Hi folks. My friend and I will be in Vienna for 3 or 4 days in September and want to make the most of it. I hear the tourism industry there is very "slick" and if you are not careful, you'll see only the Mozarty stuff the toursim outfits are pushing. We want to get more into the heart and soul of Vienna -- can anyone suggest the "must see" items to include during our few days there?

I'm not sure what will be playing when you're there, but we were there in March a year ago and saw quite a few wonderful performances. We went to the State Opera House and bought same-day tickets, we also saw the Vienna Symphony at Musikverein-where they have the famous New Years Eve concert and we saw an opera at Volksoper. There will be lots of people in costume trying to sell you tickets to "special" performances, but we had great luck going to the venues and buying tickets. We did buy our opera tickets before leaving home through Edwards and Edwards Global Tickets. <BR>Vienna also has some fine museums including the Kunsthistoriches and Belvedere Palace(great selection of "secessionist" art). Also don't miss Schonbrunn Palace. <BR>For nightlife the area called the "Bermuda Triangle" is filled with restaurants and bars. <BR>Vienna is a very easy city to navigate. You can walk lots of places and the public transportation system is quite good.

I disagree with your assertion that the tourist industry will push nothing but Mozart on you in Vienna. [No one gave me a free Mozart ball.] True, Vienna is a music center, and one of the cities in which Mozart composed. But, there are many other composers associated with Vienna. Franz Joseph Hayden is the first I can think of, Beethoven is second, Brahms third, and Mahler fourth. And then there is a gentleman named Strauss who also wrote music in Vienna. Although Bruckner is closely associated with Linz, he also lived and composed in Vienna. <BR> <BR>I think if you want to see Vienna you must go to some of the "Heurigen" and the coffee houses. And of course you need to get some of the flavor that Vienna for years was the capital city of a very imperial monarchy and a most dominant European power. That can be done at the Hofburg and at Schönbrunn palace. <BR>I think also that you must get a sense of the impact of the Ottoman threat that shaped the monarchy at critical times in histor. Perhaps some of that can be gained by visiting the military museum. <BR>I suggest acquiring several guide books on the subject of Vienna, including the Rough Guide book. <BR>I don't know how you are about art, but the Kunsthistorisches Museum has some famous works by Titian and Rubens, among others. <BR> <BR>As far as music is concerned, I will be there in September also. I will go to every concert I can find. Alread, I have 3 performances at Die Volksoper lined up: Die Fledermaus by Strauss, <BR>Die Lustige Witwe by Franz Lehar, and <BR>La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. <BR> <BR>No Mozart there!!

I had not read the other posting next to mine before I finalized mine. <BR>I do not know what kind of commission the Edwards and Edwards outfit charges, but I got my tickets directly through Die Volksoper box office via email after reading the Spielplan on the web. Unfortunately, right now the box office staff is on holiday. <BR>The top ticket price to performances at Die Volksoper (not Die Staatsoper) <BR>are 900 AS, which at the current rate of exchange is about $57.00. <BR>Of course we don't what the rate will be in September.

I booked tickets for the Vienna boys choir performance and the Spanish riding xschool of horses. I did enjoy the performances. Must book tickets in advance though. I used nethotels.com and must say that it was a great relief to recieved my tickets when I checked into my hotel. I didn't went through the hassle of having to get a taxi to pick them up at the travel agency. I recommend using this service after a long plane or train journe. HOpe this helps.