What to see in Vienna

Vienna highlights

The places you can’t miss. In the app we sort them by day and close to each other.

1. Schönbrunn

   The Habsburgs’ summer palace; the gardens and the Gloriette are free.

2. Stephansdom

   A Gothic cathedral with a roof of coloured tiles; climb the south tower by the stairs.

3. Belvedere

   A Baroque palace with Klimt’s The Kiss and views over the gardens and the city.

4. Prater

   A park with the giant 1897 Ferris wheel and a five-kilometre tree-lined avenue.

5. Belvedere Palace

   Two Baroque palaces joined by a garden. The Upper Belvedere holds Klimt’s The Kiss, and there’s always a little crowd in front of it.

6. Hofburg

   The Habsburgs’ winter palace: the imperial apartments, the Sisi Museum and the court silver collection.

7. State Hall of the National Library

   Eighty metres of Baroque hall with two hundred thousand old books, frescoes in the dome and four Venetian globes.

8. Karlskirche

   A builders’ lift takes you to within a few metres of the dome frescoes: you can see the brushstrokes.

9. Secession Building

   A dome of golden laurel leaves from 1898. In the basement, Klimt’s thirty-four-metre Beethoven Frieze.

10. Hundertwasserhaus

    A council housing block with undulating floors and a colourful façade. People live there, so you can only see it from outside.

11. Naschmarkt

    A very long row of stalls selling pickles, cheeses and spices. On Saturdays a flea market is added at the end.

12. Café Sperl

    A café from 1880 with carom billiard tables and original furniture. You come to see the place, not just for a drink.

13. Vienna Central Cemetery

    The graves of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Falco in grounds so big a bus runs through them.

14. Kahlenberg

    A hill in the Vienna Woods with a terrace overlooking the city and the Danube. Take the 38A bus up.

Day trips from Vienna

We take you straight to the best-rated tour on GetYourGuide, with its reviews and dates.

• Mozart and Strauss concert ★ 4.3 (536 reviews)
• Schönbrunn ★ 4.8 (8,123 reviews)
• Danube Valley ★ 4.8 (126 reviews)

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Typical food of Vienna

The dish you have to try there and how to make it at home, to whet your appetite before the trip (or to go back to Vienna from your kitchen).

Wiener Schnitzel

The Viennese escalope: a very thin veal steak, breaded and fried until the crust puffs away from the meat in waves. It’s served with lemon and potato salad.

• Serves 4
• 30 min

Ingredients

• 4 veal topside steaks (about 150 g each)
• 100 g flour
• 2 eggs
• 150 g fine breadcrumbs
• Lard or oil for frying (plus a knob of butter)
• Salt
• Lemon and parsley

How to make it at home

1. Flatten the steaks between two sheets of cling film to half a centimetre thick and salt them.
2. Dip them in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs, without pressing the crumbs on.
3. Heat plenty of fat (a finger deep) to 170 °C with the butter.
4. Fry the escalopes, shaking the pan so the fat washes over them, for about 2 minutes per side, until the crust puffs up.
5. Drain them and serve with lemon and potato salad.

The trick: Shaking the pan as it fries is what makes the coating “soufflé”.

Frequently asked questions about Vienna