Vienna travel guide
Schönbrunn admits visitors by timed ticket, so book it ahead. The coffeehouses, the Ring and the Prater need no booking.
What the city is like
The old centre, the 1st district, is smaller than it looks on the map. Kärntner Strasse runs straight from the Opera to St. Stephen's Cathedral. The Ring was laid out where the city walls once stood, and it passes the Hofburg, the big museums, the Parliament and the City Hall in one curve. Beyond it lie the districts where the Viennese buy their bread and eat out. The vineyards are to the north-west and the Danube is to the east.
The U-Bahn reaches most sights, and Schönbrunn is on the U4. Plan fewer sights than you think you can manage. One coffee buys a table for an hour, and nobody hurries you. Many first-time visitors try to see too much and remember the palaces as a blur of gilt, so cross one sight off the list and sit down instead.
How many days you need
- Two full days cover the centre, Schönbrunn and one big museum, at a brisk pace.
- Three days suit a first visit. They leave time for the Belvedere, the Prater and an evening among the vineyards.
- Four or more days leave room for the Wachau, Bratislava or the Semmering, each about an hour or a little more away by train.
A plan for 1 to 3 days
Day 1: the centre
Be at St. Stephen's Cathedral before the tour groups fill the nave. Then follow the Graben and Kohlmarkt to the Hofburg for the Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum. After lunch, choose between the Albertina and a walk along the Ring past the Opera. End with a performance, or with dinner in the lanes behind the cathedral. With only one day, take this one.
Day 2: palace and paintings
Book the first entry at Schönbrunn and ride the U4 out. Climb to the Gloriette once the palace is done. The same line brings you back to Kettenbrückengasse for lunch at the Naschmarkt. Spend the afternoon in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which stays open on Thursday until 9 pm.
Day 3: Klimt and the Prater
Reach the Upper Belvedere at opening time, when The Kiss is still easy to get close to, and walk down through the garden. Karlskirche is a short walk away. In the afternoon take tram 1 towards the Hundertwasserhaus, then go on to the Prater. Time the Giant Ferris Wheel for dusk.
When it rains
Rain changes little in Vienna. The finest rooms in town are indoors, and the U-Bahn stops close to most of them.
- Morning: the Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum at the Hofburg keep you dry for two hours.
- Afternoon: U2 Museumsquartier puts you between the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the MuseumsQuartier, with only a road to cross.
- Evening: the Albertina is open until 9 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum on Thursdays.
- Any time: a coffeehouse. The queue at Café Central is mostly there for the building. Sperl or Hawelka serve a Melange and the newspapers, usually with less of a wait, and nobody will hurry you out.
Where to stay by district
- 1st, Innere Stadt
- Almost everything is on foot, and the room rates show it. It suits a short first visit. The side streets are quiet at night.
- 2nd, Leopoldstadt
- Just across the Danube Canal. The Karmeliter quarter has small restaurants, the Prater is next door, and U1 and U2 meet at Praterstern.
- 3rd, Landstrasse
- Near the Belvedere and easy for the airport: the CAT bus stops at Wien Mitte, where U3 and U4 also stop.
- 4th, Wieden
- South of Karlsplatz, with the Naschmarkt at its edge. Residential and calm, which suits couples and longer stays.
- 6th and 7th, Mariahilf and Neubau
- Independent shops, bars and cafés around Neubaugasse. The MuseumsQuartier is close, and U3 runs straight to the cathedral.
- 10th, around the Hauptbahnhof
- New hotels on plain streets. Not romantic, but practical for early trains and day trips, and U1 runs directly to Stephansplatz.