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Visiting Vienna

Sightseeing in Vienna

Maria Theresia monument from the art museum

It’s quite hard to discover anywhere in central Vienna that doesn’t have something worth pointing at while going “Ooooh”.

But for a few ideas on how best to use your time in the city, try the reviews, descriptions, insider tips, photos and links in the articles below.

Jump to sections on:

Overview articles

Hofburg side of the Michaelerplatz

(One entrance to the Imperial Hofburg and historical Habsburg complex)

These all tackle specific sightseeing topics:

  • An introduction to Vienna for visitors: what you can get from the city and a few basics, like getting around, language, etc.
  • Tours overview: plenty of reviews and links for walking & themed tours, tours of historical buildings, VR experiences, movie locations, trips on the water, buses, day trips, and useful passes
  • Discover all the major museums in categories like art, design, history, culture, music, science & technology, entertainment, etc. (we have a lot of museums)
  • Information on churches of particular historical value or with a special connection to one or more personalities (we have a lot of churches, too)
  • What to do in the evening: ignoring the obvious (restaurants, bars & clubs), some options for activities at the end of the day
  • Vienna with kids: suggestions that will keep the children happy without involving huge quantities of ice cream (though that remains an option)
  • Just for fun…historical photos juxtaposed (I like that word) with how those locations look today
  • Follow in the famous footsteps of some of the historical personalities, composers, artists and others associated with Vienna
  • Movie location guides for many film and TV productions that used Vienna as a set. From The Third Man to Jack Ryan
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Sightseeing areas

The map shows you the five main sightseeing areas, with explanations and more detail in the text below (and some extra bonus areas thrown in).

 

Also consider my suggested self-guided walking tour route, if you want to take in many major sites in the centre in around 90+ minutes. Or look at other tour options for the city.

The old town & Hofburg Palace

The Neue Burg

(The Neue Burg on Heldenplatz square)

This is the partly-pedestrianised historic centre of Vienna (purple in the map), where you walk around and soak up the atmosphere and beautiful architecture.

Notable highlights include:

  • The Hofburg complex (the former residence of the Habsburgs and essentially the administrative heart of their dominions). This contains, for example:
    • Imperial Apartments (inside the family home)
    • Sisi Museum (the story of Empress Elisabeth)
    • Imperial Treasury (crown jewels and religious relics)
    • Heldenplatz and the Neue Burg (various museums and other important collections)
    • Burggarten (park area with the Mozart monument)
    • The Volksgarten park (with a beautiful rose garden)
    • …and much more.
  • Spanish Riding School (where you can see the world-famous Lipizzaner stallions train or perform, or take tour of the stables)
  • Albertina (a palace and renowned art museum – view the staterooms and the various top exhibitions on at any one time)
  • The Haus der Musik (museum dedicated to sounds and music, with small exhibitions on the Wiener Philharmoniker orchestra, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and other great “Viennese” composers)
  • The Graben (the lovely street leading from Stephansdom to the Hofburg palace)
    • A plague column (a curious-looking monument and the historical equivalent to antibiotics, but remarkably less effective in containing disease)
    • Peterskirche (a beautiful Baroque church and classical music venue just a short walk from Stephansdom)
  • The Ankeruhr (an Art Nouveau mechanical clock and quite the curiosity)
  • The Imperial Crypt (a little macabre, but the Kapuzinergruft houses the tombs of dozens of Emperors, Empresses and their relatives)

The Ring

The Kunsthistorisches Museum at night

(The Kunsthistorisches Museum)

The grey area on the map covers a range of sights built around the giant Ringstraßen boulevard that encircles most of the old town. You can walk the more interesting parts fairly easily.

Notable highlights include:

  • The Kunsthistorisches Museum (one of the world’s greatest museums of art history, packed with various treasures from hundreds of years of Imperial acquisitions)
  • The Natural History Museum (everything from geology to giraffes in one of the world’s most beautiful museums)
  • The Staatsoper (the State Opera House and a splendid building in its own right)
  • The Stadtpark (a lovely park with its own Otto Wagner-designed station and the famous golden Strauss statue)
  • The MAK (museum of design and contemporary art, with wonderful special exhibitions, too)
  • The Rathaus (the town hall, with the square in front a common venue for major events like the open-air summer film festival) with the Burgtheater national theatre opposite
  • Parlament (Austria’s newly-renovated national parliament building)
  • The Museumsquartier (modern art quarter with various museums and cultural spaces, including the Leopold Museum, Kunsthalle, Architecture Centre, Foto Arsenal Wien, and mumok Museum of Modern Art)
  • The old city walls (what’s left of the great fortifications that protected Vienna in centuries past)

Schönbrunn

Schönbrunn forecourt

(The main entrance to Schönbrunn Palace)

The astonishing summer palace of the Habsburgs, with a surrounding park and numerous surprises for the visitor (marked in yellow on the map).

