Vienna (Wien) is the capital of Austria and the former capital of the Austrian Empire and has many attractions. The city is large, more than 2.5 million inhabitants – this is about a quarter of the population of all of Austria.
View of Vienna from the bell tower of St. Stephen
The city of Vienna itself, for the most part, is quite ordinary, and this applies even to the center – there are also many modern buildings there. There is no old city, as such, in Vienna. To call the palace complexes the language does not turn, and they, in general, are only islands among unremarkable buildings.
Sights and attractions of Vienna
The very center of city its a Vienna main attraction – Stephansplatz with St. Stephen (Stephansdom) . The cathedral around is built up in such a way that it is not even possible to photograph it in its entirety. But, indeed, beautiful, large, in the best traditions of Gothic, and even with its own twist – a mosaic roof.
Inside the cathedral looks no less interesting. When the sun is out, the whole room is colored through the stained-glass windows. A complete feeling that these are walls with columns painted in different colors.
In the cathedral, you can climb any of the bell towers to look at the surroundings from above. Nothing particularly interesting to be seen, to be honest.
In the dungeon, in addition to the graves of the highest dignitaries of the church, the remains of the royal family (in the form of boxes with entrails) and a huge amount of stacked bones from the cemetery that once was here and simply mass graves are stored (you can admire them through the windows in the wall). The spectacle, in general, is not for everybody.
Cathedral of St. Stephen (Stephansdom) XIII-XV centuries.
Vienna – Cathedral of St. Stephen
Nearby is the Ruprechtskirche , the oldest church in Vienna. True, immediately after the construction, it did not look quite like this. 🙁 Like most old buildings, the church was repeatedly repaired and rebuilt.
Church of St. Rupert (Ruprechtskirche) VIII-IX centuries.
Monument to Maria Theresa
In the center of Vienna there is another building unlike any other – the baroque church of St. Petra ( Peterskirche ).
Peterskirche (XVIII century)
Hofburg Royal Palace , or rather palaces, since this is a whole complex that occupies an entire block – just large pompous buildings.
Hofburg
Most of all I liked the treasury located in the Hofburg Museum, in the oldest part of the palace. I am not in awe of jewelry, but here it is not about them, but about what is made of them. Really very beautiful. In fact, the treasury contains not only jewelry, but also clothes, furniture, paintings, everything that was once used in the everyday life of the palace.
Gold and diamonds…
Imperial crown in the Hofburg Museum of the 9th century.
Vienna City Hall is a relatively new building. Beautiful building. In winter, an ice rink is filled in front of the town hall. When I was there at the end of February, this ice rink mercilessly melted and literally streams flowed along the street. It’s already spring for them 🙁
19th century town hall
Nearby is the Gothic Votivkirche (also of the 19th century), but it was all in the woods, on the occasion of the restoration.
Now let’s move on to what, in my opinion, defines the face of the Austrian capital and is the main sights of Vienna – the palace and garden ensembles.
Belvedere
Belvedere
Belvedere
Schönbrunn
Schönbrunn
Next to the emperor’s palace is Prince Rudolph’s garden , which is a gallery and a garden with citrus trees. Trees in tubs, for the winter they are naturally carried away into the heat. In addition to banal oranges and lemons, there are completely unprecedented fruits …
Prince Rudolph’s Garden
Climbing up from the palace to the Glorietta arch , you can go into the hedge maze. It is small, it is difficult to get lost there, but it is interesting to take a walk. And next to it is a great playground where there are even crooked mirrors.
park and glorietta
Vienna zoo
You can get to the zoo directly from Schönbrunn Park – in fact, it is called the Schönbrunn Zoo. There is also a separate entrance on the other side. This is the oldest zoo in the world, it was founded in 1752.
Opening hours are from 9:00 to 16:30-18:30 (depending on the season). Tickets can be bought online, at the box office at the entrance. Detailed information on the Vienna Zoo website.
Vienna Zoo – Cat 🙂
Vienna Zoo is famous for pandas, which are only found here (well, in China, of course).
Vienna Zoo – Panda
I liked the big pool with penguins. There are many different types of them and it is very interesting to watch how they waddle and go about their business.
Vienna Zoo – Koala
Koalas can be noted, which are also not found in every zoo.
Another place that is impossible to pass by with children is Prater amusement park . It is very large, there are many attractions, and there were those that I had never seen before. The children liked the multi-story walkers, where you need to overcome various obstacles along the way, sort of like in a computer arcade. The prices are very democratic – I have not seen anything more than 5 euros, mostly for 2-3 euros.
Museums in Vienna
In addition to the already mentioned museum in the Schönbrunn Royal Palace, we visited several more.
Museum of Natural History (Naturhistorisches Museum) . All such museums are more or less similar, Vienna is no worse. Just as interesting. Yes, one of the famous Venuses of the Stone Age, the Venus of Willendorf, is exhibited there.
Museum bird…
Technical Museum
Technical Museum
Hunderwasser House
It must be said that the main sights of Vienna are more or less nearby (except, perhaps, Schonbrunn), so if you wish, you can walk anywhere. You can also drive, of course – transport is convenient, but not too cheap.
Vienna Airport
Vienna Schwechat Airport is located quite close to the city, about 15 km. From the airport ( Vienna airport site ) the easiest way to get there is by train, the station is located directly below the terminals. Moreover, it is absolutely not necessary to go on a special City Airport Train (CAT).
The same trip on a regular S-Bahn train line S7 costs 4 times cheaper and takes only 5-10 minutes. more time. Both trains arrive at a large interchange station in the city center – Wien-Mitte. You can take the subway there.
Vienna public transport map