Vienna -- must see
 

My husband and I are traveling to Vienna in May and due to flight changes we have about 2 1/2 days to see this great city. What are the "must-sees" not to be missed attractions? What do people recommend about how much time one needs to see these attractions? Your recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

I think must sees in Vienna depend on what you like.<BR>I will list what I saw and liked:<BR>1. Die Volksoper<BR>2. Sch&ouml;nbrunn Palace<BR>3. The Hofburg<BR>4. The Kunsthistoriches Museum (art)<BR>5. Several of the churches<BR>6. The House of Music<BR>7. Just looking around the city in the vicinity of the Graben. <BR>Some people like the Belevedere. It is a lovely building, but today it is an art museum. The Military Museum is fascinating if you like that kind of history lesson; I don't. <BR>Others think seeing the Lipizzaner horses is a real treat. I thought it was interesting, but it is not a rodeo like affair with wild riding and calf roping!! It is very sedate, virtually in slow motion. <BR><BR>Even though I was a little disappointed in the House of Music, I still liked what I saw. I just thought more could have been done with it to make it a top 3 attraction.<BR><BR>I have attended 4 performances at Die Volksoper. Getting tickes over the web is easy via email. The tickets were waiting for me when I arrived.<BR>The prices are good and the performances good also. The hall itself is fairly small, so you can hear well from just about any seat in the house. But I like light operas and the Volksoper did not disappoint, even if the dialog was in German I could barely understand most all of the time.

Bob has given good information. I would add going to the Vienna Woods and having new wine at the cafes, getting into the atmosphere by having coffee and torte at Demel's, riding the large Ferris Wheel, seeing the horses at practice rather than at a performance.

Good evening, Lora All the preceeding suggestions are musts, you<BR>probably will not have time but the<BR>Abbey at Melk is worth a half day visit<BR>out of Wein, also the Heuriger in im Grinzing. Can enjoy a light dinner and is totally reachable by street car...<BR>Richard of LaGrange Park, Il...Recall<BR>a wonderful small coffee haus which<BR>was formerly a bakery for umteem years<BR>behind the Rathaus near Josephstandter<BR>Strasse, can not recall its name???

Lora,<BR>I hope you can stay at a hotel within the "Ring" (old city.) That way you'll be close to the Graben (pedestrain street) and many of the attractions including the Hoffburg and my favorite, St Stephen's Cathedral. Do go to the top of the cathedral tower if you can, for a great view of the city.<BR><BR>Within the Ring, you can also walk to the Capuchin church vaults, walk to the Hoffburg for a tour, see the Spanish Riding School there if you like, and enjoy many wonderful cafes and restaurants, and soak up the atmosphere of the city.<BR><BR>The only other "must" in my opinion, is a visit to Schonbrunnen Palace, an amazing summer palace with beautiful grounds, on the outskirts of the city. You can take a subway from right in front of the Cathedral, change at Karlsplatz, and be there in 20 minutes or so. Take an afternoon for this -- it's great.<BR><BR>I'm not sure if I'd take the time for a day trip away with only 2 1/2 days.

Oh, and the Kunsthistoriches Museum, too. It's in the Hoffburg complex. I like it better than Belvedere.

A couple of my favorites:<BR><BR>The Kunst Haus Wien and HundertwasserHaus for funky architecture. You'll see these places on postcards all around town, go see them in person!<BR><BR>If you like a little exercise, take a bike tour up into the vineyards outside of town. We took one and stopped at a vineyard, had a snack and drank new wine, met the owner and got a tour. The bike ride was along the river for a ways, and in good weather it is wonderful for people watching! A true highlight of our trip!