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Three days in Vienna. Day 1
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Christmas time is a great time to visit Vienna
Vienna is one of the most interesting cities in the world to visit. It was built to rule an empire which stretched from the borders of Switzerland to today's Ukraine. On a visit to Vienna it is very easy to see that the city once ruled an empire.
There are so many things to do in Vienna that three days is the bare bones minimum of time if you'd like to see a bit of the city. There are old areas of the city dating from the early days of the Hapsburg empire to the baroque nadir of the empire to the post war republic. You can see museums, palaces and castles, visit historic churches, have some of the world famous Viennese pastries, enjoy the arts such as classical music and the opera or spend an afternoon in a wine tavern which is hundreds of years old. In short Vienna has something for everyone! This article is the first of a 3 part series.
The old city of Vienna is a great introduction to the city. Vienna was originally a Roman camp called Vindo Bona or white field in a local language. It was settled by the Hapsburgs in 1278, attacked by the Turks in 1529 and 1683. The old city dates from the 13th century, around the time the Hapsburgs took over. A great place to start your tour is Stephansdom or St. Stephan's Cathedral. The cathedral is a masterpiece of baroque construction. It was badly damaged by allied bombing during the war, but has been masterfully restored. Make certain you take time to climb the 345 stairs to the tower for a breath taking view of Vienna.
Vienna is a great city for walking and after seeing Stephansdom you can walk north east to the medieval Latin Quarter of Vienna. In this area you will see Schoenlanterngasse, a street of baroque homes which have been turned into galleries and cafés. Some sights to see are the Heiligenkreutzerhof and the Basiliskenhof, two historic houses which have been preserved and restored.
After visiting Schoenlanterngasse head back west towards the Alte Rathaus or Old City Hall. Nearby is the Judenplatz museum, a great museum of Jewish Vienna. Both these sights give a great feeling for the history and diversity of Vienna. Continue heading west and south towards the Hofsburg, a palace which is the seat of the Austrian government. Much of the palace is open and includes places like the imperial apartments, the nearby Augustiner Church where the remains of several Hapsburgs are entombed. On the way to the palace you can pass by the third man portal, the door featured in The Third Man with Orson Wells.
You'll probably want to take a bit of a break after the old city and before touring the Hofsburg so stop at Demel http://www.demel.at/en/index_en_flash.htm. Demel is one of the most famous bakeries in the world. It is several hundred years old and has hundreds of types of sweets. You can get just about any famous Viennese pastry here such as the Sachertort, Linzertort, and many others. Make sure you have a cup of coffee with the pastry. Vienna introduced the western world to coffee. In the 1600's the Turks were beaten back and left so quickly they abandoned many of their supplies. There was quite a bit of coffee and an Italian merchant who had been in Istanbul bought it from the emperor and opened a coffee house.
Two places for dinner in the area are Figmullers http://www.figlmueller.at/index.php?lang=enfor Wiener Schnitzel or Greichenbeisl. Both serve traditional Austrian specialties and have been in business for generations.
Stay tuned for the next installment for day two in Vienna!
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