Vienna Travel

The brightest diamond in Europe’s cultural crown for centuries, Vienna fell on hard times at the end of WWI with the decline of its keepers, the Habsburgs. With the exception of Red Vienna in the 1920s, when the city prospered under the most successful socialist government Europe has ever seen, the city wallowed in the cultural backwaters for much of the 20th century. The previous 10 years has seen the city turn itself around, and in the 21st century, Vienna is once again looking peachy. Quality of life is high: Mercer Consulting, in its worldwide quality of living survey, ranked Vienna fourth behind Zurich, Geneva and Vancouver. Some Viennese would beg to differ. Nevertheless, the facts speak for themselves – the city’s public transport system is one the best in the world, green spaces abound, the circus of public festivals and events grows larger year by year, rent and living costs continue to stay low and the socialist welfare system is strong. The city’s bar and club scene has never been healthier. Traditional pockets such as the Bermuda Dreieck have floundered in the wake of new locations opening up across the city, and now locals are spoilt for choice. The districts inside the Gürtel, in particularWieden, Mariahilf, Neubau, and Josefstadt, have built up a strong concentration of progressive bars and live-music venues, while districts traditionally bereft of night spots, like Leopoldstadt, are currently experiencing a surge in nightlife. Electronic music, once the darling of Vienna’s contemporary music scene, is, like the city, on the comeback. Clubs such as Flex and Künstlerhauspassage not only attract big names in the local scene, such as Kruder & Dorfmeister and the stars of Cheap Records, but also a regular troupe of international DJs and bands. Many of the smaller bars, rhiz, Fluc, and Cabaret Renz included, feature DJs habitually.The Viennese, back from world trips, tired of schnitzel and began exploring the few Chinese restaurants and Turkish kebab houses in town. Before long, new flavours and spices were popping up all over the city (and continue to do so), whetting the Viennese appetite. In recent years the trend has reversed somewhat, with local cuisine making a comeback: today, modern takes on traditional dishes are in. Art, a major link in Vienna’s cultural armour, continues to go from strength to strength, and fortunately the councillors of Vienna have never been shy about forking out for art and public space. Their greatest achievements in the 21st century – the reopening of the Albertina, home to the world’s greatest graphic art collection, and the completion of the Museums-Quartier, the eighth largest cultural complex in the world – have not only complemented the city’s incredible art treasure chest, but helped to create an art scene of epic proportions.

German is the official   language of Austria, but each region has a distinct dialect. The Viennese dialect has many similarities to High German, but also many differences. It is slower and more relaxed than its High German counterpart (it has all the qualities of a lazy drawl), but it is also more charming. The Viennese love to sprinkle their dialect with lively, evocative words and expressions that are often gobbledegook to other native German speakers. It’s also peppered with French words, such as Melange and Tottoir; a hangover from the days when Maria Theresia encouraged her court to throw a bit of French into the conversation.Within Vienna itself there exists a further dialect, Tiefwienerisch: a thick, sometimes unintelligible dialect that slowly oozes out between the lips, weighed down with expressive sayings that would make your mother blush. This is the language of the working class, but thenon-working-class folk of the city just love it and use it at every opportunity.

Austria has one of the strongest economies in the EU and Vienna is Austria’s financial centre. Citizens enjoy good welfare services and health care, and a benign pensions and housing policy. Vienna earns its cash through precision engineering, metal products and the manu-facture of electrical and electronic goods. Banking and insurance also chip in their fair share, as does the service industry. The port of Vienna is the largest facility for container translocating in inland Europe, and has in-creased in importance with the opening of
the Main canal connecting the Rhine and he Danube (Donau). Tourism isn’t high onthe list of money earners, although, like the arts industry, it’s on the increase. By European standards, Vienna isn’t a particularly expensive city. It’s cheaper than Paris, London or Rome, and more
expensive than Prague or Budapest. Shopping aside, accommodation will be the most expensive item on your budget. Food isn’t that pricey, and if you take advantage of Mittagsmenü (set-menu lunch) you’ll save and still eat exceptionally well. Museum entry fees range from €1 to €10. Many theatres and classi-cal music halls sell tickets at discounted prices a few hours before performances, and have a standing-room-only section where tickets go for a song. These options help to stretch your euro that little bit further; see also the boxed text It’s Free  for ideas. Note that children pay lower prices and students and senior citizens often receive discounts. Public transport is an absolute bargain in Vienna.On average, staying at a 2- to 4-star hotel (double room), eating out twice a day, taking in a show and a couple of museums and downing a few cups of coffee will set you back around €170 to €250 per day

 Recycling is well established in Vienna – 295,000 tonnes of waste are recycled annually. This isn’t only dictated by conscience – Viennese are compelled to do so by law. Vienna’s widespread use of environmentally friendly trams and buses powered by gas has helped keep the city’s air reasonably clean, and the Wienerwald does its part as an efficient ‘air filter’. The city’s water supply, which flows directly from the Alps, is one of the cleanest in the world, although many of the older houses still have lead pipes. This has resulted in one in every 10 houses recording lead in the water supply, but levels are generally too low to cause harm.The Fernwärme incinerator , has one of the lowest emission levels of any incinerator in the world. This plant processes waste matter, burning 260,000 tonnes of it annually to supply heating for more than 40,000 homes in Vienna.

