Gerstner is huge, I agree, and I never said they were less than a chain. Their cafe doesn't charge for tap water, and a cafe melange and torte is served with the appropriate amount of Viennese pretentiousness. It won't be long before the tourists ruin the setting, I am sure. Landtmann also sells its building facade to advertising during the Christmas market season. So not the uptight reserved, pretentious Viennese way.

Trachten is entirely a personal preference. I have to wear it for certain social obligations, though I am nowhere close to Austrian. To be honest, I find many of the cloths and cuts to be attractive. Not everyone does, and that is that.

Thanks for all the comments.

nytraveler: I have not really decided what I want to see in Salzburg? I thought 1 night might be OK, but not sure.

It's these photos that drew me to Hietzing:

http://www.pbase.com/bauer/art_nouveau_hietzing_vienna

Or can you find buildings like that everywhere?

What is the difference between the English and German tours other than the language and number of people?

Sounds like I should add an additional night for Melk. I will be in Prague from Sep 26-Oct 2 (leaving Oct 3)... I think that's ok?

Is the Burgtheater closed for tours in October? I can only find info for June-September?

Trachten is entirely a personal preference. I have to wear it for certain social obligations, though I am nowhere close to Austrian. To be honest, I find many of the cloths and cuts to be attractive. Not everyone does, and that is that.>>

me too, Four4. There was a shop near our hotel in Bamberg that was selling them and I was very tempted but I wasn't sure how it would look on the beach at Perranporth! I used to have [in fact I probably do still have] a lovely boiled work jacket that I used to wear to work in the winter when we lived near London but it would just be too warm for down here [even if I could still get into it].

I'm not up on the merits of the various viennese cafes, though we did discover that we liked a "melange" the best. We also had the chance to sample the wares of Gerstner at the opera and were pretty impressed.

that should be a "boiled wool" jacket, obviously.

hudertwasser house is not far from the Belvedere by tram . you cannot enter the apartment building but you can see it from the exterior and there are a few shops in the same style that you can go into across from the apartment building.. not so much for the shopping which is pretty touristy but to get an idea of the architecture.

if you are arriving in Vienna on a long overseas flight keeping it light on your first day is just fine

Schonbrunn.. you can take the U-bann(subway) its a short ride . if you go early you can spend a few hours and then have time to do something else. the tours inside the palace are with an audio guide.

the size of the opera house tours may depend on the time of day, and the number of tourists.
if you don't know German take the tour in a language you understand.. you will get more out of it imo.

There are many many museums in Vienna.. take a look at some guide books and see what appeals the most and also check out the current exhibits.

There are audio tours that you can download for free and take yourself on a walking tour. You can also ride a tram around the Ringstrasse.

maxima - I'm arriving from Prague actually, but it will likely be around 11-12 in the morning

I've revised and added some stuff to the itinerary as suggested.. also added an extra day for Melk

I'm a little worried I crammed too much in some days, such the 4th and the 6th... does it seem that way?

Oct 3 - arrival

st stephen's cathedral
winter palace of prince eugene
tour around the ring?
explore streets, such as
blutgasse
backestrasse
sonnefelsgasse
schonlaternagasse
neuer markt
Fleischmarkt
Franziskanerplatz

Oct 4

hofburg complex ( imperial apartments + sisi miseum) - Morning
volksgartn
burgtheater (3 pm tour)
austrian national library
bankgasse
naglergasse
rathaus
parliament

Oct 5

karlskirshce
Majolikahaus von Otto Wagner
wagner pavillions
kunsthisotirsches mueseum OR Leopold museum
spittelberg
sankt ulricsh platz

Oct 6

albertina
molker bastei
freyung
votivkirche
servitengasse
lichtenstein garden palace 3-4
lichtenstein city palace 5-6

Oct 9
Belvedere
Kahlenberg

Oct 10
Naschmarkt - morning?
schonbrunn palace - not sure if a whole day is required
Hietzing - walk or maybe go see a concert in the evening?

