Vienna, is situated in the northeast of Austria. It is the capital city and the river Danube flows through it. The Danube is the largest river in the European Union and is well known for the famous Johann Strauss Waltz “The Blue Danube”. The Danube flows through 4 European capital cities and Vienna is the largest of them. The others are Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade. Vienna is “Wien” in German, the official language of Austria.
Vienna, known as the “City of Music ”, is a great city to visit for a short break as it has lots to see and do. I travelled via train from Zurich in Switzerland. The journey took 7 hrs and 52 mins and travelled through some amazing countryside. A first class ticket cost €255.80.
You can travel to Vienna by train from lots of other European cities. These include cities in Germany, Czech Republic, Poland and Croatia. A standard ticket from Bratislava in Slovakia, costs €11.60 and the journey takes 67 mins. The main train station, while extremely large, is an easy station to travel through.
The main airport is 18 km southeast of the city and has 4 terminals. It operates flights to and from most European capital cities. It is the hub for Austrian Airlines who fly to and from Vienna all over the world.
The Euro is the currency in Austria and while German is the official language, English is widely spoken.
I arrived at 8.30pm in the evening and had selected a hotel near the main train station. This was the ideal location for my arrival and was about a 40 minute walk to the city center. I would recommend staying closer to the city center or old town.
I really enjoyed my stay in Vienna, although it rained most days when I was there in August. Usually I walk everywhere, but this wasn’t an option in Vienna due to its size. It has an efficient tram, bus and underground system but I was a real tourist this time and leveraged the “Hop on, Hop off” tourist bus service.
Vienna Pass
I had arranged a Vienna Pass before my arrival as recommended by a fellow blogger Helena_travelsandfood, who is also a native of Vienna. While, it was more expensive than other city passes, it was well worth the cost. I paid €153 for a 3 day pass. While it is available digitally, I elected to purchase a physical one as it comes with a guide book. I collect small travel books so thought that getting this would save me purchasing one.
I collected my pass at their main office on Ringstrasse, which opened at 9am and it was an efficient process. You needed to show a photo ID and proof of purchase.
If you are not planning on visiting a lot of attractions, but want the option to tour the city, you can also purchase a bus pass for €35 per day.
In my experience the following are the pros and cons of purchasing a Vienna Pass:
Pros of the Vienna Pass
- The Hop on Hop off bus service was a great way of getting around. It has 4 lines, 3 of which start outside the Opera House on Ringstrasse
- The audio guides on the buses, available in multiple languages, are very detailed. They also had a children’s version in German and English
- The buses ran frequently and several routes overlapped allowing you additional options
- You can purchase it in advance (valid for 12 months). It is activated the first time you scan it entering a location and then is valid in 24 hour increments
- You don’t need to queue at some locations to get a ticket and can just scan your pass to enter
- It does appear that on occasions the pass will be discounted. Currently a 3 day pass is available online for €137, €16 less than I paid for it
Cons of the Vienna Pass
- The cost is the main consideration. A day pass costs €87, sometimes discounted to €78. Therefore you do need to decide if it’s cost effective for you
- There is a lot of documentation (1) Pamphlet explaining the bus routes (2) The guide book and (3) the website. I felt I had to use all 3, and I probably missed some details due to the volume of information. The website isn’t the easiest to navigate and I regularly wasn’t sure if I needed a reservation, if the pass was valid or if I needed to queue
- You still have to reserve a time slot at some sights, including The Schonbrunn Palace. You had to go to a different area to collect your ticket and when I arrived the availability was limited. The lady I dealt with wouldn’t tell me if there was more availability if I was purchasing a ticket
- The bus routes do finish early so you can’t depend on always using them after you leave a venue. I went on the last daily Danube cruise and it ended after the bus service had stopped
During my 3 days, I saw and did the following :
Belvedere Museum – Admission was €17.70, included in the Vienna Pass
No trip to Vienna would be complete without a visit to The Belvedere. It would be like going to Paris and not visiting The Louvre and seeing the Mona Lisa. The Belvedere is the home to Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss”, one of the most globally recognisable images in the world.
You can easily spend 2 hours walking around the Belvedere. It was very busy when I was there and I was surprised to see so many people taking selfies with the artwork, particularly “The Kiss”.
My highlights of the Belvedere are outlined below:
- First Floor
“The Kiss”, it really is spectacular and unlike the Mona Lisa, is quite large. You will have to be patient to get close to it and to avoid being in other people’s photos !
I particularly liked “Girl in front of the Lottery” by Peter Fendi and “The great waterfall near Tivoli, Rome” by Jacob Philipp Hackett.
Lots of other great artwork is showcased including works by Monet, Rodin and Munch to name but a few.
