Notes
- Public transportation is great: Underground trains, surface trains, trams, buses. Nov 2017: Uber is available (No Lyft) and is pretty cheap
- Most tourist attractions are in a compact area, easily walkable
- Stay in the Innere Stadt, close to the Ring Road. The Le Meridien is a great hotel in a great location
- Most business establishments can charge your credit card in US$, instead of Euros. You can avoid International currency charges by doing this (unless you have a special Credit Card good for International charges). Of course, pay attention the conversion rate to ensure you aren’t being ripped off.
- Using a Credit Card without human interaction requires you to enter a PIN code (for example, trying to buy a subway ticket from a machine). Make sure you have set a PIN code on your Credit Card before you travel. If you haven’t and have to use a card, you can always use a ATM/Debit Card.
- Lot of people smoke in Vienna – even in some restaurants. Some restaurants have a non-smoking section
- On mass transit: There are no turnstiles / barriers to using mass transit, and there are no ticket checkers. If you get caught by extreme bad luck, the penalty is 100 Euros. You decide how you want to handle this situation. (Long distance trains are an exception. Your tickets WILL BE checked)
- If you are a woman travelling alone, most of Vienna appeared safe.
Itinerary
- Austrian Parliament Building
- Rathaus (Vienna City Hall)
- Lunch: Einstein Cafe
- Votive Church
- Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) (8/10 MUST SEE)
- Belvedere Palace and Museum (7/10 RECOMMENDED)
- Donauturm (The Vienna Danube Tower): 150-m tall tower with observation deck and restaurants (5/10 MEH)
- Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) (4/10 SKIP)
- Dinner: Bier und Bierli or Jonathan and Sieglinde
- Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens (8/10 MUST SEE)
- Lunch: Schönbrunn Palace Gloriette Cafe
- Natural History Museum (7/10 RECOMMENDED)
- Royal Opera House – take a guided tour (7/10 RECOMMENDED)
- Karlskirche (St. Charles’s Church) (Baroque Church) – take elevator part of the way to the top of the cupola – then climb a few tens of stairs all the way to the top for good views (6/10 RECOMMENDED)
- Secession Building (5/10 MEH) (Check Temporary Exhibits – there is only 1 room of permanent exhibits)
- Dinner: Naschmarkt (Open air market) (7/10 RECOMMENDED)
- St. Stephen’s Cathedral – climb the 343-step (246 feet) South Tower for good views of Vienna. The stairs are spiral and claustrophobic – the climb up is physically demanding and could cause dizziness. Also take a quick 30-min tour of the catacombs underneath the church – it’s interesting. (8/10 MUST SEE. Climbing the South Tower RECOMMENDED)
- St. Peter’s Church
(6/10) - Lunch: Cafe Central
- Hofburg Palace
- Imperial Treasury (6/10 RECOMMENDED)
- Austrian National Library State Hall (6/10 RECOMMENDED)
- Augustinian Church – (6/10 RECOMMENDED. Read about how body parts of dead royalty are distributed. I know, yikes!)
- Albertina Museum – (6/10 Check temporary exhibits – there are a few good permanent exhibits)
- Giant Ferris Wheel in Prater Park – (5/10 MEH – It’s old and historic, but very basic. If you have been to one of the premium ferris wheels like London Eye, Singapore Flyer or Las Vegas Big Roller, you might find this one underwhelming. Consider skipping this one)
- Tour the Schlumberger Wine Cellar – (8/10 MUST DO)
- Dinner: Glacis Beisl
To Do for Next Time
- Leopold Museum
- Yppenplatz and Brunnenmarkt
- mumok (MUseum MOderner Kunst)
Photos taken with a iPhone 6
