I%26#39;ve long been planning on taking my girlfriend on a surprise trip to Vienna on the weekend of the 11th and 12th of April, particularly for the purpose of seeing an opera in the Staatsoper -- was planning on going to L%26#39;elisir d%26#39;amore on Sunday the 12th. I%26#39;ve booked my non-refundable train and plane tickets months ago, as well as made a reservation at a hotel. I figured I%26#39;d book tickets for the opera online when they went on sale a month before the performance.
To my shock and horror, at the beginning of this month a friend alerted me to the fact the 12th of April is actually Easter Sunday, so I expect Vienna to be packed with tourists, and the opera to be really popular that day. So two weeks ago I went ahead and pre-reserved tickets through the Staatsoper%26#39;s web site.
Still, I%26#39;m now really worried -- do you think I was too late in pre-ordering the tickets, and will the opera have been sold out already, or do I still stand a chance of getting tickets allotted to me? Also, in case I find out a month before the performance that I indeed won%26#39;t get any tickets directly from the Staatsoper, do you know of any reputable online resellers? It%26#39;s pretty important to me that we%26#39;re able to go see this opera, so I%26#39;m willing to pay a higher price to make up for my stupidity in not pre-reserving sooner!
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And for extra fun, my return flight is with SkyEurope, which according to this forum is apparently in dire financial straits. Now all I need is for my hotel to go up in flames, too!
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Don%26#39;t panic! :)
I would not say that Vienna is extraordinarily packed with tourists on this specific weekend. Vienna is generally a popular destination with an increasing number of visitors towards the end of June. In catholic countries the following Monday (=Easter Monday) is a public holiday making the weekend actually longer and thus ideal for a journey abroad. On the other side, many Viennese leave the city behind in order to go on vacation as schools are closed. I don%26#39;t believe that the risk potential is mentionably higher than on any other weekend before or after the chosen date.
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Mikey is right, of course - the Easter weekend is not outrageously busy in Vienna (not compared with say, the run-up to New Year). I always go there at Easter and find it quite a nice time to visit. The only time I remember vast crowds was when I went to Schoenbrunn on Easter Monday - along with the entire population of Vienna, or so it seemed!
If you find that you are not pre-allocated tix, you might try this ticket agent:
www.viennaticket.com
I%26#39;ve used them before for sold-out events, and they seem to be pretty good at getting hold of tix - for a premium, of course (usually 20-25% of the face price of the ticket). However, you may well be lucky with the ticket allocation - it depends a lot which categories you requested in your pre-order (the higher priced seats in the stalls are quite numerous). If you%26#39;re not preallocated tix, go online on the day of the sale anyway - there might be seats available in a different category. It%26#39;s also worth checking back regularly with the SO site after sales have opened, since there are often returns (or you can ask to be put on a waitlist for returns).
There%26#39;s quite a lot on in Vienna the night of Easter Sunday, including a big concert at the Musikverein, so that might spread the load a little!
rol
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Hello,
I%26#39;m a bit puzzled about why you can%26#39;t buy tickets now for a Staatsoper perf in April - I have already bought and had confirmation of seats for 3rd May, also through the website. Is it because we%26#39;re seeing a ballet and you want an opera? Seems strange ... Anyway, why not ring the box-office at the Staatsoper and explain the circumstances? I fairly often want seats in Europe for a particular day eg when I am there on business or when, like you, I have found and booked a good transport. I have always found people to be very helpful when contacted %26quot;live%26quot;. Good luck!
Simon.
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