We love Vienna! A beautiful city, that is amongst the top ranked places to live – and we get to call it our hometown! While we’re not born and raised in Vienna, we’ve learned to love it in just a few short years. For today’s city guide, we thought we’d share some of the places you definitely shouldn’t miss on your next trip to Vienna. So get ready to spend 24 hours in the city we love!
9:00 AM – it’s breakfast time
Breakfast is one of the meals you don’t want to skip when you’re in Vienna. The options are endless and the prices are fair. For a great start to your day, we’d suggest making reservations at Motto am Fluss Café. Our favorites on the menu includes “Volle Kraft Voraus”, the oatmeal, as well as the olive oil egg on spinach and their homemade lemonades. Located right along the Danube Canal you don’t only have a great view, but you’re also super close to Schwedenplatz, from where you can easily walk into the first district for some sightseeing after breakfast.10:00 AM – start with sightseeing
After breakfast, grab your map and start heading towards the Stephan’s Cathedral (Stephansdom) by walking along Roteturmstrasse. Stephan’s Cathedral is basically the very heart of Vienna and a must-see if you’re visiting for the first time. Of course you can go inside, and sometimes you can even attend the service there. After you’ve seen the cathedral, start walking along Kärntner Street towards the Opera.
11:00 AM – tour the ring
Once you’ve made it to the opera, you can stick around there for a while, take some pictures infront of the gorgeous building, or even grab a quick coffee to-go at the Starbucks that is vis-a-vis. From the opera, we’d suggest starting a tour around the ring. There are plenty of busses for hop-on-hop-off tours right there, but we have a budget-friendlier insider tip for you: Buy a ticket for public transportation (90 minutes for around 2,20€) and hop on the tram #1. This will take you all along the ring street, where you’ll pass most of the important sights in Vienna. The Hofburg, imperial theater, parliament, city hall, museum’s quarter and university, just to name a few. If you want to take a closer look at any of these sights, simply hop off the tram, take a look around, and then get back on when you’re ready to move on.
12:30 PM – it is lunchtime
By 12:30 you should have made your way around the ring at least once, and can hop-off at the opera with lots of new impressions and many things crossed of your sights-to-see-list. Right behind the Opera, towards the Albertina Museum you’ll find 2 great options for lunch. Either you go with the very authentic “Würstelstand” and grad a Käsegrainer sausage to-go, or you can sit down for a nice lunch at the Do&Co Albertina. We adore the ceasar salad there.
1:30 PM – museum
Since you’re already by the Albertina Museum, we’d suggest taking a tour of the museum. Currently they’re showing pieces by the famous Austrian artist “Helnwein”, but they also have exhibitions that are always being showcased, such as “Monet to Picasso”. Be sure to bring your college/university ID if you’re a student to get a discount for the entrance fee.
3:30 PM – coffee & cake
It is no secret that Vienna is known for it’s Sacher Torte, and it is also known for it’s café house culture. Naturally you can’t miss that! So head on over to Café Hawelka, one of the most traditional cafés in Vienna. Definitely go with the “Sacher Torte” accompanied by a typical “Wiener Melange” (the Austrian version of a cappuccino).
4:oo PM – exploring the first district
After filling up on some chocolate and caffein, you can get rid off a few of those calories from the Sacher Torte by walking through the first district and exploring many of the small alleys and streets around. Then, walk along the “Graben” all the way until you hit “Meinl am Graben” – one of the most famous grocery stores in the city. You can stock up on some souveniers (ie. Mozartkugeln) there, before you head towards the Hofburg, along the Kohlmarkt where you pass Chanel, Tiffany & Co. and lots of other high brands. Perfect for some (window) shopping.
7:00 PM – dinnertime
If you’ve never been to Vienna, you have to have a Schnitzl for dinner (as long as you’re not vegetarian). Now, there are many discussions about the best Schnitzl in town, but for us, there are 2 restaurants that are great options: Plachutta Gasthaus zur Oper and Figlmüller. If you’re really hungry, eat at Figlmüller, where the portions are huge and the Schnitzl is usually enough for 2 people. If you’re looking for a slightly fancier atmosphere, go to Plachutta.
22:00 PM – drinks with a view
For a lovely way to end your first day in Vienna, we suggest enjoying a cocktail or 2 with a gorgeous view. The “Dachboden” of the 25hours hotel is perfect for that. In a relaxed but bustling surrounding, you can enjoy the Museum’s Quarter from above while sipping on a mojito or aperol sprizz.
DAY 2
9:00 AM – breakfast, again
For breakfast on day 2 we’d suggest heading to Naschmarkt, a busy market that sells fresh fruits & veggies, has a weekly fleamarket on Saturdays and quite a few restaurants to choose from. Neni is a perfect option for a nice outdoor breakfast in the sun.
10:00 AM – Naschmarkt
Once you’ve finished with breakfast, take some time to walk through Naschmarkt, possibly buy a few spices that you can’t find in your regular supermarket and grab some fresh peaches to snack on during the day. Walk all the way towards Karlsplatz, where you can visit the secession.