Notable highlights:

  • Schönbrunn Palace (Vienna’s most popular tourist destination)
    • The palace gardens (a feast of colour and horticultural craftsmanship)
    • Vienna Zoo (the world’s oldest zoo)
    • The Gloriette (a lovely building put up mainly to improve the view from the palace)
    • The Maze (probably don’t need to explain what this is)
    • The Desert House (plants and animals from more arid parts of the world)
    • The Palm House (a tropical house full of exotic plants)
    • Wagenburg (the Imperial carriage museum)
    • The Children’s Museum (where, for example, kids and adults can dress up as Archdukes and Archduchesses)
    • …and much more
  • The Technisches Museum (a museum of science and technology close to the Schönbrunn complex)

Belvedere

Karlsplatz Christmas market at night

(The Art Advent Christmas market in front of Karlskirche church)

Art lovers, in particular, will enjoy the Belvedere complex and surrounding area, full of Baroque palaces, gardens and art collections (marked in blue on the map).

Notable highlights:

  • Belvedere (the former residence of Price Eugene of Savoy)
    • Upper Belvedere (palace, art museum and home to Klimt’s The Kiss)
    • Lower Belvedere (ditto, but without The Kiss)
    • Belvedere 21 (contemporary art)
    • The Gardens (beautifully laid out between the palaces)
    • The Botanic and Alpine Gardens (next to Belvedere and somewhere to find Edelweiss)
  • The Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (museum of military history with some astonishing exhibits, such as Napoleon’s coat and the car in which Franz Ferdinand was assassinated)

Prater

Riesenrad cabins

(The giant Ferris wheel familiar from its many TV and movie appearances)

The Prater is a huge parkland area and entertainment complex popular with locals (marked in red on the map). Notable highlights:

  • The Wurstelprater (a huge collection of funfair rides, restaurants, etc.)
    • The Riesenrad (the famous giant Ferris wheel and star of various movies like The Third Man)
    • Madame Tussauds (the wax figure museum)
    • A planetarium
  • Open park area with long walks and cycle paths, meadows, water features, skateboard & mountain bike parks, playgrounds, and similar
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Danube & other waterways

The Donaukanal seen from a bridge

(The Donaukanal that curves around the edge of the old town)

If you’ve been counting, this is area six and not marked on the map. But it’s worth mentioning that various water features and rivers provide opportunities for visitors: from simple hiking paths to watersports and beach bars.

  • The Danube passes through the city a little away from the central area and has a long island running through its middle known as the Donauinsel.
  • This Donauinsel is a popular recreational area, particularly in combination with the stretch of river (known as the Neue Donau) between the island and the northeast bank of the Danube. The Neue Donau has weirs at either end that stay closed except during major floods, so is essentially a giant lake.
  • The self-contained and large Alte Donau lake adjacent to the Danube has several public lidos, boat hire, lakeside walks and restaurants, and more.
  • In the centre, you have the Donaukanal (an arm of the Danube), home to street art, open-air bars (in summer), some unique architecture, landing stages for river trips, as well as cycling routes and footpaths.

Other major sights

View of the Danube Tower

(The Danube Tower)

Vienna has a lot to see, given its size and history. Here are some other popular places to grab a sight to savour, perhaps a holiday snap or two, and even a snack to stave off sightseeing fatigue.

  • Zentralfriedhof (the main cemetery, where you find the graves of such cultural and historical giants as Beethoven or Strauss)
  • Hundertwasserhaus (Friedensreich Hundertwasser designed several stand-out buildings in Vienna. This is the most famous. And, of course, you have the nearby Hundertwasser Museum, too, which I think is far more illuminating)

Seasonal sights

Visiting at Christmas

Arch of lights at the Rathausplatz market

(Christmas lights on the Rathausplatz)

The city remains hugely popular with visitors during late November and December. Discover seasonal events and attractions, explore Christmas customs, get visitor tips and shopping suggestions, and more in the Christmas in Vienna section.

For example, enjoy an insider view of the Christkindlmarkt and other Christmas markets, or discover which one is best for your needs. Then get handy tips on how to make the most of your market visit. And once you finish your Christmas punch, take a look at the city’s Christmas lights.

Visiting at New Year

Fireworks

(Fireworks at New Year)

Vienna fills up at the end of December, too. Get an overview of all the fun, games, events and more at the New Year in Vienna section.

For example, discover the Silvesterpfad trail used by revellers on New Year’s Eve, and then enjoy the New Year markets the next day (or before).

Visiting at Easter

A painted egg

(Decorated Easter egg at a market)

And no surprise to discover that the city attracts plenty of interest around Easter, too, which is why I have an Easter in Vienna section for you.

For example (and equally unsurprisingly), we have several Easter markets.

Famous footsteps

Beethoven's grave

(Beethoven’s grave at the Zentralfriedhof cemetery)

Finally, if you’re interested in all the locations associated with the great names that lived or worked in the city, such as Beethoven’s grave, then follow one of these musician, artist and imperial trails:

Happy sightseeing!

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