Vienna: palaces, coffee houses and world-class art

3 days Austria 4 min read

Vienna was built to run an empire, and it still looks the part: wide boulevards, imperial palaces, grand museums and coffee houses where nobody hurries you. But it is also a green, calm, easy city, with vineyards inside its boundaries, a river for swimming and a public transport system that makes a car pointless. Three days covers the imperial sights and leaves room for the slower pleasures.

The historic centre inside the Ringstrasse holds the cathedral, the Hofburg and the main museums within walking distance. Schönbrunn lies to the west, the Belvedere to the south and the Prater to the east, each a short metro ride. Plan one palace per day, and keep late afternoons for a park or a café.

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Top places to see

1
Schönbrunn Palace
The Habsburgs' summer residence, a vast yellow baroque palace with over a thousand rooms, forty of which are open on the tour, and gardens that stretch up a hill to the Gloriette arcade with a view back over the city. The park is free and worth a morning on its own; the palace tour needs a timed ticket booked ahead. Take the U4 to Schönbrunn and arrive at opening to walk the state rooms before the groups.
2
St Stephen's Cathedral
The Gothic cathedral at the centre of the city, known for its patterned tiled roof and the tall south tower you can climb by 343 steps for a view over the rooftops. The nave is free to enter; the catacombs, the north tower lift and the treasury are ticketed. Stephansplatz around it is the city's meeting point, with the pedestrian streets of Graben and Kärntner Strasse leading off in both directions.
3
Belvedere
Two baroque palaces facing each other across a formal garden, built for Prince Eugene of Savoy. The Upper Belvedere holds the national collection of Austrian art, including Klimt's The Kiss and works by Schiele and Kokoschka, with a view from the terrace down to the city. The Lower Belvedere hosts temporary shows. Buy a timed ticket online; the gardens between them are free and open to all.
4
Hofburg
The winter palace and seat of power for six centuries, now a sprawl of courtyards and wings holding the Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum, the Silver Collection, the Spanish Riding School and the national library's State Hall. You can walk through the complex for free from Michaelerplatz to Heldenplatz. Choose one or two interiors rather than all; the State Hall with its baroque bookcases is the most beautiful.
5
Naschmarkt
The city's main market, a long strip of stalls between two roads near Karlsplatz, selling vegetables, cheese, olives, spices, vinegar from the barrel and prepared food from a dozen cuisines. The front end is more polished; the far end has cheaper stalls and more locals. On Saturday a large flea market takes over the western end from early morning. Closed on Sunday. The Secession building with its gold dome is nearby.
6
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The imperial art collection in a palatial building on the Ring, with the world's largest group of Bruegel paintings, plus Vermeer, Velázquez, Caravaggio, Raphael and galleries of Egyptian and classical antiquities. The staircase and the domed café hall are attractions in themselves. It faces its twin, the Natural History Museum, across Maria-Theresien-Platz. Thursday evenings are quieter and the café stays open.
7
Prater
A huge public park east of the centre, part amusement park with the historic Giant Ferris Wheel from 1897, part long tree-lined avenue, the Hauptallee, that runs for more than four kilometres through meadows and woods. The wheel turns slowly enough for a good look at the city. The rest is free: rent a bike or walk the avenue, and in summer continue to the Danube for the riverside bars and swimming.
8
Danube Island and the Old Danube
Vienna's river is a different place from the postcard city. Donauinsel, a long artificial island reached by U1, has beaches, cycle paths and open-air bars in summer. The Alte Donau, an old arm of the river nearby, is a lake where locals swim and rent rowing boats. Both are a fifteen-minute metro ride from the centre and show the easygoing side of Viennese life.

Good to know

A 24, 48 or 72-hour Wiener Linien ticket covers all metro, tram and bus lines and is far cheaper than single fares. Validate it once. There are no barriers, but inspectors are frequent and fines high.
Coffee house etiquette: order one coffee and stay as long as you like, with newspapers provided. A small glass of water comes with every cup. Tip by rounding up when you pay, not by leaving coins on the table.
Book Schönbrunn, the Belvedere and the Spanish Riding School performances ahead. Many museums offer evening openings on Thursdays, which are quieter and let you free the daytime for parks and the river.
Day trips by train: Bratislava in an hour, the Wachau valley vineyards and Melk abbey in about ninety minutes, and the wine taverns of Grinzing by tram 38 for an evening of local heuriger wine.

Best time to visit

April to June and September to October offer 15 to 25 degrees, open gardens and a full concert calendar. July and August are warm, sometimes above 30 degrees, but the Danube and the parks make it manageable. Winter is cold and grey, yet the Christmas markets from mid-November, the ball season in January and February and quiet museums give it a strong appeal.

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