The Hofberg Palace is the formal imperial Palace of the Hapsburg dynasty. it is the official residence of the President of Austria today. I love the big plaza’s inside the palace. Possibly my favorite part is going to the Hofberg Kapelle (Hofberg chapel) to listen to the Vienna Boys Choir – get tickets and pay for the ones on the floor to get the best view. The views in the balcony are very limited and you will end up watching the church service facing a wall and watching a tiny television… though you can still hear the choir.
Viennese Coffee Houses
Wiener Kaffeehaus has been listed an an intangible cultural heritage by Unesco. It truly is a quintessential part of the flow of daily life here, if you don’t spend some time reading in a coffee house in vienna and having an einspänner did you even go to Vienna? There are several notable coffee houses, Cafe Central has amazing architecture, but is always super busy. The cakes are great there though. I love Cafe Demel for the traditionally dressed servers, though others may beg to differ, my favourite is actually Cafe Prukel for the pink – accidental Wes Anderson vibe inside, also, it’s less flooded with tourists and locals meet to chat and read here. A low key and cosy chain that I love, as the servers are in traditional dress, and the coffee is some of the best, is the Cafe Heimer – you can find branches throuhgout the city, these cafes are very cute, but not as ’instagrammable”.
Schonnbrünn
The summer palace of the Hapsberg, the gardens are truly spectacular in summer. It is a beautiful example of a french gardens and may rival Versaille. i particularly love the orangery in summer. The walk up from the Neptune fountain to Gloriette is challenging in winter, as it’s icy and incredibly cold. In warmer months, the walk up the little hill to Gloriette, is worth the trip for the view of Schonnbrün.
The Belvedere
A beautiful museum with two palaces, the Upper and Lower Belvedere. The buildings are set in a beautiful baroque landscape, in summer when it is full bloom. In Winter, it is still beautiful winter wonderland, with the snow. The little christmas market here in Winter is very small and is only worth visiting if you are going to the Belvedere anyway. The Belvedere houses some beautiful artwork, the interiors are well preserved from it’s prior life as a Hapsburg residence. However, my favourite part of the museum is the Upper Belvedere as it is the home of one of my favorite painting – Gistav Klimt’s – The Kiss.
Palmenhaus at the Burgarten
Having a meal in a tropical greenhouse in the middle of the frozen winterwonderland that is Vienna in Winter is quite an odd and delightful feeling. The interior is lush and verdant. The food is solid, but a bit overpriced for the quality I think, but it is worth making a reservation to have a look. It’s a unique experience and different to eating anywhere else in Vienna.
Hunderwasserhaus
In case you thought that Vienna is all imperial palaces, you should make time to visit Hundertwasser Haus. Designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser it is visually stunning with all the colors of the houses. It was built to showcase architecture at harmony with nature and man. Though visually arresting any time of year, I believe spring, or summer would be better, as you’ll be able to see the tree with leaves on and be able to see more of Hundertwasser’s vision of architecture in harmony with nature.
Viennese State Opera
Opera is a love of mine, I think any opera lover would probably make a pilgrimage here. It truly is wonderful. However, for the non-opera loving visitor, the architecture is pretty nice too.
Figmüller
Vienna is home of the Schnitzel. I didn’t think that I liked Schnitzel until I had it at Figmüller. It is surprisingly hard to get a good Schnitzel In Vienna! At Figmüller, there is a thin layer of crunchy golden batter enveloping a tender, juicy and tasty veal inside. Paired with the potato salad, it is heaven. I would fly back Vienna just to eat this. I really didn’t want to go here originally, because the queues are insane and there were so many tourists. I decided to try after I came at a weird time, and there was no queue, so I didn’t have anything to lose; and I am so glad I did. Make sure you get a reservation to come here, or come during off peak hours. There are two branches in Vienna.
Other Notable Places
