4 days in Vienna - Itinerary help

Look into going to the Albertina, St. Charles's Church and St. Stephen's Cathedral. But in St. Stephen's, the view from the towers wasn't that good, I wouldn't go up again. I took the Opera guided tour and it was worth it, but buy tickets in advance. The Museum of Natural History is not the type of museum I prefer but I enjoyed it too.

As you mentioned classical music being one of your interests, would highly recommend a visit to Haus der Musik:

https://www.hdm.at/en/

On September 1st there is "Open House" at the Staatsoper, i.e., free access to the house and all its facilities, particularly the stage with a demonstration of its technical features, exhibitions in various rooms, etc.

There are two dates: 2:30pm and 6pm

Tickets will be available at no cost, but are required to limit the number of people visiting. Obtaining tickets is a bit tricky as the date when online booking starts is not revealed until the last monent. Last year it was 12 days prior to the event. You have to check the website regularly. A certain number of tickets is kept for being handed out at the ticket counters for late visitors.

Vienna is filled with a wide palate of interests for all tourists - you'll get a bunch of options from the forum.

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I'm just chiming in on a great Vienna dining option, that being Tafelspitz. My favourite spot to enjoy this experience is at Plachuttas GASTHAUS ZUR OPER. Setting is great, food is great, wine list is great, and the service is great, At least that was my experience on the 3 times I have gone there.

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I should add that I also enjoy going to the Palmenhouse.

Thank you, Periscope! Looks wonderful. I saved it.

On September 1st there is "Open House" at the Staatsoper, i.e., free access to the house and all its facilities, particularly the stage with a demonstration of its technical features, exhibitions in various rooms, etc.
There are two dates: 2:30pm and 6pm
Tickets will be available at no cost, but are required to limit the number of people visiting. Obtaining tickets is a bit tricky as the date when online booking starts is not revealed until the last monent.

Thank you.
It is so good to know. I will try. Though will be limited to 18 o’clock only.

Look into going to the Albertina, St. Charles's Church and St. Stephen's Cathedral. But in St. Stephen's, the view from the towers wasn't that good, I wouldn't go up again. I took the Opera guided tour and it was worth it, but buy tickets in advance. The Museum of Natural History is not the type of museum I prefer but I enjoyed it too.

WE definitely will. Thank you so much!

Or simply walk and enjoy Vienna?

Definitely try to find some time for this. If you have time, it's nice to walk a little outside the city center. One of our resident Vienna experts (Emily) recommended some parks to visit in another thread frmo a couple of years ago. It takes quite a bit of scrolling to get to the post with Emily's recommended sites. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/austria/vienna-best-neighborhood

Here is a report of a nice day out in the Cottage Quarter by Emily: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/austria/a-nice-day-out-in-vienna-s-cottage-quarter

I much enjoyed strolling through the Cottage Quarter and its park, as well as strolling around the Augarten.

Definitely try to find some time for this. If you have time, it's nice to walk a little outside the city center. One of our resident Vienna experts (Emily) recommended some parks to visit in another thread frmo a couple of years ago. It takes quite a bit of scrolling to get to the post with Emily's recommended sites. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/austria/vienna-best-neighborhood

Thank you, Dave!
Beautiful park!
Since we will have a car, do you think it will make sense to go Wachau Valley? Vienna offers so much and not enough time :)

I have not been to the Wachau Valley, but it gets a lot of love in this forum. I think the general consensus would be that it would be a great thing to do if you can find the time. If you haven't already discovered it, you can use the Search bar above to find more posts/opinions on the Wachau Valley.

I have not been to the Wachau Valley, but it gets a lot of love in this forum. I think the general consensus would be that it would be a great thing to do if you can find the time. If you haven't already discovered it, you can use the Search bar above to find more posts/opinions on the Wachau Valley.

I did thank you. I think we will make a stop at Melk on our way from Prague to Vienna. This way we will have one extra day in Vienna.

I think we will make a stop at Melk on our way from Prague to Vienna.

Melk is not on the way between Prague and Vienna. You have to go to Vienna first, then from there to Melk.

Melk is not on the way between Prague and Vienna. You have to go to Vienna first, then from there to Melk.

It just depends which way you are going. We were planning on going to Cesky Krumlov first anyway. cesky Krumlov or Vienna Melk will be on our way.

Please search for posts from Emily in this forum. I have found her insightes and recommendations to be spot-on for me on two (so far!) trips to Vienna.

My daughter and I went to a wonderful concert at the Karlskirche on our last trip.

Since you are driving from SW Czechia, I think a stop at Melk is a great idea.

