Guide to Vienna
Version 1.0
Hi! I’m Travin Keith, a former resident of Vienna for 3 months in 2010 and for 6 months between 2015 and 2016. Though not necessarily an extensive experience, I have returned to Vienna numerous times for business purposes as well as leisure and still consider it to be my second home, due to its impact on me and who I am today and my familiarity with the city. Whenever I’m there, I don’t feel like I’m traveling.
This version of the guide is not as extensive as my other city guides as it won’t include “Getting Around” type tips for now, but I plan to add those later.
Sights to See
Saint Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom)
Probably the most iconic thing in Vienna as it’s on everyone’s must-do when visiting the city. It’s quite a historic building though and the architecture complements it quite well, aside from the unusual shift from Gothic to Baroque due to the changes the cathedral went through over the years. Inside the church, you can see as well the time difference between the inner areas of the cathedral and the outer areas, which have Gothic and Neo-Gothic respectively. An easy way to see this is the number of arcs, which the latter tends to have much more than the former. It’s right in the center of Vienna and can easily be reached with the U3 or U1 lines at the Stephansdom stop.
There are three main tours you can take, all of which can be booked here:
Catacombs
Towers (separate)
Main Cathedral
I’ve never been up the towers though, but have heard good things. I recommend the self-guided tour for the Main Cathedral so you can really appreciate the interesting things there. For the Catacombs, you need to book a guide. There are some remains still down there of well-known royalty from the Habsburgs. I think the jar that holds (or held) Maria Theresa’s heart is still down there.
MuseumsQuartier
True to its name, MuseumsQuartier hosts a variety of museums such as MUMOK, the modern art museum - my favorite in Vienna. Quite easy to get to as it has its own stop on the U2, despite being quite close to the nearest stop (Volkstheater). It’s mostly my favorite because of the interesting collections they’ve had every time I went there. One time they had an exhibit where they had a front page copy of a newspaper from every year for the past 100+ years. That’s not to say that the others Kunsthalle Wien and the Leopold Museum aren’t any good though. It’s just mostly a matter of personal taste. There’s also a couple of nice bars and restaurants inside the MuseumsQuartier. One of my last drinks in Vienna in 2010 was here as well - Cuba Libre.
Kunsthistorisches Museum and Naturhistorisches Museum
Iconic art and natural history museums, respectively, located right near MuseumsQuartier and the Volkstheater stop on the U2. I used to go to the former at least once a week as I had a student ID card at the time and it was nice being able to just go in and appreciate the building for what it is and take my time for each of the works of art that’s around. Now that the costs for entry is much higher than in the past though, I recommend spending at least 2 hours for each museum (they’re in separate buildings) to really get your money’s worth. There’s a park between the two as well that sometimes has things going on, but are nice to just hang around and relax sometimes.
Karlskirche
A nice Baroque church in the southern part of Vienna close to the Karlsplatz stop on the U1. The area was a bit sketchy/dodgy sometimes in 2010, but by 2015 it was cleaned up a bit and the metro line area renovated. I’m not much of a fan of Baroque architecture, so I don’t have much to say, though I do recommend stopping by to take a look. The views from the outside are quite nice as well as the inside.
Voltivkirche
Some people call it a smaller Stephansdom as it has some resemblance to the cathedral with it’s architectural style, but it is entirely Neo-Gothic. The U2 Schottentor stop gets you the closest to the church. You can just go in on your own and take a quick look inside. Unless you really like Neo-Gothic architecture like me, a 30 minute stop should be well-enough.
Pfarrkirche zum heiligen Franz von Assisi/Kaiserjubiläumskirche
Not one of the most well-known churches in Vienna, but one that is quite important to me and one that looks quite unique compared to the others around. Back when I was still Catholic in 2010, I went here almost every Sunday for English mass, going all the way from Volkstheater on the U2 line to Vorgartenstraße on the U1 line. Ironically, missing the early morning English service once started the thought process into me becoming Atheist/Agnostic, though that took a while to actually come to fulfillment. So the church is special to me, though I guess not for the ways it ever intended to be special. The area around the church is quite nice and historic as well as there is a monument to Mexico, dedicated to them for not attacking the United States during WWII.
Prater
Not so much of a sight as it is an experience, it’s a nice old school amusement park with no entrance fee, just fees for each ride and the shops and food stalls around. Easily reachable with the U1 at the Pratestern stop, it’s a destination for many families living in Vienna. The Riesenrad (Ferris Wheel) in the park is quite iconic as well, having been around for over 100 years. It was also featured in the film The Third Man, one of my favorites.
Schönbrunn Palace
Of the three palaces on this list, this one is the most beautiful overall due to the nice garden (understatement). My nose and immune system strongly disagree though (lots of flowers). It was the main summer residence of the Habsburgs, especially Maria Theresa, so it’s quite posh, to say the least. They have some nice concerts here as well sometimes, usually free. One time I went there, there was a classical performance to the Star Wars musical pieces. It is much nicer in the summer though than any other time of the year.
Hofburg Palace
If you’re a fan of Klimt, you’ll want to go here. A lot of his iconic artwork can be found here, such as The Kiss. They actually even have a replica that you can go take photos with so as not to damage the actual piece. The outer part of the palace is quite nice as well, but inside is not that noteworthy, relatively speaking with all the other things on this list of course.
Belvedere Palace
Well, technically it’s two buildings, but I’ll count it as one for here. It’s a really beautiful complex, especially during spring and summer, but it’s fine all-year-round. There’s a museum as well, but I don’t remember much from it unfortunately. Still, this Baroque palace is one to check out. Quality-wise, it’s somewhere between Hofburg and Schönbrunn.