Expert: Edgar Mendez Chacon - 4/26/2004

Question
HI!  I am a student from Texas traveling to Vienna to take an intensive German class for a month this summer and was wondering if you could give me any tips on great places to visit, or short day trips and such!  Is everyone usually pretty nice?  I went to Vienna for a couple days last Christmas and it was so beautiful!  But I am excited to get to know the city better!  Thanks for any help you can give me!!!

Answer
Hello Annie!

That's great that you are taking German classes in Wien.  I did the same thing for 3 months.  

Here is what I consider my "must see sights" for Vienna.  Visit the collection of Gustav Klimt paintings (including his famous painting "The Kiss") at the Upper Belvedere palace, which also has paintings by Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, two other well known Viennese artists. See the crown jewels from the Hapsburgs, including Charlamegne's crown at the Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury, in English) at the Hofburg, visit the summer residence of the Hapsburgs at Schonbrunn and stroll throught the gardens there.  Climb the spire at Stefansdom for a beautiful view of Vienna.  Also at Stefansdom you can visit the catacombs beneath the cathedral.  See the sarcophagi of the Hapsburgs stored in the Kapuchiner Kirche.  Some of the sarcophagi are really elaborate, especially the one of Maria Theresa and her husband. Opera is always enjoyable in Vienna (they have two opera houses there) and you can get cheap standing room tickets, for about $3 the days of the show.  It's a cheap way to indulge in the local culture.

If you like visiting zoos, I really enjoyed the zoo at Schonbrunn, which is the oldest in the world and has a pretty good selection of animals.  On the weekends there is the weekly flea market held at the Naschmarkt where it is fun to try and find a bargain on something that the local residents are selling.  Finally, one of my favorite places in Vienna is the Central Cemetery where many famous composers are buried including Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss and Schonberg.  The tombs are very ornate in the cemetery and it is a nice place to stroll on a beautiful afternoon.  Mozart is buried right up the road from the Central Cemetery at the St. Marx Cemetery where there is a nice gravesite set up for him.  You can also go out to Kahlenberg, which is the highest point around Vienna and get a good view of the city, but I found it to always be hazy when I went so the view was not that great in the afternoon.  From Kahlenberg, there is a walking path that leads through the vineyards around the area and takes you down to Neustift am Walde where I was living.  I think the path may continue on from there, too.

If you would like to do some daytrips out of Vienna, the Austrian Rail system usually has some pretty good deals to places nearby with some add-on items.  I once went to Puchberg am Schneeberg on a deal where you get your train fair out to the town, a ride on a steam train up the mountain where you can hike for a while and a coupon for a free dinner at a restaurant in the town.  Another time we went to Neusiedler See and you got a free bike rental to go biking to the lake and along the vineyards.  You can go down one of the main train stations and there should be different brochures with the current specials the train system has.

I hope this helps you out and have a wonderful time in Vienna!  If there is something else I can help you with or answers you still need, please let me know.

Enjoy your time in Wien!

Edgar