Major Cities of the World!

About Vienna

Austria’s capital Vienna spreads along both sides of the Blue Danube (which as the Viennese are certain to point out is actually muddy brown) at the very foothills of the Alps. The city is a smorgasbord of Baroque with a dash of art nouveau. Circling the old town (the Innere Stadt) is the imposing revivalist architecture of the Ringstrasse Viennas main boulevard. These buildings range from the charming Opera House to the monumental Natural History Museum. Nestled throughout the city are the graceful art-nouveau buildings of turn-of-the century architects Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos. The buildings are one of the many remnants of the artistic and intellectual flowering that took place in Vienna at the turn of the century. Of course the buildings and the citys history are only a backdrop for the daily culture that can still be found in the concert halls opera houses and cafes.
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Vienna - History

Most visitors connect Vienna with a romantic place full of Habsburg nostalgia and musical resonances. It is, still today, but more.

The first settlement of any substance was Roman. The city was called Vindobona, but was in fact never more than a garrison town. It was only with the rise of the Babenberg clan in the tenth century that Vienna became an important city. In the 1278 the city fell to Rudolf of Habsburg, but had to compete for centuries with Prague, Linz and Graz as the imperial residence on account of its vulnerability to attack from the Turks, who first laid siege to it in 1529. It was only with the removal of the Turkish threat in 1683 that the court based itself here permanently. The great aristocratic families, grown fat on the profits of the Turkish wars, flooded in to build palaces and summer residences in a frenzy of construction that gave Vienna its Baroque character.
Imperial Vienna was never a wholly German city: as the capital of a cosmopolitan empire, it attracted great minds from all over central and eastern Europe. By the end of the Habsburg era it had become a breeding ground for the ideological movements of the age: nationalism, socialism, zionism and anti-semitism, all flourished here. This turbulence was reflected in the cultural sphere, and the ghosts of Freud, Klimt, Schiele, Mahler and Schönberg are nowadays bigger tourist draws than the old stand-bys like the Lippizaner horses or the Vienna Boy’s Choir.

Vienna - Eating Out

Austria’s cooking is great. If you like flummeries, pastries and sweets, it is the paradise on earth. These dishes are not necessarily served as a dessert, they can also be a complete main dish. The traditional venue for eating out in Vienna is the Beisl, an intimate neighbourhood place, somewhere between restaurant and pub, providing good home cooking and a cosy refuge for local beer drinkers. There are plenty of these both within and beyond the Ring. The best places to look are districts 6,7 and 8.

Vienna is also the true home of the traditional Kaffeehaus or café - largely a venue for good-value lunchtime food, afternoon coffee and cakes, and late-night drinking. Those within the Ring tend to be touristy and overprized, but many are dipping with atmosphere and continue to be patronized by the Viennese themselves. If you want to order in German/Austrian, make sure to pronounce “Kaffee” with a long and open “ee", like the end of “fiancé” (otherwise they will immediately think, you are German). Austria has a great choice in coffee, which names sound all a bit strange: “Wiener Melange", “Brauner” (coffe with milk), “mit Schlagobers” (with whipped cream) etc.

For food on the move, the Würstelstand is as big an institution in Vienna as anywhere else in Austria. Look out for Leberkäs, a slice of spicey meat sandwiched between two halves of a Semmel. One more advice: Go to the Naschmarkt - the city’s main fruit and veg market off Karlsplatz. This is a great place to assemble a picnic or grab a tasty take-away, and also home to numerous cheap cafés attached to the various stalls.

Vienna - Sights

Vienna has a compact historical centre, bound to the northeast by the Danube canal and surrounded on all other sides by the majestic sweep of the Ringstrasse. From here, the main arteries of communication radiate outwards. Most of the important sights are concentrated in this tourist-clogged district and along the Ring, but a lot of essential Vienna lies beyond it, in the initially forbidding grid of barracks-like 19th century apartment blocks. There are also outlaying sights, such as Schloss Schönbrunn, or the funfair and parklands of the Prater. To discover Vienna by walking needs more than only some days, but public transport items are comprehensive and helpful.

Vienna - Getting Around

Vienna has an exellent public transport system of trams, busses and subways. Since it’s a large town and there’s not much (free) parking space available, public transport is the easiest and cheapest way to get around. You can get a wide range of tickets, including tickets valid for an hour (22 schilling), 24 Hrs. (60 schilling), 8 days (300 schilling), etc. The advantage of an 8 day-ticket is that it doesn’t have to be 8 consecutive days. It doesn’t even have to be 8 days, you can use it for more than one person at a time, for instance, 2 people can travel on it for 4 days. All these tickets are valid in the entire Vienna district, in all busses, trams and subways.

Vienna - Getting There

By train:
Trains from western regions and from Hungary terminate at the Westbahnhof, situated on the outer ring road or Gürtel, 2 km west of the centre close to Mariahilferstrasse, Vienna’s brashest shopping street. From here the U-Bahn metro line U3 leads directly into the city centre. Trains from eastern Europe, Italy and the Balkans arrive at the Südbahnhof, 2 km south of the centre. from here tram “D” goes down
Prinz-Eugen-Strasse to Schwarzenbergplatz and the Ring. Some trains arrive ar Wien-Nord (North of centre, take U-Bahn Praterstern) or at Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof, connected to the Ring by tram “D".

By bus:
Most international buses arrive at Vienna’s main bus terminal beside Wien-Mitte, on the eastern edge of the city centre (U-Bahn Landstrasse).

By plane:
Vienna’s airport is called Wien-Schwechat and is located 20 km outside the centre. It is connected to the city centre by the S-Bahn-line S7, which runs underneath the airport. Trains leave every 30min, taking half an hour to reach Wien-Mitte, near the Ring. In addition, there is a reguler bus, which runs every 20 min o the City Air Terminal, next door to Wien-Mitte. Other buss run from the airport to both main train stations.

