closing tag is in template navbar
timefactors watches



TZ-UK Fundraiser
Results 1 to 14 of 14

Thread: Tips for what to do in Vienna

  1. #1
    Master
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    North East , England
    Posts
    1,259

    Tips for what to do in Vienna

    Hi guys

    We have a 3 day trip to Vienna early December and have never been before, will be doing Xmas markets - but which are best, also looking for tips, experience, other things to do, places to eat etc
    Thanks in advance
    Mark

    Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

  2. #2
    Grand Master SimonK's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Paris, France
    Posts
    19,497
    Walking in the city you'll find Christmas markets every few hundred yards!

    Take a visit to the funfair (the Prater) and ride the big wheel, built by a British company in the 19th century - it's the one used in Orson Welles' The Third Man and the Timothy Dalton Bond flic The Living Daylights.

    There's also a nice little clock museum in the city centre, closed on Mondays.

  3. #3
    Grand Master TheFlyingBanana's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Bedfordshire and your back garden
    Posts
    23,109
    You have to sing "Vienna" by Ultravox at some point, in the same way that if visiting Barcelona, it is compulsory to sing "Baaar-celll-Onahhh" at extremely high volume daily as a minimum.

    I hope that helps.


    Oh, and obviously a performance at The Spanish Riding School is a must.
    So clever my foot fell off.

  4. #4
    Master
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Bury, UK
    Posts
    2,332
    make sure you pack a few warm clothes eg hat/gloves. I once went in January and with the wind chill it was -10 deg C. So night time could be cold. There is the Hapsburg Palace if you like palaces. Spanish Riding School, some good shopping, some uber pastry shops also great coffee shops ('mit schlag' is with whipped cream). This place has been baking for a while

    https://www.demel.com/en/demel/

    Tram around the Kartner ring. Cheap public transport so a good way to look around. A Soviet war memorial, a military museum (Austria has been a major military player in the past). Sachertorte, more pastries/cofee, Danube (not so blue!). Music stuff - Central Cemetry with composers buried there - Beethoven/Schubert etc. Mozart was buried in a paupers grave but has a memorial. Opera House used to do some cheap tickets on Sunday evening (standing). I saw Swan Lake for 4 euros - Vienna State Opera - that would have cost ££ in London. Train from the airport is the best way in. https://www.welcomepickups.com/vienn...nsfer-to-city/

    It's a great place. Sunday morning sees people in the coffee houses in their Sunday best (after church) mixing it with the workers and tourists.
    Last edited by mrushton; 31st October 2019 at 10:43.

  5. #5
    Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Leicester, UK
    Posts
    7,993
    Schnitzel!

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by TheFlyingBanana View Post


    Oh, and obviously a performance at The Spanish Riding School is a must.
    This is great - we saw them rehearsing so there doesn't necessarily need to be a performance on to see them.

  7. #7
    Grand Master SimonK's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Paris, France
    Posts
    19,497
    The rehearsals and the performances are always in demand - best to buy tickets beforehand online.

  8. #8

    Tips for what to do in Vienna

    Only a short stay in Vienna.

    Very interesting, slightly strange feeling, a largish, grand, imperial capital of what is now a small country.

    Enjoyed:

    Wandering
    Evening ice skating and a few beers in the town hall square.
    The military museum and learning about Austro-Hungarian history which I don't know much about but have found interesting from books I've read
    Leopold and Belvedere museums if you are interested in Klimt
    Coffee and cake after a good walk around
    Tafelspitz and a few beers in the pub
    Circular tram for orientation
    Liked the restaurants, although can't remember names, more out of the centre, just wandering around. Not posh or particularly expensive, but proper service and maybe even someone tinkling on a piano's keys.

    A side note, books around Austria-Hungary that I've read that might be of some interest:

    Venus in Furs, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
    Beware of Pity, Stefan Zweig
    The Good Soldier Schweyk, Jaroslav Hasek
    Radetzky March, Joseph Roth
    The Bridge Over the Drina, Ivo Andric
    Last edited by BillyCasper; 31st October 2019 at 19:21.

  9. #9
    Vienna is grand & beautiful, with lots of impressive architecture & history, plus the famous café culture.

    It has a calm classiness, but which verges on being a teensy bit dull.

    St Stephen’s Cathedral is very impressive, and there’s tons of museums, culture, beautiful churches and shopping.

    The best thing we did (on a sunny day) was the Schonbrunn Palace, which in itself took an entire day: grand palace, massive gardens, imposing ‘Gloriette’ structure & the world’s oldest zoo.

    Can’t recall a nice restaurant in particular, but a veal shnitzel & sacher torte chocolate cake are almost obligatory.

    A day trip to Bratislava is very feasible - but I wouldn’t overly recommend it, especially if you only have three days away.

    Look into boat cruises down the Danube too.

  10. #10
    Grand Master Carlton-Browne's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Berlin, London and sometimes Dublin
    Posts
    14,907
    In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.

  11. #11
    Journeyman
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    194
    I was in Vienna for a couple of days in early September.

    If you like the Third Man, there’s a small museum dedicated to it just south of the Opera (short bus ride). A real labour of love and only open on Saturday afternoons if I remember correctly.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  12. #12
    Grand Master Carlton-Browne's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Berlin, London and sometimes Dublin
    Posts
    14,907
    In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.

  13. #13
    Coffee at Julius Meinl- one of Vienna’s best known coffee merchants.
    Beautiful coffee and an amazing food/wine store attached.
    Be sure to try some local wine such as the excellent Gruner Veltliner.
    As Alan has said, take the CATtrain from airport to city
    Last edited by GOAT; 31st October 2019 at 18:22.

  14. #14
    Master village's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Any further south and i would have wet feet
    Posts
    9,959
    Plenty of excellent advice above.
    Vienna is one of my favourite cities and I can pretty much guarantee you will have a good time.
    Enjoy!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Do Not Sell My Personal Information