Vienna Top 5!!!

Hi,

I was hope that some of you might be able to tell me what your top 5 Vienna sights are. We are going to be in Vienna early next year for 3 nights and was hoping to maybe find something not in all of the travel books.

Thanks

Jen

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Do not miss the national library - in the Hofburg

http://www.onb.ac.at/ev/index.htm

It is stunning! There are many exquisite things to see in Vienna, I would always recommend that one.

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Living here, I usually try to take visiting friends a bit off the beaten path - to Laxenburg (just south of Vienna), the Habsburgs liked to escape there in the summer www.schloss-laxenburg.at. You can get there by bus from Südtirolerplatz (underground stop U1). Or to the Old Danube in the warmer months www.alte-donau.info, the Imperial Furniture Collection is worth a visit www.hofmobiliendepot.at or Hermesvilla in Lainzer Tiergarten (Emperor Franz Joseph had it built for his wife Empress Elisabeth (= Sisi) in the hope it would inspire her to stay more often in Vienna - it did not www.wienmuseum.at/english/1428.htm . Liechtenstein Museum www.liechtensteinmuseum.at is something for those interested in baroque art.

It depends on your interests really, but the general favourites on the lists usually are

Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens (UNESCO World Heritage and truly worth a visit) www.schoenbrunn.at

Vienna Zoo www.zoovienna.at (the oldest zoo in Europe)

Albertina www.albertina.at

Museum of Fine Arts www.khm.at

Imperial Palace (with State Apartments, Silver Collection, Sisi Museum) www.hofburg-wien.at

The Ferris Wheel www.wienerriesenrad.com in the Prater is usually on such lists but I´d personally skip it. The view from it is nothing to write home about in my mind.

Go to info.wien.at, the official Vienna Tourist Board website, and have a look around. There is a section that is called 72 hours in Vienna which suggests an itinerary.

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So many things to see in Vienna- much depends on the major interests of the visitor

Generally Top 5- my opinion

Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens

Hofburg Palace

Stephansdom

Fine Arts Nuseum - Kunsthistorisches Museum

Belvedere Palace and gardens

Some other things

The Schatzkammer - The Imperial Treasury- in the Hofburg complex - overlooked by many - crowns, vestments and much more

The Neue Berg -again in the Hfburg complex- the newest of these buildings from the early 1900s - style itself worth a vist

but one of the best arms and armor collections in the world, fine collection of musical instruments, the Ephesus Museum also.

www.khm.at

The Secession- home to the famous Beethoven Frieze by Klimt - the building an architectural marvel

www.secession.at

not far from the Naschmarkt- a visit and some good foof too.

Not far from the naschmarkt - The Third Man Museum- great for fans of this classic

www.3mpc.net/

The Military History Museum - 16th century to 1918 fine collection in a magnificent building

www.hgm.or.at

free on Sundays

Tours available for the State Opera and Musikverein

www.musikverein.at

www.staatsoper.at

The Wagon Museum at Schönbrunn- immediately adjacent to the palace- fine collection of royal carriages and sleighs-

The Zentralfriedhof - the central cemetary of Vienna-

one of the largest in Europe - a look to the stlye of varios ages includes a composers area - many many visitors so you do not go alone

easy access via UBahn line U-3 to the end station then a short ride on the streetcar#71Also be certain to visit a cafe - pastry and people watching-

often better to experience one of the lessor known to touirsts like Demel-

Cafe Sperl is very traditional

Enjoy

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What I forgot to mention in my earlier post was that there is a combination ticket, the so called %26quot;Sisi-ticket%26quot; available for Schönbrunn Palace, the museums/exhibtions in the Imperial Palace (which goes by the name of Hofburg here) and the Imperial Furniture Collection, so if you should decide to see them all obtaining the ticket might pay off.

And you can buy tickets for Schönbrunn only online on their website.

You could also visit Haus der Musik www.hdm.at (open daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.) or Kunsthaus Wien www.kunsthauswien.com (of Hundertwasser fame). The MQ (Museumsquarter) will surely be mentioned in your guidebook(s), Leopoldmuseum is my personal favourite but the look/architecture of the MUMOK (modern art) is quite inspired in its own, in my opinion, it sort of sticks out in the historic setting.

The MAK (Museum of Applied Arts) www.mak.at is located in a beautiful building as well and just opposite Stadtpark (City Park).

And Wien Museum (formerly called the Historic Museum of the City of Vienna) is located on Karlsplatz, not quite as famous as Albertina and co. but if you are interested in Vienna´s history and origins, a visit comes highly recommended. I think the permanent exhibtion is free on Sunday mornings - and they also regularly have special exhibitions www.wienmuseum.at . Also, some former residences of famous musicians - Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven - are part of that museum and can be visited. Only do check opening times for those, they vary.

Hope this helps/inspires you!

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The reason it%26#39;s difficult to find recommendations not in the guide books is that every sight that would be in anyone%26#39;s top 5 is almost certainly in the guide books. You%26#39;ve got some super recommendations from Vertical (the doyen of Vienna Experts) and Heyerette (a welcome new local poster to the forum) all of which you%26#39;d find in the guide books, but if all of us tried to think of five additional sights you%26#39;d have too many to see in three days. I look all the time at the Vienna guide books and find the Rough Guide to Vienna to be the most comprehensive, often mentioning smaller places near to the major sights which are worth a detour if you%26#39;re in the area. They%26#39;re compact enough to take around with you, have decent maps and are invaluable when access to the internet isn%26#39;t easy or cheap giving opening times to the museums and OK transport maps. I also find a good guide book a nice memento of a visit. Don%26#39;t forget that just wandering around and poking your nose into doorways and alleyways is often just as rewarding as visiting a majot tourist attraction.

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We are planning our third trip to Vienna and we still haven%26#39;t seen everything. The time of year makes a difference also. In the warmer weather, the gardens at Schonbrun and Belvedere are amazing but during the Christmas holidays you can skip the Christmas Markets. My suggestion, get a map of Vienna and then start walking. Get lost on the side streets. We stumbled on some of the greatest little churches and neigborhoods that way. The National Gallery and the Treasury were amazing and Stephandom is not to be missed. Limit your palace tours to either the Imperial Palace or Schonbrun if your time is short. Have to say that Vienna is our favorite city in Europe so far so my suggestion would be to walk, eat and enjoy! Oh, if you are an opera fan at all see if you can get tickets.

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