Not every place needs a whole morning. Each entry below gives the time it takes, whether it needs dry weather, the best hour to go and how to get there. With only two days, keep to numbers 1 to 4.
1Schönbrunn Palace
Photo: Vladimir Srajber / Pexels, Pexels License
The Habsburgs spent their summers here. Behind the state rooms are a formal garden and, on the hill, the Gloriette colonnade.
Time
3 to 4 h with the park
Setting
Both
Best time
First slot of the morning
Getting there
U4 Schönbrunn
Tip: Entry is by timed ticket, and on a busy day the next free slot can be hours away, so buy online. The park is free and opens at 6.30 am. Climb to the Gloriette after your tour. The view back over the palace to the city is the one on the postcards.
Palace daily from 8.30 am, closing between 5 pm and 6 pm with the season. State Apartments €30, Palace Ticket €42.
The Gothic cathedral at the centre of the city, with a zigzag tiled roof and a south tower 136.4 metres high.
Time
45 min, more with a tower
Setting
Indoor
Best time
Early morning, then again after dark
Getting there
U1, U3 Stephansplatz
Tip: Sightseeing hours are limited and services come first, so check the times below before you cross town. Climb the south tower for the view. The north tower holds the Pummerin, the largest bell in Austria. The ticket sellers in Mozart costumes on the square sell concerts made for tourists.
Open Monday to Saturday 6 am to 10 pm, Sundays from 7 am. Sightseeing Monday to Saturday 9 am to 11.30 am and 1 pm to 4.30 pm, Sundays 1 pm to 4.30 pm, subject to services.
The winter palace of the Habsburgs. A single ticket covers the Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum.
Time
2 h
Setting
Indoor
Best time
Late morning on a wet day
Getting there
U3 Herrengasse
Tip: Most people come for Empress Elisabeth. The Imperial Apartments, where she and Franz Joseph lived, are preserved as they were and are the part that stays in the memory.
Buy online to fix an entry time. Hours and prices are on the museum's own site.
Two Baroque palaces face each other across a sloping garden. The upper one holds Klimt's The Kiss.
Time
2 h
Setting
Both
Best time
Opening time, for The Kiss without a crowd
Getting there
Tram D, Schloss Belvedere
Tip: Tour groups reach The Kiss by mid-morning. Enter at the Upper Belvedere and walk downhill through the garden, with the city ahead of you. Ticket prices change with the day, so look before you go.
Upper Belvedere daily 9 am to 6 pm. Lower Belvedere daily 10 am to 6 pm.
Habsburg state rooms on the old city bastion, above one of the great collections of drawings. The changing shows range from Dürer to the moderns.
Time
1 h 30 min to 2 h
Setting
Indoor
Best time
Wednesday or Friday evening
Getting there
U1, U2, U4 Karlsplatz
Tip: Twice a week the doors stay open until 9 pm, which helps when rain spoils an evening near the Opera. The terrace outside has a good side view of the Opera and costs nothing.
Daily 10 am to 6 pm, Wednesday and Friday to 9 pm. Admission €20.90.
Finished in 1869 as one of the first grand buildings on the Ring, and still the reason many people come to Vienna.
Time
About 40 min on a tour, an evening for a performance
Setting
Indoor
Best time
Evening, or a daytime tour
Getting there
U1, U2, U4 Karlsplatz
Tip: When the seats are sold out, standing places are the local way in, and they cost very little. A guided tour shows the grand staircase and the intermission halls. Tour days change with rehearsals, so check the calendar first.
The long market along the Wienzeile, with spice sellers, olive stalls, cheese counters and small restaurants on both sides of one lane.
Time
1 h
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Saturday morning or a weekday lunch
Getting there
U4 Kettenbrückengasse
Tip: Ask the price per 100 grams before you accept a sample, because a small tub of olives can cost a surprising amount. Food stalls are shut on Sundays, though some restaurants may stay open. On Saturdays the flea market by Kettenbrückengasse is worth a look. The U4 stop makes this an easy lunch on the way back from Schönbrunn.
Stalls Monday to Friday up to 9 pm, Saturday up to 6 pm.
The former imperial stables, now courtyards around the Leopold Museum, mumok and Kunsthalle, with cafés and benches in between.
Time
30 min for the courtyards, 2 h with a museum
Setting
Both
Best time
Warm late afternoons
Getting there
U2 Museumsquartier
Tip: The Leopold Museum has the big Schiele collection. On a mild evening the courtyard fills with people who have not bought a ticket, and the coloured outdoor loungers are the best seats.
City flats with uneven floors, tiled columns and trees growing out of the windows, Friedensreich Hundertwasser's answer to the straight line.
Time
30 min
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Morning, before the tour groups
Getting there
Tram 1, Hetzgasse
Tip: This is a home, not a museum, so you stay on the pavement. To see inside one of his buildings, walk a few minutes to KunstHausWien, which shows his work and has open rooms. The shopping arcade across the street sells souvenirs and little else.
The wheel has turned since 1897. It is almost 65 metres high and moves at 2.7 km/h. It stands where the funfair meets the long green Prater park.
Time
1 h
Setting
Both
Best time
Just before dark
Getting there
U1, U2 Praterstern
Tip: A wooden cabin holds a whole group, and one turn leaves time to pick out the cathedral. The funfair has no entry fee, and you pay by the ride. Afterwards the chestnut-lined Hauptallee is free, on foot or by bike.
Fischer von Erlach's last great church, finished in 1739 after a vow made during a plague. Two columns modelled on Trajan's in Rome flank a huge green dome.
Time
30 min
Setting
Both
Best time
Blue hour
Getting there
U1, U2, U4 Karlsplatz
Tip: In summer the basin out front fills with water and shows the whole church upside down. Sit on its edge at dusk, among mostly Viennese neighbours.
A wooded hill at the north-west edge of town, with the Danube below and all of Vienna spread out to the south.
Time
2 to 3 h with the trip
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Late afternoon into dusk
Getting there
Bus 38A from U4 Heiligenstadt
Tip: Ride bus 38A up from Heiligenstadt, but walk down. The path through the Nussberg vineyards leads to a wine tavern, which makes a better evening than the tour-bus places of Grinzing. Taverns keep seasonal hours, so check that yours is open.
Opened in 1874 and about two square kilometres in size, it holds Beethoven, Johann Strauss II, Falco and an Art Nouveau church.
Time
1 h 30 min to 2 h
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A dry, quiet morning
Getting there
Tram 71 or 11, Zentralfriedhof 2. Tor
Tip: Gate 2 is the one for the musicians' graves, in group 32A. The Viennese also use the cemetery as a park: they come to walk, and cycling is allowed.