The architectural history of Vienna is long and grand. From its early Roman beginnings to its21st-century contemporary constructions, the city’s good burghers have played with brick and mortar, often mastering, sometimes excelling, in their attempts. Aside from theRenais-sance era, the city is embellished with a healthy array of architectural styles, manyof which are within easy reach of the Innere Stadt. Highlights abound, but the peak periods of baroque and  Jugendstil  (Art Nouveau) that emblazoned the city with a plethora of masterpieces, are in a class of their own; for some, their collective brilliance outshines all other attractions in Vienna.In many ways, Vienna’s art has waltzed arm in arm with its architecture through the ballrooms of history. And, like its ar-chitecture, the city’s art peaked in its  fin-de- siècle years, spawning  Jugendstil, the Secession (Sezession), the Wiener Werkstätte (WW; Vienna Workshop), and greats like Gustav Klimt, Otto Wagner, and Egon Schiele. WWII and Austria’s voluntary embrace of Nazism have created another artistic generation altogether, one attempting to come to grips with its at times unsettling heritage. Perhaps the most vivid expressionists to rise from the group are the Actionism art movement, whose work revolves around violent self-hatred.

The pleasure of drinking in Vienna is variety. Wine, beer and coffee all have their special place in the hearts and minds of the Viennese, and exude a strong influence on the cultural make-up of the city. Vienna has a strong claim to the ‘Coffee Capital of the World’ title. Its Kaffeehäuser (cof-fee houses) are as famous as the city’s classical music heritage, and anattraction in their own right. The sheer number of coffee houses is staggering, but each has its own flair and flavour, and a trip to Vienna would be incomplete without sampling their unique ambience.Wine is most beloved by the Viennese and outweighs beer in the consumption stakes. Seven sq km of vineyards lie within Vienna’s borders, making it the world’s largest wine-growing city. Heurigen, the city’s equivalent of a wine taverns, are rustic establishments on the outskirts of the city where ‘new’ wine (normally only a year old) is served to eager patrons on warm summer evenings.The bar scene, where much of the city’s beer disappears down parched throats, is small but highly accommodating. Whether you’re looking for a family-friendly microbrewery or grunged-up student hang-out, Vienna can supply. The distinction between bar and restaurant, and bar and club, is often blurred however. Don’t dismiss a place because of the label above the door: many restaurants are just as good for a night out as the bars listed here. While normal precautions should be taken when heading out for the night, it’s good to remember Vienna is a very safe city. For information on the best sources for listings in the city, see the Entertainment chapter.

Vienna is awash with sights. From the Innere Stadt to its outer lying districts, the city offers a gamut of splendid palaces, churches, baroque and Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) architecture, museums, and parks, all easily enjoyed using the city’s fast and efficient public transport system.Imperial history abounds, from the proud Hofburg and magnificent Schloss Schönbrunn to the grand array of Ringstrasse architecture. Baroque design, the mainstay of Habsburg taste, not only shines in the likes of Schloss Belvedere and Karlskirche, but also on the streets of Josefstadt and in small pockets throughout the city. Jugendstil, the backlash against the pomp of baroque and neoclassical, also features heavily; Kirche am Steinhof and the Majolika House are classic examples. It would take a month of Sundays to see all the museums in Vienna. The MuseumsQuartier, the darling of modern Vienna, houses the city’s finest contemporary art spaces, while nearby the Kunsthistorisches Museum houses some of the finest paintings on the planet. But its also the little things that make exploring Vienna a pleasure; walking through a medieval quarter in the Innere Stadt, pausing in a city park, enjoying coffee and cake in an old coffee house, taking a tram to an unknown destination, stopping at a farmers’ market. Vienna has 23 Bezirke (districts), but to make things easier for ourselves and for the traveller, we’ve grouped them under geographical headings. First comes the Innere Stadt, the compact central district, followed by the Ringstrasse, a wide boulevard lined with grandiose architecture surrounding the Innere Stadt. We then move on to East of the Danube Canal, an area encompassing a residential district rich in Jewish history, fabulous public parks and the city’s modern expanse to the east of the central city.

