Austria - Vienna

Vienna - The Capital City of Austria

View of Vienna from St. Stephan's Cathedral's North Tower

Vienna is a large city with lots of history and vibrant culture. It is where lots of famous musicians developed their career. It is also where many well-maintained historic architectures stand. 

Outside view of Cafe Central

Restaurants

Vienna is famous for their Viennese coffee house culture. Coffee houses are escapes for the Viennese from their day-to-day drills. They are especially popular places for writers, musicians, artists, and friends to have a sip of coffee with delicious pastries and gather around. Two of the most famous coffee houses are Cafe Central and Cafe Schwarzenberg.

Cafe Central is one of the oldest cafes in Vienna. It is within the Ring, towards the west side of the ring, at the intersection between Herrengasse and Strauchgasse (the bright green color dot on the below map). The closest tram stop would be Burgtheater.

Cafe Central (Bright Green Dot)

Inside Cafe Central

Cafe Schwarzenberg is another famous historic coffee house. It is right on the Ring, stop at Schwarzenberg platz. It is at the intersection between Schwarzenbergstraße and Kärntner Ring.

Cafe Schwarzenberg (Bright purple dot)

Cafe Schwarzenberg

Inside Cafe Schwarzenberg

Notes: These cafes are so popular and full of tourists, therefore, a lot of times you just need to look for a seat yourself as oppose to a host leading you to a seat. Sometimes there will be a sign saying if you should wait to be seated or find your own seat. 

Tipping is interesting in Austria. The waiters will ask you flat out about how much you want to tip them. You can say in percentage, 5%, 10% or 15%. They will add that to the bill then charge you the total. Or you can also grab some cash and hand them yourself to the waiter without saying a percentage. My understanding is that there is no a must 15% tip, like how it is in the US. However, generally rounding up the bill or give it a 5% minimum is typical.   

Transportation

Ticket Machine on tram

Just like every other major city, Vienna has very well developed public transportation network. It is very easy to navigate around in the city with a subway map. With that being said, driving in the city could be difficult because of all the parking regulations, one-way streets, and traffic. Vienna has several different public transportation: S-bahn, U-bahn, tram, and bus. You can pay single ticket per ride. It would be 2.20 Euro per ride. There are ticket machines on the tram and bus. These machines only. The ticket booths at subways stations can take credit cards.

24-hour Metro Pass: This is an useful pass while in Vienna. It allows for free transportation within the city. The card can be purchased at any convenient store, called Trafik, or at tourist information centers. The cost is 7.60 Euro. When you first obtain the pass, you would need to validate it at the entrance to subway or on the tram / bus. Validation means to stamp the pass with the time and date that you start to use the pass. You will find the validation machine on the tram or bus or by the entrance of subway station.

24-Hour Vienna Metro Pass

Validation machine on the tram

Board at tram stop

There will be tram schedule at the tram stop. There is also an electronic board telling you which line this stop is for, what direction it is going to, and how many minutes til it arrives.


Note: When a tram arrives, sometimes the door won't open. There is a green button you can press on the door. Then the door will open. Same thing when you want to get off at a stop. If the door doesn't open by itself, there is a button to press too. It will light green when okay to press. 

Useful website: Wiener Linien - Vienna's official tranportation website

Attractions

The Ring is the typical first stop that tourists should visit. It is full of magnificent architectures and gives you a good impression of what Vienna is like from history to the modern days. I took the map downloaded from www.city-walks.info and walked to visit the attractions during my stay at Vienna. A lot of them was only a few quick snapshots from the outside. If time allowed, I would highly recommend taking a guided tour to learn about the city.

Stop 1 starting at Karlsplatz: Vienna Opera House - beautiful Baroque architecture

Stop 2: Palmenhaus at Burggarten - the former palace garden

Stop 3: Hofburg Palace - Imperial Palace

Stop 4: Stephansdom - magnificent Gothic architecture

Roof decoration of Stephansom

Stephansom (St. Stephen's Cathedral): This is one of most famous attractions in Vienna. It is a master art of Gothic architecture. Sometimes there are mass hosted in the Cathedral, so parts of it may not be opened. There are several different tours you can attend. I went on to the North Tower. It is 4.50 Euro to go up the tower via a small elevator. Only 5 people can go in the elevator at a time. It is worthwhile to go up there. You can not only see the view of Vienna from high above, but also admire the gorgeous design of Stephansom's roof.

Up at the North Tower of Stephansom

Stop 5: An old apartment of Beethoven where he composed his 4th, 5th, and 7th Symphony

Stop 6: Burgtheater

Stop 7: Rathaus - Vienna City Hall

Useful websites: 

Vienna travel guide
Vienna Unwrapped

Notes: It's a good idea to see Vienna when it's dark at night. The buildings light up and show you a different perspective of them.

Night time of Vienna Opera House