Travel to Vienna

Vienna served as the gateway to our 15-day journey through Central Europe and the Balkans, where we aimed to explore the natural beauty of the region. However, we also allotted a couple of days to admire the architecture of Vienna and nearby Bratislava.

Upon arriving in the evening, we rented a car that remained with us throughout the trip. Our hotel, located on the outskirts of Vienna, proved to be a convenient choice, as city center accommodations were costly and parking was a challenge.

I did not want to drive the car to the city centre, but with limited public transport options on Sunday, especially on the outskirts. So, I drove the car to a parking garage next to an underground metro station and used public transport throughout the day. It worked out pretty well.

Schonbrunn Palace

The first place we visited was Schonbrunn Palace, the most visited site in Vienna. It was the summer residence of Hapsburg rulers. The yellow-coloured building looked imposing from the outside. But the attractive part was on the other side of the palace. We took a short detour to reach the other side. It is also possible to enter the palace and exit on the other side, but it requires an entry ticket. Useful for people to appreciate the artefacts inside this palace.

Huge gardens, sculptures and founds dotted the landscape on the other side. We climbed up to Gloriette, which provided stunning views of the palace and its surrounding.

City centre – Museums, Palace, Cathedral and Ring road tram

Next, we visited the historic city center, where every building looked majestic and intriguing. We visited notable landmarks such as the Austrian Parliament building, Maria Theresian Platz, Museum Quarters, and the Hofburg Palace complex. While there were numerous museums to explore, we chose to appreciate the external beauty of the buildings.

The historic city centre is filled with museums. One can spend months just visiting the museums. We did not had the time nor the interest to get deep dive into the museums. We focussed our attention to enjoy the external beauty of the buildings.

It was a lot of walking. To break the monotony, we hopped on to the “ring road tram” that went around the city centre. Since we had day pass, there was no limit on the trips we could make on public transport.

After a lot of walking, we stopped at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, where we enjoyed Vienna’s renowned coffee (Tanu, being particular about the taste of the coffee certified that Vienna coffee was great) and explored the eateries and restaurants in the area. Despite our plans to visit the Danube riverside, we were exhausted due to jet lag and decided to call it a day.

Danube tower

On our last day, we had some time before heading to the airport, so we visited the Danube Tower, the highest structure in Austria, which provided stunning views of Vienna from its viewing deck at 150 meters. We also appreciated the beautiful gardens around the tower and spent some time along the Danube river and its canals.

Information and tips

• Vienna is well connected by Air, train and road.
• Day pass is the best way to use public transport. There are also 48 and 72 hour passes.
• If you are interested in museums, then Vienna city would save a lot of money.
• There is no need for a car in Vienna as the public transport is really efficient. If you have a car (like us), better to park in P+R garages which have less parking charge.