Vienna activites

What to do in Vienna, Austria

Highlights & Art
• Context: Introduction to the 1st District
• Context: Custom Walk, Vienna
• Vienna Highlights Walking Tour
• Context: Vienna Secession
• Context: Kunsthistorisches Museum
• Vienna City Hop-on Hop-off Tour
• Family Vienna Combo: Vienna Card, Schonbrunn Zoo, Prater Ferris Wheel and Madame Tussauds
• Vienna Combo: Danube River Cruise, Dinner and Schonbrunn Palace Concert
• Empress Sisi Sightseeing Combo: Schonbrunn Palace, Hofburg Palace, Dinner and Orangery Concert
• Welcome to Vienna Combo: Vienna Card, Hop-on-Hop off Tour, Morning Tea and Lunch or Dinner
• Private Tour: Austrian Wine Tasting in a Traditional Augustinerkeller

Music & dance
• Context: Counterpoint and Harmony, Music in Vienna
• Musical Vienna Combo: Vienna Card, Mozart Concert, House of Music and Waltz Dance Lesson
• Schonbrunn Palace Evening: Palace Tour, Dinner and Concert
• Vienna Mozart Evening: Gourmet Dinner and Concert at the Musikverein
• Experience Vienna: Viennese Waltz Dance Lesson for Couples

Bike tours
• Vienna Highlights Bike Tour
• Wine Tasting Bike Tour from Vienna
• Vienna City Bike Tour
• Vienna Super Saver: City Sightseeing Bike Tour plus Cultural Bike Tour
•  Bike Tour Along the Danube

Daytrips
• Wine-Tasting Tour: Wachau Valley
• Salzburg Day Trip from Vienna
• Vienna Woods and Mayerling Day Trip
• Bratislava Day Trip from Vienna
• Danube Valley Day Trip from Vienna
• Budapest Day Trip from Vienna
• Prague Day Trip from Vienna

Spend a Night at the Opera

Vienna's Staatsoper is one of the world's finest theaters, and its performances are not to be missed, even if you aren't an opera fan. The season runs September to June, and you can get tickets (€6–€212) at the box office.

Standing room Praterrestehplatz tickets at the Staastoper are sold for a mere €2 starting 80 minutes before the performance—though you have to arrive earlier to get in line (2–3 hours). Bring a scarf or something to tie around the railing at your standing spot. This scarf will save your place so you can wander through gilded rooms and mingle with the black-tie crowd until the performance begins.

Concerts at Schloss Schönbrunn

The Schloss Schönbrunn stages musical concerts year-round, including open-air Mozart operas in summer performaed by the company of the State Opera House ( www.imagevienna.com).

Drink Java, Eat Strudel, and People-watch at a Kaffeehaus

By legend, Vienna's first coffeehouse was established in 1683, and coffeehouses have been going strong ever since.

One of the grandest is Freud's old hangout, the chandeliered Café Landtmann at Dr. Karl Lueger Ring 4 (tel. 01/532-0621).

The granddaddy of all Viennese cafes is Café Demel (tel. 01/535-1717; www.demel.at), which moved to Kohlmarkt 14 in 1888; the ornate decor really hasn't changed since.

You can order your kaffee many ways, the most popular being schwarzer (black), melange (mixed with hot milk), or mit schlagobers (topped with whipped cream).

Get Down with the Vienna Boys Choir

The world's most popular religious warblers have been a Viennese institution since 1498, training such talents as Joseph Hayden and Franz Schubert. The lyrical lads sing Mass on Sundays and religious holidays (September to June only) at 9:15am in the Hofburg's Burgkapelle, accompanied by members of the Staatsoper chorus and orchestra.

You can pick up tickets at the box office the preceding Friday from 5 to 6pm (line up early; this is one of the few times you'll find people shelling out $6 to $27 to go to church; standing room is free, but you still need a ticket). You can also reserve tickets eight weeks in advance by writing to: Hofmusikkapelle, Hofburg, A-1010 Vienna, Austria (tel. 01/533-992-775 or 01/533-9927).

Take a spin on the Riesenrad in Prater Park

A former imperial hunting ground on the Danube Canal, Prater Park witnessed the birth of the waltz in 1820, courtesy of Johann Strauss, Sr.

Besides the requisite greenery, the park is home to both a year-round fair-like amusement park with plenty of restaurants, food stands, a beer garden, and the Riesenrad—at 220 feet and 100 years, one of the world's oldest (and slowest) operating Ferris wheels, made famous by the movie The Third Man.

Take a self-guided tram tour

Armed with a good map, the cheapest and most fun tour is self-guided. Buy an all-day ticket, step onto the #1 or #2 tram, and ride it all the way around the Ring, hopping on and off at sights where you want to spend time. The whole ride only takes half an hour if you don't get off.

After you're oriented, you can abandon the tram to visit the sights off the Ring, such as the Hofburg Palace and Stephansdom.

See the Horse Ballet at the Spanish Riding School

You don't have to attend a show to see the world-famous Lippizaner horses strut their stuff at the Hofburg's Spanish Riding School (Michelerplatz 1, tel. +43-(0)1-533-9031, www.srs.at) in a tradition dating to the 16th century.

The complicated baroque choreography of the stallions' shows, based on ancient battle maneuvers, needs to be practiced regularly (Tuesday to Saturday 10am to noon April to December). Tickets for these training sessions, accompanied by classical music, are available from travel agencies or at the door for €14 (or €28 if you want a guided tour afterwards).

If only the full, 80-minute show will do—Sundays at 11am April through December—reserve a ticket as far in advance as possible for €23–€130.

Take a Heuriger crawl in Grinzig

Heurige is the name of both Viennese new wines and the rustic taverns that serve them. Most heuriger cluster around the fringes of the famous Vienna Woods, a 15-minute tram ride northeast of the city center.

The tradition's capital is the former village, now suburb, of Grinzing, home to around 20 taverns (take tram 38 from the underground station at Schottentor, a stop on the U2 U-Bahn and trams 1, 2, and D).

It's become very popular, but at least the influx of visitors will guarantee that the village stays looking medieval.

Stroll down Cobenzigasse, stopping in one heurige after another. Sample each one's local wine while you listen to atmospheric accordion and zither music.