Oct 11
kunst haus wien
hudertwasser house
vienna opera (tour)
Prater

oct 12
Trip to Melk

ivant, you will do well to map out each day so that you are not backtracking.

This in only my personal opinion of a ring tour (October 3). The Ring Tram tour, at a whopping €8, is not worth it. It slogs along for 30 minutes with commentary and video; if tour buses aren't blocking your views, you may get to see something. If you have the time for a 3km DIY walk, you'll have a much better experience. http://www.tourmycountry.com/austria/ringstrasse.htm or http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/ringstrasse2015

On October 4 Burgtheater and Rathaus are across the ring from one another, and Parliament is adjacent to Rathaus.

On October 5, both the KHM and Leopold will be closed, as will most museums in Vienna.

On October 6, seeing the Molker Bastei will take approximately 2 minutes; it is a small stretch of the original wall, and that's it. Set your expectations accordingly.

Naschmarkt is chaotic on Saturday mornings (October 10), as both the market and the weekly flea market are open. Plan ahead (bring cash, as the cash station may not be working, and be ready for shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. If the flea market isn't your thing, move your visit to Naschmarkt for a week day. Depending on how much of Schönbrun you want to see, your visit can last from a couple of hours to the entire day.

On October 11 it seems you go back and forth, as well, from Hundertwasser to Opera to Prater.)

I hope this is helpful.

While you have a fine list of places to look for in Vienna, we were just there last week and would suggest a few other things:

Peterkirche (as you walk the ring road)
Jesuitkirche (in behind St. Stephen's, a couple of blocks)


The Historiches museum is incredible, particularly the Egyptian/Roman section, and the "kammer" section (a jewel box of treasures beautifully presented. The art galleries are outstanding.

And Melk is simply wonderful!

West47, Peterskirche is not along the Ringstraße; perhaps you are thinking of Karlskirche, a little off the Ring near Opera? Peterskirche is deep in the Inner Stadt.

And yes, the Kunstkammer at the Art History Museum is a fabulous collection!

Thanks, fourfortravel for getting me back on track. It was the Peterskirch deep in the Inner Stadt.

The Kunsthistoriches Museum is very fine, but if you are more of an "I love impressionists" kind of art person then you could skip it. The only Vermeer in Vienna is there, along with a truly impressive collection of Brueghels and Rubens.

The Upper Belvedere had about 2 dozen Klimts, so if you're a fan, or actively curious about Klimt, that's a great spot.

I walked all over Heitzing - the houses were pretty amazing. But that was a frill, rather than an essential part of the Vienna city experience. If you want to get out of town briefly jump on the 38 and walk around Grinzing and stop in one of the Heuriges for a glass of wine or Sturm. Wine is not great, it's just a good ride out there and Grinzing in super cute.

spcfa, I'll wager that you have not been to Grinzing recently? Road and construction and building renovation have made a noisy mess of the village center; the already limited parking is further reduced; a California-based chain restaurant serving fusion cuisine has just opened; and the Vienna sightseeing buses reduced what charm was left when they started clogging the remaining narrow streets to drop tourists at the heurigers. It's a shame, really.

that's a shame, four four. what about the other places where there are nice Heurige like Heiligenstadt?

perhaps it would be worth getting the train to Gumpolskirchen and having an evening there - there must be upwards of a dozen Huerige to choose from.

annhig, Heuriger Zimmerman near the Heiligenstadter Pfarrkirche is surrounded by massive construction; parking is nonexistent. Mayer am Pfarrplatz and Pfarrwirt are both without surrounding construction; though, further up the street is a little bit of construction to plague the heuriger there. The area is dreadful right now.

four for - I'm very sorry to read that - we had such a good time there. from what you say, Mayer might still be OK though - and I'm pretty certain we walked there from the top of the Kahlenberg, having first seen the Beethoven summer house.