Vienna is the capital of Austria and the smallest of the nine federal provinces. Vienna is home to 23 districts and was first documented as a city in 1137. In 1155, it became the residence of the dukes of the House of Babenberg, followed by the House of Habsburg which ruled for no less than 640 years.
There are a few things you need to consider when visiting Vienna for the first time. The city is safe, with a fantastic infrastructure of buses, trams, trains and subways which are running on time and can take you virtually everywhere. This makes finding accommodation in Vienna much simpler, because no matter where you are, there is great public transport available within minutes walk from your house.
Vienna is not a cheap city, and you need to be prepared to pay for entrance to all attractions. We came to the conclusion that it would work out much cheaper to simply use a Vienna Pass and ensure we save quite a lot of money. It turns out we would have had to pay 420EUR for two days worth of attractions without our cards. Now that is crazy!
"The Potemkin city of which I wish to speak here is none other than our dear Vienna herself."
Vienna has a tremendous amount of restaurants and coffee houses. Almost all large subway stations have bakeries for a quick pick me up snack. For something authentic, make sure you try various traditional dishes and drinks. We recommend the Viennese Schnitzel, the Sturm (Federweiss in Germany), Apfelstrudel (apple strudel) and of course, the almighty Viennese Coffee. But more about the food a little later in the article, I promise!
Vienna is a beautiful city. Pretty much all the buildings in the city look wonderful, well kept and tidy. The streets are clean and there are plenty of parks and trees all around, which makes the city look airy and nice. For photographers, Vienna is a paradise city, with detailed architecture and dreamy streets which look all too inviting. The centre is dotted with boutiques for shopping lovers and there are myriad of museums awaiting to be discovered.
"The streets of Vienna are paved with culture, the streets of other cities with asphalt."
It goes without saying that one of the things you need to get for Vienna, is the Vienna Pass! It costs only 79EUR per person and gives you free access to over 60 top Vienna attractions.
Getting tickets for all trams, buses, subs and trains can become a bit tedious
and costly, especially when you try to get from one attraction to another.
We received our 72-hour red cards from Vienna tourism.
For only 24EUR you get unlimited travel for 3 days in Vienna.
Make sure to order yours online.
