Looks like we are going to Austria for a week. Anyone been recently that could give us do's and dont's? We have looked on line about that. Don't think I'm going to rent a car.
Appreciate it.

I stayed at the Imperial Riding School during my visit a couple of years ago. Wicked nice!

https://www.marriott.com/hotel...19-a255-54ba596febe2

If you’re a Marriott rewards member you get the upgrade, breakfast, “happy hour”, and before bed snacks. We saved a lot on eating and drinking expenses. Central location. Everything was within walking distance.

Austrian Museum of Military History
https://www.hgm.at/en.html

Sacher torte eaten at the Hotel Sacher
https://www.sacher.com/en/hotel-sacher-wien/

Schönbrunn Palace
https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/

Stephanplatz in downtown area
https://www.tripadvisor.com/At...ansplatz-Vienna.html

The military museum is exceptional. Well actually just about everything is but I spent quite a few hours at this particular museum. See Arch Duke Ferdinand’s car complete with bullet holes. Also some WWI displays that were actually collected during the war.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TSE,

One word: Chocolate.

Try the sausage. World renound

All of the above, plus street meat dealers. Awesome food.

And don’t forget the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. Probably the most beautiful place I’ve been to.

Definitely go watch the morning exercises at the Spanish Riding School (Spanische Hofreitschule). It's obviously only once a day, I think around 10am, and was 14 Euros per person about five years ago. I am not into this kind of stuff and I loved it. Don't miss it.

A couple of friends of mine went to school there. They lived within walking distance of the Wiener Riesenrad ferris wheel. The Austrian's are not known for their beer, but trust me its fantastic. Its been 30 years but the place they always used to go to was Schweizerhaus. Prater 116. A1020 Wien. Don't even know if its still operating.

Second all of the above. Just went there with The Missus last October. Also stayed at the Imperial Riding School hotel, and it was wonderful. Only thing I would add to the list is go get the tour of the Opera House. The military museum is great!

The Cathedral is very nice. My river cruise in 2010 visited a famous Strudel bakery, but I don't remember its name.

flashguy

I've been told it's one of the areas with the densest number of spies (Iranian, Russian, etc).

At our company, a person with a clearance cannot travel there without a pre and post visit interview.

Visited last Sept, great time of year to go, tons of history.
- Remember it's Wien, not Vienna in Austria.
- Upon arrival, take the tram around the Ringstrasse, get an idea of the place.
- Schoenbrunn Palace for sure, take the tram out there, plan about 4-hours. Go as early as you can, get ahead of all the tour buses and hordes. You can eat lunch at the Glorette.
- If you're into classical music, (Vienna is where Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Strauss shined), the House of Music is pretty impressive...and the Opera House.
- Hofburg Treasury was pretty impressive; where the crowns and jewels of the Hapsburg's.
- Besides wiennerschnitzel, Vienna is also famous for it's tafelspitz. Basically boiled beef, served and prepared in a much more refined manner over multiple courses; I still think of the fried potatoes and creamed spinach . There's many places that serve it, I had it at Plachutta, they have multiple locations, and are very well known for his dish.
- Goulash is pretty tremendous also, you'll eat a variety of types.

My lovely and vivacious wife who studied at the American Music Institue in Gratz would tell you to visit the opera house.
She would also have you pencil in the Gustav Klimt artwork which I understand is available as several locales. He was the artist whose work was the subject of the movie “Woman in Gold” which tells the story of his work being stolen by the Nazi and ultimately returned to an heir.

If you are going to drive around the country, be sure to get a toll vignette (sticker) for the length of your driving days. It's a hefty fine if you are caught on a limited access highway without one. Check with your rental car company. I was drving in with an Italian rental so had to get one.

Two words: Stiegl Goldbräu. A superb lager. I buy it here in the US, in 0.5l cans, where it’s called simply Stiegl Gold.

quote:

Originally posted by 2BobTanner:
Austrian Museum of Military History
https://www.hgm.at/en.html

Sacher torte eaten at the Hotel Sacher
https://www.sacher.com/en/hotel-sacher-wien/

Schönbrunn Palace
https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/

Stephanplatz in downtown area
https://www.tripadvisor.com/At...ansplatz-Vienna.html

All of these! I would recommend a cheap motor tour. Unless my 80 year old memory is letting me down, their streetcar runs in a complete circle. Get on, ride it all the way around the town back to your starting point. Great way to see the city and really inexpensive! If you want to spend more time at one place, just get off the street car at the nearest stop, do you sight seeing and get back on the next one! When we were there, many years ago now, the locals were very helpful in offering places to visit, places to eat, etc. And you would get the advantage of local expertise!

And, YES that special cake is truly worth the time and money to eat a piece, or 3, while drinking the local coffee!

If you like truly great art, the Kunsthistorisches Museum has one of the greatest art collections of the world.
Into music? Visit Schubert’s birthplace, and Mozart’s apartment near the Stefansdom.

Vienna is one of my favorite places to visit in the world.

If time permits, a visit to Salzburg is also very worthwhile. Beautiful city and countryside, fabulous music performances.

I was there three weeks ago. I stayed at the Vienna Hilton Plaza for 12 days. Hotel and staff were perfect. All of the suggestions above are great. Train/Subway system is excellent. Cars arrive every 3 - 5 minutes. The architecture is beautiful. Stefansplatz is awesome at night.

Check out the Sewers man. I did 10 years ago, it was pretty cool.
https://www.drittemanntour.at/en/index.html