📖 3-minute read.
New May ‘25: FULL Google Maps list: click here
Having lived in Vienna for seven years, this is basically as people keep asking re local tips the last six years, and up until now I’ve been sharing my note from my iPhone, I thought I’d turn that into Substack views. It’s cynical isn’t it.
FYI, Google Maps Links are included in the names, so just click and go. I should make a complete list, really, too.
From Vienna Airport to the centre:
• Train Option (Recommended): Take the red ÖBB S7 train from the airport. It costs around €4.80 and runs regularly. Note: avoid the green CAT (City Airport Train) – it only saves about 5 minutes but costs €30. If your train goes to Praterstern, get off there – it’s the closest and most convenient stop if you’re staying in the second district. If your train goes to Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), transfer to the U1 metro line and ride about 15 minutes to Nestroyplatz.
• Taxi or Uber: A ride from the airport typically costs between €35 and €45.
Must-see, in my opinion.
Schönbrunn Palace - Leopold I copied it with architect Johann Berhard Fischer von Erlach in 1696 after a visit to Versailles, though it’s a scaled-down version of the original. Napoleon then quartered himself here in 1805 after the Battle of Austerlitz & 1809 during the War of the Fifth Coalition. where you spend summer holidays as a Habsburg to escape the heat of the town centre. Kind of a Versailles vibe. You can just walk around the grounds and go to Café Gloriette.
Hofburg Palace. In the centre of town and where you spend your winters if you're Austro-Hungarian royalty, easier to get Fiakers to and fro (Uber powered by horses).
Wiener Staatsoper (State Opera). Does what it says on the tin. Maybe worth looking at tickets if you want to go fancy. You can also queue up behind the opera to get discounted tickets. I recommend booking online if you’re travelling from afar.
Albertina - an art gallery housing Monet and Michelangelo. Probably worth a gander.
more museums…
Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) bits and bobs of treasure and tidbits accumulated by your various Habsburgs over the years.
National History Museum - nothing compared to London, obviously. Lots of rocks, etc and a few stuffed animals thrown in.
Belvedere - an Art Gallery based in a palace. They've got the big picture of Napoleon in here, which is cool.
Jewish Museum - a good overview of the Jewish community throughout Vienna's history from medieval times until the horrors of the Shoah and the aftermath.
Museum of Applied Arts - this gallery weirdly looks like Dulwich College - I think due to its redbrick exterior.
Arsenal - Military History Museum - for the Gunners fans. They've also got the car that Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in, thereby kicking off WW1, which is fun. Wouldn't want to know what the insurance would be on that car by now. It wouldn't pass an MOT.
Das Hundertwasserhaus - nestled fairly centrally in the third district, the unconventional, bold visionary Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000) commissioned for no fee and built in the early 80s, it’s a public housing project admired for combining art, nature and architecture. Fun fact: he died aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2.
Cafés, obviously…
Vienna is a world centre for coffee. They even invented the machine to froth milk. Order a melange (a better version of a cappuccino).
Café Engländer - for a great schnitzel. Also, not too tourist,y which is nice.
Café Prückel - old-fashioned coffee house, sometimes the service can be questionable.
Café Landtmann - where Freud used to put pen to paper.
Café Demel - good cakes, can be overloaded with tourists in peak Christmas season.
Café Mozart - near the Opera and Albertina.
Café Hawelka - once favourite haunt of many artists, politicians, actors and writers: Peter Ustinov and Andy Warhol, for example. It’s near to Stephansdom (a good addition by Steve). It’s currently being run by the third generation of Hawelkas.
Zum Schwarzen Kameel - nice posh café for very occasion, coffee, breakfast, brunch, dinner, Apérol and people watching. Indoor and outdoor available.
FYI Google Maps Links again.
Viel Vergnügen, wünsche ich Ihnen!
Lg,
Marcus
Vienna, May 2025.
Don't forget the famous "Cafe Havelka" just a few meters from Steohansdom (Cathedral). Once the favourite haunt of many famous visitors, many artists, politicians, actors, and writers: Peter Ustinov and Andy Warhol for instance). Currently run by the 3rd generation of Havelkas it still maintains it's historic and traditional "Vienna Cafe Culture" appeal.
https://hawelka.at/
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