligenstadt, where we visited the house that Beethoven used to stay at in the summer:

http://www.wienmuseum.at/de/standort...igenstadt.html

there is a Heurige just round the corner and more on the way to Grinzing.

we also went to Baden for a day trip and loved that too. It has a famous rose garden, an interesting central town, and another house with Beethoven connections:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attract...r_Austria.html

Nearby you can walk through the Vienna Woods along the Beethovenweg [a footpath he's supposed to have walked along while he was composing the 9th Symphony] and visit a tavern where they serve typical local food and wine.

i also recommend the Prater and the Winzerstube in the park. Great cheap food and atmosphere.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I will likely try to see the morning practice of the Lippizaners.I admit I;ve never heard of the movie "The Third Man" but I've put it on my Netflix list. I also love the idea of hiking outside the city and stopping at a heuriger. I will be arriving on September 29, will this be to late for the Wien Wienwandertag?

We enjoyed seeing the Lippizaners doing their Morning Exercise with Music. It is amazing how they work.

This is way more than "animal entertainment", and there's no cruelty involved. These horses are national treasures with a long history.

We also enjoyed doing a day-trip up the Danube to Melk and Krems. The abbey at Melk is really worth the time. You can get an inexpensive Bayern ticket which covers train and boat travel, and includes entrance to the abbey. You can also make a bike trip part of it.

Here we are - details of the Wienwandertag:

http://www.wailandwein.at/veranstalt...usgsteckt-is-4

trouble is, it looks as if it ends the day you arrive.

still, directions to this particular Heurige [see "Anfahrt" on the left-hand side of the screen] give details of the bus up to the Kahlenberg just as i described, so that would help if you want to do the walk anyway.