The Marble Rome contains a lot of very interesting historical documents from Austria including a fascinating overview on marriage from 1797-1851.
- Second Floor
This floorshowcases Avant-Garde work from 1920-1950 including French Surrealists, Bauhaus in Germany and work by Austrian artists exiled during the war and their post war work.
- Ground Floor
Works shown here are also from 1920-1950 including how feminism was depicted in Art during this time.
The building is beautiful, overlooking a long well maintained garden. It was too wet for me to explore when I visited, but I highly recommend it if you have good weather. The Belvedere is on the Vienna bus, Yellow Line and is 18 mins from the start. There are lots of restaurants in the small streets just opposite it, so it’s a good area to visit and spend a few hours in.
Albertina Museum, Admission was €18.90, included in the Vienna Pass
This Museum is just behind the Opera House so is very centrally located. It is one of the largest print rooms in the world with 65,000 prints and 1m master prints. It showcases a wide variety of permanent and temporary exhibitions, so do review their website to plan your visit.
My overview of what I saw is outlined below:
- 3rd Floor
I was told to start my tour from the top and this floor has works from way too many artists to mention. They include Monet, Sisley, Cezanne, Degas, Picasso, Renoir and Munch.
I particularly loved “Ghosts in the Tree” by Franz Sedlacek !
- 2nd Floor
I wasn’t expecting this floor to be as it is. It is more like a palace as all rooms have been restored. They include “The Habsburg State Rooms 1794-1918, “The Hall of Muses” and “The Study and Bedroom”. Each room contains original furniture and a wallpaper in bold colours (green, red, yellow, gold).
The Reception Salon has an interesting figure of an old man standing facing the wall, in the corner!
- 1st Floor
This was again a surprise after the other two floors. The exhibitions are in cubicles and open spaces. There isn’t a natural flow to how things are displayed, so you do need to watch that you don’t miss anything.
There was a temporary exhibition of works by Valie Export, an Austrian Avant-Garde artist. Her works are known as being provocative and the exhibition I saw isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste and parts are quite x-rated !
In another room, there was a collection of TV’s all switched on with sewing machine needles in action. It was quite bizarre. Another bizarre thing I saw was a film showing a camera in a person’s larynx, to show how the female voice works.
Another room had a display of Light Bulbs being suspended into containers holding liquid (oil, water and milk). This was to mimic the colours of black and white film and identify the risk of electricity touching liquid. This exhibition restored my faith in modern art a little !!!
You can easily spend 2 hours walking around the Albertina and I certainly recommend it for it’s diversity alone.
Ferries Wheel, Admission was €13.50, included in the Vienna Pass
This is the only thing I did which I wouldn’t highly recommend. You can get to this on the Vienna Bus, Blue Line and it is at the entrance to the Wustelprater Amusement Park.
It was erected in 1897 to commemorate the 50th year of Emperor Franz Josephs accession to the throne. It has been featured in several films including Orson Welles “The Third Man” and the James Bond film “The Living Daylights”. I had read on a tourist website, that it’s an unwritten rule “if you haven’t done a round on the ferris wheel, you haven’t visited Vienna”.
The queue was very long and was moving very slowly. I was there for about 10 minutes when I decided to try and get through the turnstile with my Vienna Pass and it worked. I didn’t see a sign saying pass holders didn’t need to queue. There was another queue inside and a photo area, where they stand you in front of a blank wall and then impose pictures behind it. They were giving people the choice of not getting the photos taken though.
It was another 15 minutes before I entered a car. Several seemed to be for private events and had dining tables set. I was in a car with 8 other people. There was sufficient room to walk around and see the views across the park and the city. You are only in it for a short time though, just one round of the wheel.
I love a panoramic view of a city and will climb every tower available. Apart from the historical significance of this, it wouldn’t be on my “must do” list when visiting Vienna. I do think this is an interesting photo I took though !!!
Danube Tower, Admission was €18.50, included in the Vienna Pass
If you want a panoramic view of the city, this is the place to go, in my opinion. It is on the Vienna Bus, Blue Line. It is the tallest structure in Austria at 252 meters.
You go up to the viewing areas in a very fast lift. There were no queues when I arrived and I was able to get to the top very quickly. The 360 degree view of the city is amazing and you see how the Danube meanders, the interesting mix of old and modern architecture and the surrounding green fields and mountains. I really enjoyed this and suggest you go to this, if you want a panoramic view of Vienna.
There is a restaurant on the 170m level and the reviews are very impressive so is worth considering.
