We stayed in Vienna in October 2024. Our hotel was situated near to the main railway station – Wien Hauptbahnhof. The idea was, that we could travel easily to the main attractions via the u-Bahn network. Great idea – but the station itself is massive and we got lost a few times never exiting by the same route twice!
What strikes you when you first walk around Vienna is the absolute grandeur and beauty of the buildings. All around are majestic loggias, symmetrical arcades, balconies and grand porticoes. Karlskirche has a baroque dome plus neo-classical columns and was named after St Charles in gratitude for the ending of the 1713 plague. The Austrian Partliament building is a huge structure which was designed to replicate a temple adorned with classical figures. Right in the centre of the city is Stephansdom a gothic cathedral with baroque fittings and its most striking feature is the multi -coloured tiled roof. The Staatsoper or Vienna State Opera House also has a stunning opulent interior and this setting stages lavish productions of musical performances , operas and ballets.
Hofburg Imperial Palace was first built in 1273 and throughout the decades impresssive embellishments were added to its splendour. It contains the office of the President plus several fine museums displaying silverware, armour and jewel-encrusted robes. The Hofburg Palace is also the setting for the world-famous Lipizzaner Spanish Riding School with the “Ballet of the White Stallions”. The accompanying classical Viennese music make the performance truly wonderful.
Around the city there are also magniificent fountains especially in Maria Theresien Platz where there are four Triton and Mermaid fountains. There were sculpted by Anton Schmidgruber in 1894.
If there is one thing that you must do when sightseeing in Vienna it is to visit a Viennese coffee house. We visited Cafe Landtmann near the Rathausplatz which served delicious pastry in the form of apfel strudel – yum!
A weekend in Vienna is not long enough to really see enough of what this stunning city has to offer.
