My tour for Christmas markets in Europe continues. This time, I send you herzliche Grüße from the capital of Austria. Do you want to see the city from which one of the world's most powerful dynasties controlled Europe? A place where future of the whole continent was once being decided? Welcome to Vienna, a city that went from the world city number one to a provincial capital that however still has a lot to offer. Wanna know what to see? Then follow me on this tour :)
It's freezing. I am walking the awesome streets full of luxury shops and gazillions of people trying to take a glance at least, trying to take a selfie with the city's most famous cathedral (trust me, try it, it may keep you occupied for the whole afternoon and still end up with the same shitty picture like me) :D Speaking of which - let's take a look at my TOP 5 :)
1/ St. Stephan's Cathedral
While probably not the number one attraction, the Stephansdom with it's 136 meters high tower is the real landmark of the Inner City. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna and has been for the past several centuries the most important church in Austria. You may enter the church itself, climb two of the four towers to enjoy the view of the city, or step down to the catacombs to see tombs of some important Austrian figures, including many of the pre-Habsburg rulers of Austria. Also, I have never seen a church that is sooo difficult to take a picture of, so if you can, please let me know in the comments how you did that :)
2/ Hofburg palace
The Imperial palace of Hofburg has been since the 13th century the official residence and seat of power of the once royal and imperial house of Habsburg. Now, the palace serves as the official residence of the President of Austria. There are currently three areas of the large palace open for public. It is the Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum and the Silver Collection. You may buy a ticket for 13.90 Eur with the audio guide or 16.90 with a tourist guide. It is also possible to buy the so called Sisi Ticket for 27 EUR that gives you admission to the Hofburg palace, the Schönbrunn palace and Imperial Furniture Collection. Which brings me to:
3/ Schönbrunn palace
The summer residence of the Habsburg dynasty is sometimes referred to as the Austrian Versailles. Rebuilt significantly under the rule of Maria Theresia, the beautiful baroque castle with enormous park and palace gardens and its own ZOO (founded in the 18 century it is considered to be the oldest zoo in the western world. And don't forget to take a look at their pandas :) ) There is a possibility of several types of guided tours inside the palace itself (there are over 1600 rooms, 40 of which are open for public) or you can just enjoy the beauty of the park. On the exact axis of the garden, you may find another landmark, the so called Gloriette, once a monument to the Habsburg dynasty that today houses a cafe and an observation deck providing views of the garden, palace and the whole city around.
4/ Prater
If you are into that (which I am not, sorry guys for not having any picture from there), don't forget to visit the Austria's most well known and oldest amusement park - Prater. The entrance is free of charge and you may come 24 hours a day. There are plenty of attractions, the most famous of them probably one of Vienna's landmarks, Wiener Riesenrad, the 65 meters high giant wheel.
5/ Rathaus
The Vienna new town hall is the meeting point for many of the city's inhabitants as well as tourists. It is like the dominant of the city and one of the most wonderful pieces of architecture of the end of the 19 century. This is where the Mayor of Vienna and the city's diet called Landtag resides. This is also the place where you may find the largest of the famous Christmas markets. Then all aboard and Frohe Weihnachten :)
There are really many other places worth visiting, picking just 5 was really hard, so maybe i will bring some more in one of the future articles. I tried to make this list based on my heart (and kinda had to put the Prater inside for it's like the second most favorite spot in Austria, but...) I love Vienna and always come back and hopefully I have forwarded a little of that to you guys :) Let's meet there one day, grab a coffee or one of the famous Sacher cakes and enjoy the city :)
Till next time
Lex
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