Schonbrunn Palace, Admission was €29.00, included in the Vienna Pass
This is the most visited sight in the city and is on the Vienna Bus, yellow Line. If you are planning a visit to Vienna, you need to make a reservation here. I thought I was being very clever and walked the 85 minutes from the hotel arriving just as it was opening at 8.30am. I was told the next available time slot to enter the Palace was 3pm. You can walk around part of the grounds without a ticket, but you need to purchase one and get a confirmed time to enter the palace. I booked a time for the following day.
My Vienna Pass was valid for the audio guide. I was allocated 11.09am as my time slot. I arrived early but you can only enter within 10 minutes of your allocated time. You are given the audio guide after you enter the tour area.
I don’t know how you would understand anything without the audio guide. It was very detailed but the right level of detail. Even though they clearly manage the numbers of people, it was extremely crowded and difficult if you got behind an official tour group.
However, I really enjoyed this and if you are a history buff like me, don’t miss out on attending. You do have to keep moving and it took me an hour to walk through the 40 rooms I had access to. This allowed sufficient time to hear each piece of the guide. The rooms are beautiful, extremely well restored and the guide gives an excellent history of the palace and the various Habsburg rulers who lived there.
There is a shorter tour which stopped at room 27 and there were turnstiles and tickets were checked to continue.
You also had to pay to visit the Orangery Gardens, Admission was €5.00, included in the Vienna Pass
While the first garden had limited colour when I visited and very few Orange trees, it is worth walking around here.
The views from the balcony are beautiful and the grounds (over 160 hectares) is a World Heritage Site.
After you walk around the Orange Garden, you walk through a tree covered passage and can see the various flower beds and well maintained lawns. In the distance you can see the spectacular “Gloriette”.
I enjoyed my visit to the palace and the gardens. You can reserve a time slot on-line but I was unable to find any information confirming if you could do this using the Vienna Pass.
Sigmund Freud Museum, Admission was €14.00, included in the Vienna Pass
Visiting this Museum was one of my priorities when planning my visit to Vienna. I was delighted to visit it as I think he is one of the most fascinating Austrian. I recently read “The Tobacconist” by Robert Seethaler which showed a unique relationship with Sigmund Freud and his life in Vienna.
The museum is in his former home which was also used as his clinic. It was fascinating to see the interior of a home, as well as learning about his life and his work on psychoanalysis. The signage, which is in English and German, is excellent. Each room had an overview of its use and there were lots of glass cabinets containing memorabilia from his life. He was a great letter writer and there were lots of original letters that he had written to family, colleagues and to other well known figures.
Sigmund’s 6th and youngest child Anna, followed in his footsteps and also had a psychoanalysis practice at this location. I have to wonder if her name should be put on the door at some stage and rename it “Sigmund and Anna Freud Museum”. I think that Sigmund would approve as he seemed to be surrounded by strong women as his wife Martha Bernays was well educated !
I suggest you allow 60-90 minutes to visit this Museum and it is accessible on the Vienna Bus, Red line.
Danube City Cruise, Admission was €28.00, included in the Vienna Pass
I always take a trip on a river when visiting a city situated on one. I was particularly excited to finally be on the Danube due to its historical significance. I learnt 2 things on this trip. Firstly, it’s not blue in Vienna and there is a Danube river and a Danube canal.
The cruise was the last thing I did during my visit to Vienna. I selected the 5.30pm 75 minute cruise. It was the perfect, relaxing activity to end my busy 3 days. You didn’t have to queue for a ticket and could just board the boat. There was only a small queue for a ticket when I arrived and I didn’t see any signage saying I didn’t need to queue.
My main impression from the cruise is that the city clearly wasn’t designed around the river as you didn’t actually see all that many buildings. There was also a lot of trees on the bank side, which while great for biodiversity, made taking photos a little difficult. Most bridges looked functional as opposed to ornate and there were people everywhere, sitting on the banks, walking on the paths or in the riverside bars and restaurants. There was even a “beach” quite close to the center. There was a lot of graffiti visible everywhere. Some of it was quite spectacular and clearly the work of artists, but some was the usual urban vandalism we see everywhere.
You could order a drink or a snack and I had a glass of wine, which was the most generous pour I received during my visit to Vienna. The boat turned around after about 43 minutes and we got to see another part of the city. The Gold Tower and the Wein Energy building are particularly impressive.
I highly recommend going on a cruise if you visit Vienna. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it extremely relaxing. However, this finished after the bus service ended so do consider this in your planning. It was only a short walk back to the city center though.
Mozart Concert
Due to the Musical significance, attending a concert was one of my priorities when planning my trip. I went to the Mozart Concert at the Musikverein Golden Hall. I had purchased a voucher for a ticket on the “Get Your Guide” application which I often use when traveling.
However, I don’t recommend you use this for 3 reasons.
