Flight time
2h 25m
Best season
April–May & December
Budget
Mid-range to splurge
Best for
Classical music, museums, coffee houses, architecture
Overview
Why Vienna for a city break?
Vienna is the city that civilisation built when it had time, money and an empire. The Ringstrasse — the grand boulevard of museums, opera house, parliament and city hall constructed in the 1860s and 70s — is one of the most ambitious acts of urban planning in European history. The Kunsthistorisches Museum holds one of the world's great art collections. The Wiener Philharmoniker is the finest orchestra on earth. The coffee houses — where Freud, Klimt, Mahler and Wittgenstein all worked — are still there, still serving Melange and Apfelstrudel, still expecting you to stay for three hours with a single coffee.
From London it's two and a half hours; well connected from most UK regional airports. Vienna rewards a slightly longer stay than a standard weekend — three full days is the right amount. December is extraordinary: the Christmas markets on the Rathausplatz and Schönbrunn Palace square are among the finest in Europe. Spring brings the Wiener Festwochen arts festival and the city at its most beautiful. Summer is hot but the outdoor Danube beaches and the Prater park make it liveable.
Where to stay & explore
Vienna's best neighbourhoods
1st District (Innere Stadt)
The medieval heart inside the Ringstrasse — Stephansdom, the Hofburg, and the most concentrated historic architecture in the city. Tourist-heavy but architecturally unmissable. Stay here for maximum access.
7th District (Neubau)
Vienna's most creative neighbourhood — the MuseumsQuartier, independent boutiques, excellent restaurants and the best concentration of young Viennese nightlife. More local than the 1st, better value.
Naschmarkt & 6th District
The Naschmarkt — Vienna's famous open-air market of 120 stalls — runs through the 6th district. The best lunch in the city is a slow walk through it. Excellent restaurants and wine bars cluster along its edges.
Things to do
What to see in Vienna
1
Kunsthistorisches Museum
One of the finest art museums in the world — the Habsburg imperial collection assembled over four centuries, housed in a palatial 1891 building. Vermeer's Art of Painting, Bruegel's entire surviving oeuvre (the largest collection anywhere), Raphael, Caravaggio, Cellini's Saliera (the most expensive object ever stolen and recovered). The building itself — the café under the central cupola — is as extraordinary as the collection.
2
Schönbrunn Palace & Gardens
The Habsburg summer palace — 1,441 rooms, 40 of which are open to visitors — and its 500-acre formal gardens are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Grand Tour of the palace takes 50 minutes; the Gloriette on the hill above gives the finest view of Vienna. The gardens are free to walk; the maze and Privy Garden require tickets. Book the palace entry online.
3
Belvedere Palace & Klimt
The Upper Belvedere baroque palace houses the world's largest collection of Gustav Klimt — including The Kiss, the most reproduced painting in Austrian art history. The palace itself, the formal garden between the two baroque buildings, and the view from the upper terrace over the city are all extraordinary. Book online; the Klimt rooms are busy.
4
Vienna State Opera
One of the world's great opera houses — if you can get tickets to a performance, go. Stalls and boxes require formal dress; standing tickets (Stehplatz) are available from €10 on the night and are a genuine Viennese tradition. The guided daytime tour is a good alternative. The opera season runs September to June.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Vienna
Café Central
Historic Viennese coffee house
The most beautiful coffee house in Vienna — a vaulted Gothic Revival hall where Trotsky played chess and Freud read the newspapers. Order a Melange (coffee with milk foam), an Einspänner (black coffee in a glass with whipped cream) or a Pharisäer (rum and coffee). The Apfelstrudel is essential. Touristy but genuinely wonderful.
Figlmüller Bäckerstraße
Traditional Viennese / Wiener Schnitzel
The definitive Wiener Schnitzel — the veal cutlet here is the size of the plate and hangs over the edges, pounded thin and fried in lard in the 19th-century tradition. The restaurant has been in the same family since 1905. Book ahead; always full.
Steirereck im Stadtpark
Two Michelin stars / Austrian haute cuisine
Consistently one of the world's 50 best restaurants — Heinz Reitbauer's cooking is rooted in Austrian landscape and seasons in a way that feels genuinely connected to the land. The Stadtpark setting, the extraordinary Austrian wine list and the cheese trolley are all part of the experience. Book months ahead.
Itinerary
3 days in Vienna — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
The Ringstrasse, Kunsthistorisches, coffee house initiation
Vienna's City Airport Train (CAT) runs direct to Wien Mitte in 16 minutes (€14.90). Drop your bags — the 7th district is ideal — and walk the Ringstrasse: the Parliament, the Rathaus, the Burgtheater, the twin art museums. The Kunsthistorisches opens at 10am — spend three hours here, focusing on the Bruegel room and the Vermeer. Walk across the Ringstrasse to the MuseumsQuartier for a coffee at one of the courtyard cafés. Late afternoon: the Hofburg Imperial Palace — the Imperial Apartments, the Habsburg crown jewels (Schatzkammer), and the Spanish Riding School (if there's a performance). Evening: Figlmüller for schnitzel, then a concert — Vienna's chamber music concerts in the Musikverein or Konzerthaus are extraordinarily good, and tickets are usually available on the day.
Day 2
Schönbrunn, the Naschmarkt, Klimt at the Belvedere
Schönbrunn Palace opens at 9am — take the U4 to Schönbrunn. The Grand Tour takes 50 minutes; allow another hour for the gardens and the Gloriette climb. Back into the city for the Naschmarkt: a slow walk through the stalls buying cheese, charcuterie and bread for an informal lunch eaten on the market's benches. The Upper Belvedere is a 10-minute walk from the Naschmarkt — Klimt's The Kiss is in room 4 on the first floor. Spend an hour in the palace and 20 minutes in the garden between the two buildings. Café Central in the late afternoon — a Melange and the Apfelstrudel, as long as you like. Evening at a Heuriger (wine tavern) in Grinzing or Neustift am Walde — the new wine (Grüner Veltliner) and the cold buffet in a vine-covered courtyard is one of Vienna's oldest and best traditions.
Day 3
Belvedere gardens, the Prater, one last Einspänner
The Lower Belvedere and its Orangery are quieter than the Upper — the Baroque Museum and the Museum of Medieval Art are both excellent. Walk through the formal garden between the two palaces in the morning light. The Prater park is 20 minutes by U-Bahn — the giant Ferris wheel (Riesenrad, built 1897, James Bond villain's meeting room) gives a different view of the city, and the Prater's chestnut-tree avenues are the best walk in Vienna. Lunch at the Schweizerhaus (a classic Prague beer garden in the Prater, open March to October). One final coffee at Café Schwarzenberg or Café Landtmann before heading to the airport. The CAT back to the airport takes 16 minutes from Wien Mitte.
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