missypie

Husband and Son will be in Vienna this summer for a choir festival. They will have a couple of guided group tours of the major sites. I am the family trip planner so even though I'm not going on the trip, they've asked for my help. They'll be spending a lot of time in rehearsals, so I thought I'd provide them a list of the best or coolest things to see or do or places to eat. Then, as they have time, they can pull something from the list.

So...what is your favorite thing about Vienna? (It can be a palace, a church, a museum, a shop, a cafe, a bakery....)

yk

I'm leaving for Vienna tomorrow. I guess you can check out my trip report when I get back.

Based on my previous (short) trip to Vienna, I just love strolling down the pedestrian streets in the city center and people-watch. My favorite spot in Vienna is the Bruegel room in the Kuntshistoriches Museum.

But my favorites may change after next week.

traveller1959

- Kunsthistorisches Museum.
- Naturhistorisches Museum.
- Stephansdom.
- Secession.
- Haus der Musik.
- Graben.

JulieVikmanis

Love the Naschmarkt, outdoor market. It has interesting apartment buildings in Art Nouveau style along the sides and you have to pass the Secession Building to get there.

Also think the Belvedere is the most beautiful palace anywhere and the art within is some of the best including several Klimts, especially the Judith and the Kiss.

Have them eat at the Nordsee fast food places throughout the city, especially the one on the Kartnerstrasse--herring sandwiches are wonderful.

annhig

hi missypie,

your thread caught my eye as we are off to Vienna in just under two months.

I'm patting myself on the back - so far, the things mentioned are the ones I've got on my list already, but I'm always interested in hearing about more.

yk - PLEEEASE get going on that TR asa you get back - and have a great trip.

regards, ann

elcon

I loved the Albertina Museaum and the Royal Crypt. I must say though, that my very favorite thing is the Sacher Torte!

whoknew

I preferred the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Naturhistoriches Museum, but my ex-boyfriend really liked the suits of armor and weaponry on display at Schonbrunn. (This was in 2004.)

I also loved the Naschmarkt.

Sacher Tort was good, but I loved the apple strudel also.

We also enjoyed Stephensdom and took the tour underneath the church.
They have an English language tour and a German tour and we took the German tour having missed the English and since our group was very small he did the tour in both English and German.
We also paid the fee to take the lift to the top and had fantastic views of the city.
We went during the Christmas market, which was completely wonderful but this of course wouldn't have any bearing on your trip.

I also enjoy just riding the tram and people watching and hopping on and off with the transportation pass (good for both subway and metro)if I saw something interesting.

I didn't have any bad meals in Vienna, although my ex didn't like the food.

adrienne

The cafes with wonderful pastries and coffee with schlag. Also the giant ferris wheel in the Prater.

lanejohann

we liked the hop on/ off bus which helped us orientate ourselves- thats the first thing we did

we stayed in the graben - a pedestrian street in pension nossek which was charming - mozart stayed here and wrote 'a coupla tunes' lol

st stephens is within easy walking of this - it is a splendid church - one of my favs (stephansdom)

we walked to the hofburg palace but didnt go in- we arent big on palaces but we saw the swiss gate and got a bit of info about princess Sisi - got quite fond of her during our stay - kinda reminded me of princess dianas situation


we liked the hundertwaserhaus - one of those crazy architectural feats - uneven floors colourful facade etc
there are some toilets there that are worth a photo
theres a nice cafe in the hundertwasser village in the lounge upstairs -kind of like a little arcade with shops
we had schnitzel and goulash soup and coffee

the waitress suggested we visit kahlenberg and we were really glad we did
we cuaght the trainU4 to heiligenstadt then a bus 38a up to kahlenberg
that little trip was the highlight of our vienna stay
we ended upgoing a couple of stops up to leopoldsburg - the views over vienna and the danube canal are stunning and it is all in a woodland setting - so so pretty

we walked back down along through the woodlands to kahlenberg- we couldnt be bothered to stand and wait for the bus to take us back

we got off at grinzig to explore this little village and then headed back into town and walked past the museum quarter along 1 burgring

we found the markets- naschmarkt and had a greatcoffee and sacher torte at segafredo cafe- great apple cake too

we happily walked all round vienna and used the trains and buses when we had to

we love vienna
but it is because, i think we didnt focus on the opera etc
my young son went on a tour that took the younguns to vienna and he found it boring because he is not into that cultural aspect yet and i have heard other young people say vienna wasnt for them, either

but walking allows you to really absorb more, i find, rather than just following a guide round every church museums and palace -my opinion only of course lol
we really liked the graben area at night
great atmosphere

we also went on the ferris wheel - the riesanrad in prater 90 - that might be fun for young people - gets you some views of vienna-open til 10pm and even midnight during may- sept

Dutch

The road to Munich.

lavandula

Demel!

http://www.demel.at/en/index_en_flash.htm

danon

another vote for:
Demel

Klimt

Kunsthistorisches Museum.

DAX

Your husband & son will enjoy having Tafelspitz at the Plachuta restaurant, an absolute "must eat" thing in Vienna. You need to book ahead for weekend dinners or during conventions. www.Plachutta.at.

We always enjoy strolling, drinking or dining along Graben in the center of Vienna, often times there are some interesting street performers to watch.

WillTravel

This is one of my favorite sights in Vienna:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlskirche

Another favorite thing is going to concerts.

Much more to say, but must go.

lavandula

Oh, and I also like the Greek Orthodox church, next to the restaurant Zum Griechenbeisl (I'm assuming it's still there - ? I haven't been to Vienna for a long time).

Lavandula

nancicita

I loved the Belvedere and Schonbrunn...
Vienna - beautiful city!!

crzn1

bookmarking

mohun

For the film buff, there is the enjoyable "The Third Man" tour of the various shooting locations throughout the city. Of course, one can always ride das Riesenrad (sp?) (the big wheel) in the Prater. We did this a couple of years ago.

Another Viennese thing is to attend an operetta, a 19th Centrury entertainment form that is rarely found anywhere else. We saw The Merry Widow at the Staatsoper in Viena and die Zircussprinsessen (The Circus Princess) in Baden, which is only a 25 minute train ride from Vienna. You don't have to speak German to enjoy the beautiful tunes and, often, comedic moments in operetta (much more fun than opera, generally).

annhig

whoknew <<I didn't have any bad meals in Vienna, although my ex didn't like the food.>> LOL - is this a clue to why he is now your ex?

Lanejohann - <<the waitress suggested we visit kahlenberg and we were really glad we did
we cuaght the trainU4 to heiligenstadt then a bus 38a up to kahlenberg
that little trip was the highlight of our vienna stay
we ended upgoing a couple of stops up to leopoldsburg - the views over vienna and the danube canal are stunning and it is all in a woodland setting - so so pretty>>

how long did the walk you describe take - the eyewitness guide to Vienna has something similar that they say takes three hours. did you find the paths easy to follow or did you have a map?


booking marking for our trip.

regards, ann

gatorbill

All very good suggestion thus far including a few new ones for me. But the sights that impressed me the most on my visit to Vienna are:
1. The Imperial Burial Vault beneath the Church of the Capuchins, the final resting place for 145 members of the Habsburg family
2. The Imperial Palace state rooms, and the treasury which holds the 1000-year-old Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire
3. Schönbrunn Palace - just outside Vienna, but it's worth spending an entire day wandering thru the Habsburg's summer palace based on Versailles. Visit the imperial coach museum, walk thru the gardens all the way up to the Gloriette.

--gatorbill