- The ticket cost €10 more than the face value. You do get a CD as a memento, which were on sale for €15 at the theatre
- You need to exchange the voucher for the ticket. You can do this at the Theatre prior to the performance but you need to go about 45 minutes before it starts. You can also go to the head office which is centrally located near the Opera House. I did this during the day as I didn’t want to have to go to the theatre too early
- There are ticket booths everywhere in the city, so it’s actually really convenient to purchase a ticket. You will see the gentlemen dressed in the colourful traditional customs in lots of central locations
The Theatre is fabulous and I was delighted to see the interior. However, my ticket, which cost €75 (excluding the CD) was very far back and the seats are all on the flat. I moved to a spare seat just before the performance started. The conductor, orchestra and the soloists were all excellent. You couldn’t fault them and they did of course play and sing lots of the well known favourites. However, I thought there was something jaded and scripted about the performance. It finished about 10 minutes before the advertised 2 hours and they didn’t do an encore.
I think this particular performance is catered just for the tourists. So I suggest you do some research and maybe attend something less advertised, even if purchasing a ticket is a little more cumbersome.
Churches and Cathedrals
There seemed to be Baroque or Neo-Gothic church everywhere in the Viennese skyline.
Votivkirche
This is located near the Ringstrasse and is an extremely striking building. You can enter the church free of charge and it has a museum, which you pay for. The interior is amazing with its huge arched windows, vaulted ceilings and ornate statutes. I didn’t go to the museum as the queue was too long.
St. Charles Church
I walked by this several times as it was on my route from my hotel to the city center. There is a lovely lake in front of it and locals congregated there one fine evening. Several vendors were selling beverages and ice cream and the atmosphere was lovely.
You need to pay to enter the church and the admission was not included in the Vienna Pass. I didn’t have the time to visit the interior but I took lots of photos of the exterior as it really is a beautiful building. Concerts were advertised and I would like to attend one on my next visit.
St. Francis of Assisi Church
This is on the Vienna Bus, Blue line but the official stop is for the Imperial Bridge. I stopped to see this as it’s an extremely striking building and was very prominent in the skyline from the Danube Tower. It was closed when I visited but I walked around it to see it from all angles and it is extremely impressive.
Food and Drink
There are cafes, bars and restaurants everywhere in Vienna. While the normal global fast-food chains are visible, they are outnumbered by local establishments. Food and beverages are more expensive than other European cities I have visited. I was seated at great tables on every occasion, even when they were busy. This isn’t always my experience travelling as a solo tourist, so I always appreciate it. I was never asked to sit at a bar and there was never any hesitation when seating me.
I had breakfast twice at “L’Opera” centrally located opposite the Opera House. They had a great selection of hot and cold breakfasts. I had the Greek yogurt, served with berries and granola, which cost €8.90 and was delicious. An Americano cost €4.30 which I think is expensive. I also had a coffee there one afternoon, when I wanted to get out of the rain. The atmosphere appeared to be very welcoming even though it is an extremely busy place right in the tourist area.
I had lunch at the Brasserie of “The Guesthouse Vienna” one day. This is very centrally located near the Albertina. It has a great patio ideal for watching the world go by. My Tabbouleh cost €19.80, a small water €3.90 and an espresso €3.50. Again the service was excellent and I was shown to a great table immediately.
I had an evening meal in “Pergola” , part of the Zeitgeist Hotel near the train station. This was close to my hotel. It’s quite a quirky restaurant and while it is part of a hotel it seemed as if lots of locals were eating there also. I paid €21.10 for a vegetarian main course (baked potato with a filling and a side salad), a glass of house wine and a bottle of water. The prices further away from the city center did appear to be a little cheaper.
Credit cards were accepted in all restaurants that I went to. I usually don’t pay small amounts on a CC and always carry some cash. It did not appear that all waiting staff expected a tip. Several times they had passed the screen to add a tip, when they asked me to process my credit card. When I left a tip, I was usually thanked so it seemed as if tips were appreciated.
Final Thoughts !
All in all, I really enjoyed my visit to Vienna. My main observations being that you need transport to get around, some main attractions require reservations, tourists are extremely welcome but it is an expensive city. It also felt a very safe city to walk around as a single female. I walked to the hotel late the night I went to the Mozart Concert. I was a little concerned initially about the area around the train station, particularly the underpass that I needed to use. However, there were lots of people around, including tourists and it felt safe.
I would like to visit Vienna at a different time of the year. I spent 3 full days seeing the sights and have lots more to see including the Spanish riding school, which was closed when I visited. Due to its location in Europe and the rail infrastructure, it is the ideal city to visit on a multi-city trip. I went to Prague in the Czech Republic after I left Vienna. Bratislava is the obvious one to visit, as it is only an hour away.