11:00 AM – shopping on Mariahilfer Straße
Mariahilfer Straße can easily be reached by foot from the secession, or you can take the U2 subway from Karlsplatz to Museums Quarter/Mariahilfer Straße. There you’ll find all the most common brands like Zara, H&M or Mango, as well as some fun interior stores like KARE. If you’re looking for more individual shops we suggest exploring one of the back streets of the 7th district, such as Burggasse.
1:00 PM – lunch at Freiraum
Located right on Mariahilfer Straße, we love Freiraum. Sometimes the service isn’t the best, but their salads (“goat & spinach” or “crispy chicken”) make up for that! Also, you have to try their homemade mango ice tea. They also make a pretty mean burger if you feel exhausted from all the sightseeing and need something other than a salad to fill you up.
2:00 PM – the MQ
The Museums Quarter, also known as MQ hosts many different museums and is also a place to simply hang out! During summer people usually bring their own drinks and meet up with friends in the center of the MQ. For those that are a little sick of museums by now, grab a “Kaiser Spritzer” (white wine, soda & elderflower syrup) and relax with the locals – for everyone else there are numerous museums that are still waiting to be discovered.
4:00 PM – Schönbrunn Palace
After a bit of relaxation at the MQ, you’re ready for some more exploring. Take the subway all the way to Schönbrunn Palace. There is so much to see there. The grounds are kept beautifully, the zoo is there, and you can also book tours through the rooms of the palace. If you have enough energy left over, definitely walk up to the Gloriette, from where the view is simply stunning!
8:00 PM – dinner, dancing & drinks
To finish your Vienna experience with a bang, we can highly recommend the Albertina Passage for dinner. It is pricey, no doubt about that, but it is also an experience! The whole dinner club is located almost exactly underneath the opera, there is purple lighting, delicious cocktails and on most nights there is also live music. No need to go to a bar or club after dinner, this will be your entertainment for the entire evening and you won’t wanna go home!
And just incase you missed our last city guide about Paris, you can find it HERE.
12 thoughts on “Vienna City Guide: 24 Hours In Our Beautiful Hometown”
wieviel kosten denn die cocktails so im dachboden? wollte immer schon mal hin, vielleicht nehm ich euren beitrag jetzt zum anlass :)) ist es eher normal oder gehoben dort?
Hallo Sunflower,
die Cocktails am Dachboden sind “ganz normal” von den Preisen her. Wir finden sogar ehr preiswert für die Location. Normal zahlt man ja für einen solchen Ausblick oft ein paar Euro extra – das ist hier nicht der Fall. Als Vergleich: Ein sehr großer Aperol Spritzer (im Cocktailglas, also ca. 0,3L) kostet um die 4€
Ist auf jeden Fall einen Besuch wert :) Kann man übrigens jetzt auch gut mit einer Pizza unten im neuen Restaurant “1500 Foodmakers” kombinieren.
Liebste Grüße
Das sind aber schon eher 48 wie 24 Stunden… Oder hab ich da was nicht verstanden?
Liebe Sandra,
da wir in der Nacht nicht durch die Stadt rennen, sind 2 Tage mit jeweils ca. 12 Stunden Program gemeint :)
Liebste Grüße
Ihr Lieben, das kommt wie gerufen! Mein Freund und ich überlegen gerade, wohin der nächste Kurztrip gehen soll und Wien ist einer der Favoriten. :-) Toller Artikel!
Das sind bestimmt ganz tolle Tipps, wenn man das erste Mal in Wien ist!
Ich bin mittlerweile seit vier Jahren hier und kann mich vor allem für den Naschmarkt gar nicht mehr begeistern (jedes zweite Standl ist komplett gleich und man wird durchgeschoben wie am Volksfest, von den frechen Preisen für die Waren ganz zu schweigen), dafür mag ich Spaziergänge in den kleinen Heurigengassen in Sievering und Döbling umso mehr ;-)
Super Tipp mit den Ring-Straßenbahnen – vor allem weil der Hop-On Hop-Off Bus bald nicht mehr am Ring fahren darf so wie´s aussieht :(
Ein super toller Bericht, ich liebe eure Seite sowieso :-)
Habt Ihr eventuell einen Hoteltip für Wien? Wir gehen im Dezember an den Weihnachtsmarkt :-) Vielen Dank!
Hallo Fabia,
ja klaro haben wir Hoteltipps für Wien :) Hier ein paar Ideen: 25hours Hotel, K+K Hotels (beides super Lage direkt beim Museums Quartier), Penta Hotel (ziemlich cool & eine nette Bar unten, auch leckere Burger), NH Hotels (zB auf der Mariahilfer Str. oder direkt beim Belvedere), Lamée direkt im 1. Bezirk (nur 1 Minute vom Stephansdom), Sofitel (falls was schickeres sein soll) oder natürlich die Klassiker wie Ritz Carlton, Le Meridien und Kempinski am Ring entlang. Da ist bestimmt was dabei :)
Liebe Grüße,
Kathi + Vicky
Great article! Thanks for sharing. I am currently planning my Vienna trip for New Years Eve 2013/2014!
Hallo ihr Lieben :)
Ich werde nächstes Wochenende mit meinem Freund in Wien verbringen. Ist euer Cityguide auch für diese Zeit geeignet? Habt ihr spezielle Tipps für die Weihnachtszeit?
Liebe Grüße,
Nina
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