Vienna
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Vienna celebrates its past, lives in the present and looks to the future. Imperial palaces and stately Baroque architecture meet the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau and the starkly modern Museums Quartier. Across the Danube River, UNO-city rises in concrete and glass. Social housing in a suburb has become a tourist attraction.
Traditional coffee houses sit alongside trendy restaurants and hip bars; contemporary art and Old Masters vie for your attention in some of the world’s best art museums. Designer shopping mingles with lively markets, Mozart with clubbing.
A grand boulevard, the Ringstrasse, encircles an Old Town so packed with history that it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site – yet vineyards and the Vienna Woods are just a tram-ride away. Narrow streets lead into elegant squares, buildings have ornate façades and scintillating interiors, in myriad green spaces the scent of roses perfumes the summer air.
It’s an easy city to get around. Vienna has Europe’s best public transport system with buses, trams, trains and an easily negotiated underground (U-bahn) that all inter-connect superbly. The fiaker (horse-drawn open carriage) is a charming – if expensive – alternative. You can even be your own tour guide. Trams 1 and 2 circle the Ringstrasse. Pick up a free city map and hop aboard.
With fashion, football and festivals, parks and parties, rock, pop, jazz, classical concerts and opera, romantic waltzes and prancing horses, Vienna packs in something for everyone: every age, interest and taste.
In fact this city is so stuffed with wonderful things to do and see, it’s impossible to fit everything into a weekend or short break. Don’t try. Pick a few must-sees, enjoy the café culture, take it slowly. Because you’ll be back.
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