Vienna

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St. Stephen's Cathedral, with its colorful tiled roof, rises 136 meters at its highest point, Vienna, Austria

The Hofburg was the main winter residence of the Habsburg rulers and now houses museums and the office of the Austrian president, Vienna, Austria

The Vienna State Opera opened in 1869 as the first major building on the Ringstrasse, Austria

The Kunsthistorisches Museum opened in 1891 to display the Habsburg art collections, Vienna, Austria

About Vienna

Vienna, Austria's capital, sits on the Danube at the eastern edge of the Alps and served for centuries as the heart of the Habsburg empire. That imperial legacy shows in its palaces, museums and broad boulevards, and the city's long association with composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Strauss makes music central to its identity. Its coffeehouse culture is recognized by UNESCO as intangible heritage.

St. Stephen's Cathedral, with its patterned tile roof, stands in the center of the old town. The Hofburg, the former imperial palace, contains the Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum and the Spanish Riding School. The Vienna State Opera sits on the Ringstrasse, the grand boulevard that circles the center. The Kunsthistorisches Museum holds major works by Bruegel and others, while the MuseumsQuartier and the Albertina cover modern art and graphic collections. The Belvedere palaces display Klimt's The Kiss, and Schönbrunn Palace, the Habsburg summer residence, has extensive gardens. The Prater amusement park is known for the Riesenrad, a giant Ferris wheel, and the colorful Hundertwasserhaus offers whimsical architecture. On the city's edge, Grinzing is known for wine taverns called heurigen near the Vienna Woods.

Vienna suits travelers who enjoy art, music and a refined, unhurried pace. Public transport is efficient, and concerts are easy to find. Winter brings Christmas markets and ball season.

Best seasonApril to June and September to October bring comfortable weather; December brings Christmas markets.

Ideal stayThree to four days covers the main palaces and museums with time for coffeehouses.

ArrivingVienna International Airport connects to the center by train, and Wien Hauptbahnhof links to major European cities.

WiserMap travel guideVienna Austria Coffeehouses Palaces and Wine TavernsPlan a trip to Vienna: Schönbrunn, the Hofburg, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Belvedere, the Prater and Naschmarkt, plus coffeehouses, wine taverns and when to go.Read the guide

12 Best Things to Do in Vienna

Landmarks 4

St. Stephen's Cathedral

Vienna's Gothic mother church rises over Stephansplatz in the heart of the old town, its south tower, the Steffl, reaching about 1...

Hofburg Palace, Vienna

For more than six centuries the Habsburgs ruled from this sprawling complex, which grew wing by wing from a medieval castle into a...

Vienna State Opera and the Ringstrasse

Opened in 1869 with Mozart's Don Giovanni, the Staatsoper was the first major public building on the Ringstrasse, the boulevard la...

Hundertwasserhaus

Artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser designed this municipal apartment block in the Landstrasse district with architect Joseph Krawi...

Museums 3

Kunsthistorisches Museum

Built for the Habsburg art collections and opened in 1891, the museum faces its twin, the Natural History Museum, across Maria-The...

Albertina

Perched on one of the last surviving bastions of the old city walls, this former Habsburg palace holds one of the world's great co...

MuseumsQuartier Wien

Set in the former imperial stables behind the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the MuseumsQuartier pairs Baroque wings with bold modern b...

Palaces 2

Belvedere Palace

Prince Eugene of Savoy had these two Baroque palaces built by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt in the early 18th century, linked by a...

Schönbrunn Palace

The Habsburgs' summer residence on the western side of the city has 1,441 rooms, and up to 40 appear on palace tours, including th...

Parks 2

The Prater and the Riesenrad

The Prater was an imperial hunting ground until Joseph II opened it to the public in 1766, and today it is a vast green space of m...

Grinzing and the Vienna Woods

Vienna is one of the few capitals with working vineyards inside its limits, and Grinzing in the 19th district is the best known of...

Food and Drink 1

Naschmarkt

Stretching about a kilometre and a half along the Wienzeile, the Naschmarkt has been Vienna's best-known market for more than two...

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