Vienna, the capital of Republic of Austria, is so far its largest city with a population of around 1.7 million. It is a part of the Bratislava-Vienna Twin City area and is considered to be the political, economic and cultural center of Austria. The city has always been in the lime light in many popular international magazines and had been ranked 1st in 2005 by the Economist Intelligence Unit for its quality of life. Due to the occupancy of the Hapsburgs in the early days, Vienna still has got the imperial feel about it which is reflected by its typical architecture and culture. It is one of the favorite destinations of tourists from all around the world.
Vienna’s climate is somewhere between humid continental and oceanic. Summers are warm with mean high temperature lying between 22° and 26° C and winters are comparatively cold having mean temperatures near the freezing point. Snowfall from the month of December to March is commonplace. The autumn and spring however, are more on the milder and cooler side.
When it comes to Vienna sightseeing, there are some real good places worth visiting. The city is filled with rich museums, beautiful palaces and castles and exquisite gardens and parks. Following are some of the popular sightseeing attraction of Vienna:
Museums
- If you are interested in beholding the 20th century Viennese architecture you must visit the Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station that has one of its buildings made into the form of an exhibition area by Vienna Museum dedicated to the work of the most eminent architect of Vienna, Otto Wagner.
- If Museum of Modern Art and Museum of Applied Arts is your area of interest then you can go for MOYA, the Artist’s House, Atelier Augarten, House of the Arts, Kunsthalle, Essl Collection and two more that are extensions of the Generali Foundation and Museum District.
- The Sisi Museum is dedicated to Austria’s former Empress, Elizabeth Amalie Eugenie. You can have a look of the silver cabinet and the royal apartments.
- The Kunsthistorisches Museum contains paintings by famous old masters and many classic and ancient artifacts.
- Even the castles of Vienna are treated as galleries and museums.
- Other museums include the Military History Museum, the Burial Museum, Albertina, the Technical Museum, the Sigmund Freud Museum, the Museum of Art Fakes, the Mozarthaus Vienna, Museum of Romans, Hermesvilla and Vienna Clock Museum.
- You also have certain small-scale yet unique museums like one on heating systems, which is the only one in the world and another on abortion.
Palaces and Castles
- The Liechtenstein Palace comprises one of world’s largest private collections of baroque’s art.
- Castle Belvedere which is built under Prinz Eugen contains an art gallery of paintings by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt and many other artists of the early twentieth century. It also has sculptures by the Franz Xaver Messerschmidt and temporary exhibitions.
Gardens and Parks
- When it comes to gardens and parks, Vienna has a little more than enough to offer. Stadtpark, Volksgarten, Burggarten, Schloßpark, Donaupark, Augarten, Schönbrunner Schlosspark, Rathauspark, Dehnepark, Votivpark, Lainzer Tiergarten, Resselpark, Auer-Welsbach-Park, Kurpark Oberlaa and Türkenschanzpark are some of them.
- The most popular public park in Vienna is undoubtedly the Prater. It is situated in the Leopoldstadt district on one side of Wiener Prater with Wiener Riesenrad also included. Inside the Prater, you will find an orbicular micronation called Republic of Kugelmugel, a planetarium and a museum.
Apart from things to see you have tons of things to do in Vienna. It has lots of theatres, opera houses, classical music centers, etc. So music lovers can practically have a gala time. Following are some of the popular musical activities in the city:
- Balls: Vienna hosts a series of balls in the carnival season that epitomizes glamour, elegance and grandeur. The most popular balls are definitely the opera Ball taking place in the State Opera. It is also known as the ball of the Vienna Philharmonic.
- Dance workshops: The ImPulsTanz Festival of summer hosts many contemporary dance workshops and performances that you can enjoy very well.
- Concerts: You have many classical concerts that are performed at places like the Wiener Konzerthaus and of course the Wiener Musikverein that stages performances by the famous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra itself.
- Operas and Theatres: Among theatres you have Volkstheater Wien, Theater in der Josefstadt and several other small-scale theatres that stage modernistic and experimental cabaret and plays. Among operas you have the ones being performed at Theater der Wien, Volksoper, Staatsoper and Haus der Musik.
The open air film festivals held in summer at Vienna Turf Krieau, Schloss Neugebäude, Augarten and the Prater is another great attraction among tourists.
Vienna is truly a dream come true for shopaholics. You have shopping streets, malls, outdoor markets, airport’s special duty-free shopping facilities and an entire Christmas market dedicated only to Christmas shopping. Restaurants, bars and cafes line every other street in Vienna. And the best part is the variety. Right from the menu items and ambience to budget and language, you will get plethora of options to choose from. And if you are the experimental type then you will definitely relish the street food available in the streets of Vienna. Traditional street food of the city is sausage in all its forms. The local snack culture follows the Turkish and ex-Yugoslavian type of fast food like Turkish and Greek sandwiches and Doner Kebap. Naschmarkt is the best place to buy kebaps from.
Vienna does have a peppy nightlife. With umpteen bars, cafes, clubs and overnight festivals and parties, the city is no less than a nocturnal carnival. The Ride Club and Loco offer cheap drinks and a good ambience. Among discos and parties you have the Why Not disco, the Meat Market party, the HOMO queer gay party and many more. You also have many night casinos that will add to the fun.
Vienna surely has a variety of things to offer to those who are in search of a healthy break from their mundane regular life. The city of Vienna brings the people to life.