 Stephansplatz is the focal point of the In-nere Stadt and a good place from which to begin exploring Vienna; from here, some of the district’s major thoroughfares, namely Kärntner Strasse, Graben and Rotenturm-strasse, connect to other attractions.Stephansdom, the city’s glorious Gothic cathedral, dominates the square so com-pletely that it’s hard to notice anything else, but there are one or two notable sights to find. To the north of the cathedral is the Erzbischöfliches Palais which was built in 1640 and now houses the Dom- & Diözesanmu-seum. On the corner of Stephansplatz and Graben is the controversial  Haas  Haus  a modern edifice of glass and steel that some love while others hate. The views of the square from the DO & CO hotel and restaurant ( p119 ) inside Haas House photo album. Throughout much of the year Stephansplatz is full to overflowing with street performers, tour groups, Mozart lookalikes,  Fiaker and vo-yeurs, a stark change to the Innere Stadt’s peaceful back streets only a few minutes’ walk away in any direction

Vienna’s sleeping options cover the full spectrum, from youth hostels and student residences to luxury establishments like the Hotel Imperial and Hotel Sacher, where chande-liers, antique furniture and original 19th-century oil paintings are the norm rather than the exception. In between are   homely Pensionen (guesthouses) and less ostentatious hotels, plus a small but smart range of apartments for longer-term rentals.Standards remain high, and generally so do prices; bargains exist, but they’re few and far between. As a rule, budget doubles are available for under €80 a night, midrange from €80 to €200, and top end anything above that (and the sky’s the limit in this city). Break-fast is invariably included in the price – normally a Continental buffet – but parking isn’t (anything between €6 and €26 per 24 hours). The Innere Stadt is first to fill up, so booking well ahead is advised. District’s one to nine are the next to go, with the outer districts (outside the Gürtel) mopping up the leftovers. If you arrive without accommodation, head for the Tourist Info Wien  which books rooms for a small fee.

Krems is one of the larger towns in the Wachau region and has a historical core dating back over 1000 years. It’s on the northern bank of the Danube, surrounded by terraced vineyards, and has been a centre of the wine trade for most of its history.The town is comprised of three parts: Krems to the east, the smaller settlement of Stein 2km to the west, and the connecting suburb of Und – an unusual name that inspires the joke: ‘Krems and (und in German) Stein are three towns’. Together, they create an attractive setting with a peaceful air; add to this a huge selection of wines from the region and the result is a town well worth spending some hours exploring. The Krems Tourismus in Kloster Und supplies visitors with a map pinpointing all the architectural and cultural attractions around town, but it’s just as rewarding to simply wander the cobbled streets, quiet court-yards and ancient city.Krems has several churches and museums worth diving into. The Pfarrkirche St Veit on the hill at Pfarrplatz is baroque in style, with frescoes by Martin Johann Schmidt, an 18th-century local artist who used the pseudonym Kremser Schmidt. Piaristenkirche, up behind St Veit’s on Frauenbergplatz, has Gothic vaulting, huge windows and baroque altars.

Tourism in  Eisenstadt is primarily centred on one factor – the town’s association withJosef Haydn. Haydn revealed that Eisenstadt was ‘where I wish to live and to die’. He achieved thformer, being a resident for 31 years, but it was in Vienna that he finally tinkled his lastune. He also rather carelessly omitted any directive about his preferred residency aftedeath. His skull was stolen from a temporary grave shortly after he died in 1809, and latebecame a museum exhibit in Vienna. The headless cadaver was subsequently returned tEisenstadt (in 1932), but it wasn’t until 1954 that the skull joined it.Haydn’s white marble tomb can now be seen in the   Bergkirche. The church itself is remarkable for the Kalvarienberg, a unique Calvary display; access is via a separate entrance to threar of the church. Life-sized figures depict the Stations of the Cross in a series of suitablaustere, dungeon-like rooms. You can’t miss the baroque, 14th-century    Schloss Esterházy, which dominates the townToday, the palace is still owned by the powerful – and rich – Hungarian family Esterházy

 Shopping in Vienna can be a schizophrenic experience. First, there’s the glitz. The Innere Stadt’s grand baroque and Secessionist edifices house a dazzling array of high-end retailers –from chains like Prada, Cartier, Chanel, Swarovski and all the usual luxury suspects to homegrown upmarket heavyweights like Augarten and J&L Lobmeyr. Wandering the streets around Graben and Kohlmarkt will afford you some sumptuous window shopping, whether or not you can afford the delights on offer.The riches of history are also up for sale, most notably in the remarkable Dorotheum auction house (see  p181 ). The streets surrounding the Dorotheum and down to Albertina-platz are filled with galleries selling all manner of opulent stuff – period and contemporary art from all over Europe; antique guns, porcelain, armour – like a random museum with price tags.At the other end of the spectrum are Vienna’s idiosyncratic Altwaren (old wares) shops, filled with secondhand odds and ends, where you may find the odd treasure amongst the dross. Reigning supreme in the bric-a-brac stakes is the famous Flohmarkt (see  p185 ), a huge flea market crammed with bargain hunters onSaturdays, where the dusty contents of suburban attics mix with genuinely valuable and beautiful old pieces to make for a very enjoyable – and quintessentially Viennese – shopping experience.In between, Vienna has its due share of global High Street names and chain stores, and in some areas, like along Kärntner Strasse and Mariahilfer Strasse, it seems not much besides. Little gems do exist, but you need to explore the hidden alleyways and backstreets to find them; a bit of legwork can bring great rewards. Local specialities include porcelain, ceramics, handmade dolls, wrought-iron work and leather goods, and many shopssell collectables such as stamps Briefmarken (stamps) and Münze (coins).