Vienna (Wien)
Introduction
Vienna is an wonderful old European capital that is quiet easy to get around with lots to see. The old city is beautiful and it is often just worth walking around and taking in the old architecture that surrounds everywhere you go.
Vienna is known as the birthplace of Johann Strauß (Johann Strauss II) and one of the things to see is the rather flamboyant monument to him in the much-loved park “Stadtpark”.
Surprisingly, the River Danube does not run through the middle of the city instead located just to the east and is lined with parks and a few places to eat.
It separates the old city from the new city of the “Donaustadt” and “Floridsdorf” districts with the “Danube Tower” offering views out over the city.
It can be an expensive place to eat and stay but, much like anywhere else, if you don't always eat in tourist places you will be fine.
Attractions
For first time visitors it is probably a good idea to cough up the money and take the Big Bus Tours that operate two routes that take in the sights of the old and more modern parts of the city. Commentary is recorded but includes English and other languages.
Old Town
Housing the Klmit art collection the Belvedere Palace is situated in magnificent formal gardens with amazing fountains.
“Neue Burg”, in the heart of the city, is a 19th century palace that now hosts collections from the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Near the “Holfburg Wien” close by is the “Spanish Riding School Vienna” home of the famous “Lipizzaner Horses” where you can purchase tickets to watch a practice but I am reliably informed that this is not worth it for an hour of loud classic music with horses prancing around in front of you with no commentary or other information provided.
Two magnificent museums face each other with a magnificent monument in the middle of public gardens between them - Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien and the [http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en|Museum of Natural History]].
Prater
Known for it's ferris wheel made famous in the film “The Third Man”, Prater is now a spot of nostalgia for many located to the east of the old city near the Danube.
Naschmarkt
Though accused of being touristy and, indeed, we did get a lot of hassle here, a visit to Naschmarkt can be very interesting with far less crowds earlier in the day.
Stretching along the middle of “Linke Wienzeil” road it consists of a series of long, low rectangular buildings running in parallel to one another housing various stalls. There are numerous rather overpriced restaurants here as well as fresh produce, snacks and baked goods at the eastern end nearest Karlsplatz and clothing at the far end.
The market is open Monday through Saturday during the day from 6 am then in the evening until 11 pm for dining.
Getting Around
Vienna has frequent public transport options with tickets purchased valid on all trams, buses and subways (U-Bahn, with five subway lines) of the Vienna Transport Authority. A ticket is valid on whatever transport you take to the final destination and are available at all subway stations (using vending machines), tobacco shops (“Tabaktrafik”) and online. 24, 48, and 72 hour as well as weekly travel tickets are available. See https://www.wienerlinien.at/eportal3/ for details.
The favourite option for tourists is to use hire a horse and cart (“fiakers”) but these can be very expensive (see https://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/fiaker-horse-drawn-carriage for details).
Note that the airport is a considerable distance from the city. A train operates that takes 16 minutes and takes you directly to the city centre. Otherwise, normal taxi service is available.
Pictures from my Visit in 2017
Further Information
For further information please see: