Vienna

Places to Stay

Wombats Hostel - http://www.wombats-hostels.com/

Wombat's Hostel - Great great hostel.

I stayed at Wombat's hostel- not too far from the main train station. They were very friendly and way helpful when the airline lost my backpack. I don't remember how much it cost but I know it was inexpensive. The rooms were clean and the bathrooms en suite. I don't know if you're looking for a hostel but I really liked this one

Home Stays - Mitwohnzentrale - http://mwz.at

There are a lot of agencies in Europe where you can rent someone's private place with the safety of a contract--it's not sketchy and everything is covered, and you get a place as nice as or nicer than a hotel for a fraction of a price.

In Germany and Austria they call them Mitwohnzentrale

Pension Hargita - www.hargita.at

Pension Hargita ... very central ( I walked everywhere), clean, pretty cheap. I stayed there back in 2000.

Danube Hilton - www1.hilton.com

I can't recommend a place to stay that's downtown, but if you're willing to commute, the Danube Hilton has really cheap rates sometimes--as in 35 euros a night, according to some friends. Don't think of it as a HILTON, think of it as a Hilton Motel 6. It takes about 30 minutes, usually less, to get downtown from there. If they're offering really low rates right now, you may find it worth the commute. Try to get a river-side room.

Things to Do

Try to see something at the Staatsoper. You can see an Opera for near $4 if you don't mind standing for a few hours, it's still a great deal. You need the line for that forms on the left side of the Opera house when you face the front. It's totally worth it. The people in the seats right in front of you paid at least 12 times more than you did for the same view. Tradition states that you use a scarf to save your spot. I saw Swan Lake. It was gorgeous. There's a program every night except for Christmas Day.

Take the train outside the city to Schonbrunn, the Hapsburg summer palace. It's much better than Versailles.   It is very easy to get to. I visited Schonbrunn Palace on the "Sissi Ticket," which meant 40 rooms of the palace, then some of the Hofburg stuff downtown. I liked the Schonbrunn tour better than that of the Imperial Apartments downtown. It's easy to spend an entire day wandering Schonbrunn, it's gardens and the botanical gardens.

I loved the Hofburg. The Imperial Treasury, another part of the Hofburg, was a gorgeous collection of precious artifacts, and even the clothes used for centuries (the same clothes) for the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor.

The Belvedere Museum is also worth a try too. I thought it was beautiful although the costs were a bit strange. It has several of Klimt's works, including The Kiss. I spent a lot of time in the Upper, paid extra to wander the side gardens, then raced through the Lower. Even if your'e tired or rushed, do a 10-minute walk though the Lower just to see a great building.

The Hapsburg Palace in the city is also worth a visit.

I very much enjoyed the art in the Kunsthistorisches Museum. the building itself is stunning - a beautiful building for wonderful art! The Vermeer is in Tokyo, though.

Outside the Leopold Museum is a free exhibit called Earth from the Air (or "from Above" or something). It's pretty amazing.

The Haus der Musik is a waste of money and time. Ignore guidebooks that rave about it.

Karlskirche is a great church to visit, in my opinion better than St. Stephan's, but don't pay to go up to the "view"--there isn't much of one. My friends told me that the tower with the elevator is the one to visit--the one with steps doesn't have as good a view.

If you are into architecture check out Hundertwasser Haus.

Check out the Kunsthaus Wien, by Hundertwasser and the apartment complex just down the street. That was one of the coolest things I saw there. (I like art, and architecture, and environmental issues. If you don't, you may disagree about how cool it is)

Places to Eat

All those wonderful coffeehouses, the Prater, or if it's January, February or March the Weiner Eistrum just outside the Ring.

Demel is an amazing cafe that makes a gazillion different tortes and cakes daily. The kitchen is glassed-in so you can watch the chefs at work. I had several delicious cakes there, and my friend said their coffee is the best she's ever had (It wasn't acidic, and the flavor was great)

Don't forget Schnitzelwirt Schmidt for the schnitzels!!

A little quirk about Austria is that restaurants and ice cream parlors will put things on your table that you didn't ask for, like, say, bread, or waffle cookies, and then charge you if you eat any. Good thing to know, huh?

Day Trips

it is nice to see Vienna and Budapest right after one another.

Take a hydrofoil trip from Vienna to Bratislava. The boat trip's supposed to commence at 9:00 in the morning.

This link gives information about the hydrofoil, but the location of the dock is misspelled. It's actually Handelskai 265. If you go to http://www.maporama.com/ and do a search for this address in Vienna, Austria, you will be shown a map with the location (I checked to be sure of it). Hope you enjoy your trip.

Take underground line 1 to "vorgartenstraße" get off and it’ll be obvious where to go!