When talking about Vienna; first thing that comes to mind would be all the elegant Opera Houses that one should dress up for, home to the world’s greatest thinkers, artists, and musicians, and the world’s oldest zoo, and amusement park, witness one of Europe’s most influential dynasties, packed with; traditional coffee houses, drool-worthy foods & coffee blends, parks, imperial palaces, castles, museums, and much more.
This itinerary would solely fit a restless traveler, one who wants to get the most out of the enchanting city of Vienna.
Maria Theresa Square
Day 1
Vienna Coffee-Houses
Start your day like a local with breakfast a La Vienoise at one of Vienna’s Coffee-houses. The Viennese Coffee-House culture has this amazing mixture presenting tradition with stylish flair, you can enjoy a cup of freshly grounded coffee served with all sorts of diet-destroying pastries, pies, and cake creations, where the Viennese specialities are; the signature Sacher Torte made of chocolate, apricot jam, and unsweetened whipped cream, using the 1832 original recipe only at Sacher Hotel one of the world’s most distinguished hotels; Bundt-cake (a.k.a. Bundkuchen); and the originally Hungarian Esterhazy Torte widely sold in Vienna.
A Cafe in Vienna be like courtesy of: La Cita Vitta
Stephansdom (St. Stephan’s Cathedral)
Entry is free of charge at Vienna’s most famous cathedral distinguished by its colourful tile roof. If you are in good shape, be sure to climb those 343 steps to have wonderful views of the imperial city.
Opening hours: Monday through Saturday from 6 AM till 10 PM, Sundays and public holidays from 7 AM till 10 PM, but the towers are open daily till 5:30 for € 4.5 as an entry fee.
Stephansdom
Hofburg Palace
Once upon a time, an imperial palace and home base of the Habsburgs; who ruled the Austria-Hungarian empire from the 15th till the 20th century, one of Europe’s principal and most influential dynasties. It now houses the Austrian president’s offices, along with some museums, and art pieces reflecting this era.
Opening hours: September to June from 9 AM till 5:30 PM, July & August till 6 PM.
Hofburg Palace
Lipizzaner Horses Performance
Continue your tour at the Hofburg Palace, and book your tickets to watch a live Lipizanner Horses dancing performance accompanied by classical Viennese music at the Spanish Riding School -Spanisch Hofreitschule. Lipizzan horses are true horses of royalty of a selective breed from Arabic, Spanish, & Italian bloodlines, Europe’s oldest. This is a unique opportunity to watch something that has class and beauty combined at its birthplace. You could also go for a guided tour at the Spanish Riding School.
Morning Exercise
- Tickets: cannot be booked in advance, you can get them from the Visitor Centre at Michaelerplatz, or the Box Office at Josefsplatz.
- Price: € 15 for adults, € 10.5 for seniors, and children from 6 to 18 for € 7.5.
Gala Performance
- Tickets: should be bought an advance
- Price: start at € 25 for a standing place up to € 37, as per seated places prices start at € 50 up to € 217.
Lipizzaner Horses Performance via flickr by Arizona Shona
Wurstelprater a.k.a Prater Amusement Park
Is the oldest amusement park in the world, first mentioned in a document was towards mid 12th century. Home to a variety of; merry-go-rounds, bowling playgrounds, attractions, cinemas, arcade shops, cafes, and other leisure facilities. Admission is free of charge, but fees for individual attractions do apply, varying between €1.5-5.
The most important attraction is the Wiener Riesenrad -ferry wheel- built towards the end of the 19th century, the ride offers stunning views of Vienna.
Second best comes the Liliputbahn a 75 years old train that runs for 20 minutes to show you around the Prater enjoyed by kids, and adults too.
In addition to Alt Wiener Grottebahn train ride, Vienna Rollercoaster, and the Planetarium.
The ferry wheel of Riesenrad via flickr by Plaggi
OR..
Naschmarkt
This centuries old food market should be your stop before heading to one of Vienna’s 2000 parks; in this market, you can buy the freshest ingredients to cook or some ready-made stuff to go -for a picnic- or just sit at one of the restaurants/bars lying over there.
Opening hours: Daily from 6 AM to 7:30 PM, except Saturday it closes at 5 PM, and Sunday is off.
Naschmarkt via flickr by Sam Rae
Parks
After getting your picnic basket ready & filled with goodies and delights from Naschmarkt, whether it’s a sunny or a cold winter day a picnic at one of Vienna’s park is a not to be missed; the closest & prettiest in this area would be Burggarten that has an imperial ambience or Stadtpark where sculptors of famous artists are on display.
