Postcard from Vienna

For history buffs, Vienna would be the perfect destination as its steeped in history since 900 AD. The Imperial architecture, cobbled stone lanes, popular coffee houses existing since the 1600s serving delicious cakes and well-brewed coffee, concerts and operas, majestic buildings, palaces, city squares, and museums will keep you occupied for one or two days. Here is our take on 6 fun things you can do in Vienna!

6 Fun Things to do in Vienna

First things first, buy a Vienna city pass for the duration of your stay. You can save a good amount of money on transportation as all public transportation is covered with the card. There is excellent connectivity in Vienna so you are never too far from the city center. There are metros covering the length and breadth of the city and the frequency is really good. You can buy the pass at the visitor center in the central station.

Walking Tour:

Take a walking tour. This was our favorite of the 6 fun things we did in Vienna. The guides in Vienna are experienced, unlike the student/part-time guides in other cities. The Vienna guides are required to take a two-year course on Austrian history and pass a test to earn a license. The government has imposed strict restrictions on who can provide a guided tour so that you get accurate information on Austrian history.

We opted for a Good Vienna tour and we would highly recommend doing this. The tour lasts about 3 hours and they take you through the popular monuments and streets of Vienna. During the tour, they explain the 1000-year-old history of Vienna and suggest places to eat, drink, etc… Instead of just looking at the buildings and taking photos, learning about the history and the culture of the place is much more interesting and fun. They cover St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Hofburg Palace, and many other important buildings.

You can also take tram route 2 and see a lot of interesting architecture around the Vienna Ring Road. Viennese architecture is something that really left us awestruck. The majestic buildings definitely make you wonder about how advanced this country and its people were at that age!

Opera House:

If you are interested in concerts and operas, check out the Philharmonic Orchestra and make reservations well ahead of your visit. We didn’t plan well and resorted to a concert performed by a mix of students and professionals but for our untrained ears, the music was good enough. They played the classical pieces of Mozart, Beethoven, etc. If you are not the music type, you can skip this by all means as the tickets are not cheap. We paid around 70 euros for the two of us and got to listen to student performance. Watch out for the people dressed in traditional clothes around the main tourist destinations trying to sell these concert tickets. You can just say “No, Thank you” and continue enjoying your stay in Vienna.

However, the Opera House broadcasts its shows live just outside on a giant screen. They have even installed chairs for people to sit and watch the show. We thoroughly enjoyed the talented individual’s acts and sing their hearts out. It’s a good way to access if you are the Opera kind. Grab your dinner from one of the nearby stalls/shops and have it while watching the Opera in open air right under the stars. It’s free of cost and probably one of the experiences you will remember for a long time!

Nightlife:

The city slows down after 6 PM and it’s the best time to explore the historic monuments and take some nice shots. It’s a visual delight even if you are not into photography.

Many beer gardens are serving locally brewed beer. We had some amazing craft beers at a pub called 1516 and enjoyed the beer. The pub was very different from an Irish pub that we are used to going to here in Dublin and the open-air seating added to the experience.

Wineries:

We did some last-minute research on wineries near Vienna and visited Nussdorf. Unfortunately, the winery we visited (after a long hike) was open only to private parties so we ended up with much disappointment. We highly recommend calling up the winery before heading up to avoid any disappointment. Lesson learned. Our desire to visit a proper vineyard continues to be unfulfilled and hopefully, we will find something when we visit Tuscany in Italy.!

Viennese coffee tradition:

Unlike the usual cafes around the world, in a typical Viennese coffee house, you can spend hours sipping your favorite coffee, reading newspapers, and watching the world go by. During the late 19th century, these coffee houses were frequented by writers and poets who would spend hours lingering and creating their work. Even though many coffee houses closed down in the late 1950s due to people spending time watching television and indulging in other recreational activities, many coffee houses still exist. It’s one of the most visited attractions for a tourist visiting Vienna. We visited Demel Coffee House and enjoyed an expensive cup of coffee and a cake.

Easter Market:

If you are in Vienna around easter time (April), you should make sure that you don’t miss out on the easter market. The one in front of the Schönbrunn Palace is considered to be one of the most romantic Easter markets, and true to its name – it was fabulous. The beautifully and artfully decorated eggs, tasty nibbles & wine, and traditional music made our evening. We had such a wonderful time roaming around the market and checking out all the stalls. Definitely one of our favorite of the 6 fun things we did in Vienna.

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How to reach Vienna

Vienna central station is well connected by trains and you can easily reach the city from anywhere in Austria and the neighboring countries. The trains have charging points and free wifi, so don’t worry if you are out of juice while on the train. We arrived in Vienna from Hallstatt, another beautiful place to visit.

Where to stay in Vienna

Vienna is not a very expensive city so finding reasonably priced accommodation is not difficult. Try to find a place that is close to the metro or tram station so that there is excellent connectivity to the city center and all the important tourist attractions. We stayed at Pension Lehrerhaus and it was a great stay. The rooms were really big, clean and with huge windows. The staff was also really polite.

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