Vienna - Accommodation

Vienna offers its visitors a wide range and choice of rooms of every quality level, especially for those who are able and willing to splash out. However, extreme pressure on the cheaper accommodations end of the market means that booking ahead is essential in summer, and advisable during the rest of the year. It is hard to find anything affordable in the central area, and the cheapest double rooms within reach of it will set you back at least 350 ÖS a person. The best hunting grounds for cheap accommodation are in the western districts between the Ring and the Gürtel (Bezirke 5 - 9). Places here are often located on the upper floors of 19th century apartment buildings, and they mostly have a very charming atmosphere. Vienna’s youth hostels are clean and efficient, but often overbooked. For a longer stay you should ask the Mitwohnzentrale in the 8th Bezirk, Laudongasse 7, Tel. 0222 - 402 60 61. They normally are a cheaper and offer weekly rates.

Vienna - Nightlife and Entertainment

For nightlife you have several options. If youre there during opera season and are lucky enough to have opera tickets eat an early dinner enjoy the performance and end with coffee and a Sacher torte at the cafe in the Hotel Sacher. Or you might go to the part of the central district known as the Bermuda Triangle where the small restaurants and the bars are open late. A third possibility would be to head for a Heurigen (a wine bar) for an evening of music and tasting of the years new wine (Sturm).

Vienna Nighclubs

Cafe Spitt
Pleasant, unpretentious student place with brown wall panels and flowered curtains. It’s cosy place and the waitress is un-Viennese friendly. Try the exellent cider-like Radler beer. Subway: Friedensbrücke, 9th district
address: Fuchtshallergasse.

Tunnel
Beer, Wine and Food (Pizza, Pasta, Arabic stuff) at modest prices. Great breakfast variety for about US$ 2.50. Very gemütlich place. Service is unfriendly enough to remind you that you’re in Vienna. Livemusic in the cellar (therefore Tunnel) on most evenings, sometimes entrance free.
Subway: Josefstädter Strasse or Schottentor, 8th district.
address: Florianigasse.

Wiener Staatsoper
The Staatsoper is considered to be the N°1 Opera House of Central Europe. Even if you’re not into that kind of culture, the impressing building itself is worth a visit. Show up there two hours before the regular start of the perfomance and you can get tickets for as little money as 20 Austrian shillings (US$ 1.50).
When they are playing to a full house, there are no seats for holders of these cheap tickets, but the atmosphere in the standing room is funny anyway and most days enough seats remain free. T-shirt and jeans is also ok as long as you do not attend to a premiere. See the Staatsoper programme
address: Opernring, 1. Bezirk

Burgtheater
The Burgtheater is the theatre where Thomas Bernhard became the top scandal playwright of the German speaking world in the 80’s. They are still playing a lot of his stuff (don’t miss Heldenplatz) and many other strange plays. Its certainly not the place to go, when you think theatre should be played like it was a hundred years ago, even though the Burgtheater is located in a marvellous 19th century building. Ask for student tickets here (50 ÖS = US$ 4.00).
See the Burgtheater programme
address: Dr. Karl-Lueger-Ring, 1. Bezirk

Chelsea
Pub with little dancefloor, the music they play focuses on rock. The right place to get involved in an all-night-long booze-up. Often open til morning.
Subway: Josefstädter Strasse, 8th district.
address: Hernalser Gürtel

Spittelberg
Student clientele, plenty of pubs and bars, lots of places to sit outside in summer. Subway: Volkstheater, 7th district.
address: Pub district between Burggasse and Siebensterngasse

Maria’s Cantina
Go there for an unpredictable night. Don’t show up before 11 p.m. Dance to Salsa rhythms, meet the young and beautiful. The place is obviously run by alcoholics, after 2 a.m. the staff sometimes goes mad and forgets to earn money. Fun, as long as you like tequila. For some reason the best day there used to be Wednesday.
Subway: Volksoper, 9th district.
address: Schubertgasse.

Cafe Berg
A pleasant cafe with a mixed gay/straight clientele. Located near the University, the Votifkirche and the Palais Luxembourg, it’s an ideal place for a quiet cup of coffee or a huge mug of tea.
Subway: Schottentor, 9th district.
address: Corner of Berggasse and Wasagasse.

Schikaneder
Alternative place near Karlsplatz with some strange art in the window and lots of comfortable sofas to lounge in. There’s often live music or a dj, and you can buy tickets for the small movie art house next door.
Subway: Karlsplatz, 5th district.
address: Margaretengasse

Flex
One of the best Clubs in Europe (Magazine Spex). Though they where a bit more underground years ago, there ist a really good music-program to enjoy. But beware of the waiters - they aren’t always the most nice persons on earth.
address: Donaukanallaende (Ring-Kai) nearby the Ringturm

The Guess Club
An exquisite bar with an impressing assortment of liquors and cocktails. Apart from some free internet terminals the place isn’t really cheap…
Subway: Neubaugasse,6th district.
address: Kaunitzgasse, near Apollo Cinema

Planter’s Club
A beautifully furnished Cocktail Bar. Go there for the most decadent and fragrant piss of your life (onto icecubes and sliced lemons, no joke).
Subway: Schottentor or Schottenring, 1st district.
address: Zelinkagasse 4, 200m from Vienna Stock Exchange.

Palmenhaus
A beautiful bar located inside an Jugendstill old glass house from around 1900. The main part is a restaurant, but there’s a separate bar area left of the entrance where you can sit under the high glass domes between large potted plants and choose from dozens of wines, liquors and other drinks.
Subway: Babenbergerstrasse, 1st district, address: Burggarten.