Other Parks
- The Baroque Augarten: where one can go row-boat riding on the Danube.
- Lake Hirschstetten: is the perfect place to picnic then take a splash.
- Lainz Game Reserve: ready to see some boars, deers, salamanders, woodpeckers, and bats if you got lucky? That’s a forest, and a nature trail especially admired by hikers.
Vienna’s Christmas Market
Opera & Live Music Performances
Being home to of Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss, and Brahms one must dress up to attend a live performance at one of Vienna’s opera houses, churches, or cathedrals. Yes, wherever you go you will find an interesting performance to attend.
- Staatsoper: the Vienna State Opera
- Volksoper
- Musikverein: home to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
- Konzerthaus
- Kursalon
- Schönbrunn Palace
- Stephansdom
- Karlskirche
- Peterskirche
- Vienna Boys’ Choir in the Hofburg Chapel: happening every Sunday from October through June at 9:15 AM, tickets should be booked way in advance as it gets booked up quickly.
- Church of St. Anna
- St. Rupert: Vienna’s oldest church
- Schubertkirche
- Maltese Church
- Franciscan Church
Staatsoper via flickr by Георги Назъров
Day 2
Cycling/Walking/Segway/Horse-Back Riding Tour of the MuseumQartier
That has a variety of museums, cafes, restaurants, and bars. While there one must go to;
Roaming the streets of Vienna on a horse carriage ride via flickr by Игорь М
Kunsthistorisches Museum
An impressive museum with interesting interiors, brimming works by Europe’s finest, and most talented artisans, painters, and sculptors are on display; antiquities, art collections, sculpture, armours, musical instruments, and much more.
Haus der Musik
Vienna’s coolest; an interactive journey through music where one can virtually conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Karlskirche (St. Charles Church)
The domed cathedral is only 10 minutes walk from the Haus der Musik lies one of Vienna’s most beautiful buildings, one of the best examples of baroque style architecture, built by the Habsburgs in the 18th century.
Opening hours: Daily from 9 AM till 12:30 PM, and 1:00 – 6:00 PM, except Sundays from 12:00 – 5:45 PM
Karlskirsche
Schönbrunn Palace
You don’t have to go to Schönbrunn Palace if you have already have been to the Hofburg – I personally wouldn’t but it’s only a matter of preferences- however the gardens cannot be escaped nor the zoo.
Schönbrunn Palace via flickr by Tjflex2
Tiergarten Schönbrunn
Another oldest of the world is Vienna’s Zoo.
Opening hours: Daily from 9 AM till 6:30 PM
Vienna Zoo via flickr by Milena
Viennese Concert Cafes
Another form of Viennese Coffee House culture is Concert Cafes, where one can indulge his hearing and taste senses all at once.. but how is that?
Concert Cafes offer you the chance to enjoy freshly baked delights, coffee or drinks while listening to a live piano performance.. how royal!
**One must call or check online before going there to check the scheduled performance times**
Playing the piano via flickr by Calvin Che
Bonus Tips
- If you will be there in winter time; do not miss ice-skating at one of the outdoors ice rinks;
- Wilhelminen on ice: open from November until January till 9 PM
- Viennese Ice Skating Union: centrally located near Stadtpark; opens from October till March, and welcomes visitors daily from 8 PM
- The Ice Dream: the most special of them all given its location facing the Rathaus -neo-gothic city hall now hosting balls, events, and markets- opens from January till March, and welcomes visitors from 9 AM till 9 PM.
- If you can take a day trip;
- By boat via the Danube; you can go all around Austria, nearby Bratislava, Budapest, or the Wachau Valley in Austria
- By train to Salzburg; to get the Sound of Music experience, go to the mountains, lakes, and countryside aboard a horse-drawn sleigh ride, to the iconic village of Hallstatt, or one of Austria’s neighbouring countries
- Mauthausen Concentration Camp
- As centrally located as it is, Austria is a good point to start a Eurotrip passing through central and eastern Europe, one can go to; Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech, Switzerland, Hungary, and Croatia is not far too.
- If you go at Christmas time you will get to shop from one of Europe’s best Christmas markets.
Have you got any better recommendations for a couple of days in Vienna? Let us know in the comments below.
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About the Author
Passainte Assem
A former lawyer, travel junkie and adventurer from head to toe. Whether broke or out of vacation time, always on the lookout for the next destination. Keen to share her travel stories, planning tips and photographs to give you a real sense of place.