Lastly, do you like all art or just some genres? With the time you have you may need to decide which museums best suit you. For example, I am not enthralled by royaltiy and skip most palaces when I travel. Conversely, I will go far out of my way for an impressionist painting that I have not yet seen.

Have a great trip. If you wer going about a week earlier I would consider reaching out to you for a ride from Prague to Vienna.

Please search for posts from Emily in this forum. I have found her insightes and recommendations to be spot-on for me on two (so far!) trips to Vienna.

I do check Emile’s posts. Saved quite a lot of them. Thank you. We will add Albertina museum to our list. Which will make it 4 museums. We will probably skip palaces as you said. In fact we just discussed with my husband couple days ago. If we will have time we will go there. Walk Schonbrunn gardens possibly. I have a feeling we will need to come back. I4 days is just a touch. There is nothing at Karlskirche. I would love to listen Vienna state orchestra. Unfortunately at the beginning of September not all venues begin the season.

My husband and I will be staying at the Hotel Austria Wien when we visit in December, so please make sure to post about your experiences there.

Our main interest is also art and we too are planning visits to the Upper Belvedere, Kunsthistorisches and Leopold. Museums. The Kunsthalle Wien in the Museum Quarter is open late with free entry on Thursdays, so we'll stop there even though it's not our favorite era for art. The Heidi Horton collection also looks interesting. We may visit the Im Kinski auction house if it has any interesting auction displays (they recently sold a rediscovered Klimt). And note that the Wien Museum in Karlsplatz also has free admission to their "Vienna: My Story" historical exhibition, which I think includes some art.

On one of our four days we're just going to walk around the area near the hotel and see as many of the following sites as we can:
Jugendstil architecture on Fleishmarkt (addresses 1, 3, 7 and 14);
Jesuit Church on Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz (beautiful, more intimate interior and free entry);
Ankeruhr Mechanical Clock (full display at noon);
monumental Jugendstil architecture on shopping street Tuchlauben;
St. Peter's Church (free concert at 3 PM);
Haas Haus (modern architecture);
St. Stephen's Church (probably outside only to do Christmas market).

I hope you enjoy your trip!
Karen

My husband and I will be staying at the Hotel Austria Wien when we visit in December, so please make sure to post about your experiences there.

Our main interest is also art and we too are planning visits to the Upper Belvedere, Kunsthistorisches and Leopold. Museums. The Kunsthalle Wien in the Museum Quarter is open late with free entry on Thursdays, so we'll stop there even though it's not our favorite era for art. The Heidi Horton collection also looks interesting. We may visit the Im Kinski auction house if it has any interesting auction displays (they recently sold a rediscovered Klimt). And note that the Wien Museum in Karlsplatz also has free admission to their "Vienna: My Story" historical exhibition, which I think includes some art.

Thank you, Karen!
Quite a research you did!
I will post my review. You are welcome to contact me directly.
The Heidi Hiorton collection looks very interesting. I am not sure we will have enough time though.

Mila

Karen - If your interest in Jugendstil architecture, then there are a few other places you must visit. First, the Secession Building and then the nearby Majolikahaus followed by Café Rüdigerhof. You'll also want to see the Otto Wagner pavilions at Karlsplatz and the Old Post Office on the Ring. Please do not limit yourself to areas just adjacent to your hotel. These sites are all walkable from your hotel or very easily reached by public transportation. For certain, you will be out and about anyway for Christmas Markets - the best of which are not in the city center.

Mila, I wanted to chime in with some thoughts. As I understand it, you will have four full days in Vienna with partial days on the 1st and 6th?

Here's how I would organize your planned sites:
Sept. 1 - arrival day
Sept. 2 - private tour of unknown area; Albertina and Heidi Horten
Sept. 3 - Upper Belvedere am; Karlsplatz and Vienna museum pm
Sept. 4 - Schonbrunn Palace in the morning; Jewish sites pm; Musikverein performance in the evening?
Sept. 5 - Kunsthistoriches am; Leopold pm; Opera in the evening? Kunsthalle in evening?
Sept. 6 - departure day

Of course you will want to visit some cafes and have nice meals. If you need tips, please let me know.

For aficionados of Jugendstil these two churches represent the acme of this style in Vienna:
https://www.wienmuseum.at/otto_wagner_kirche_am_steinhof_en
http://www.luegerkirche.at/mainhome.html

Mila, I wanted to chime in with some thoughts. As I understand it, you will have four full days in Vienna with partial days on the 1st and 6th?

Hi Emilie,
Thank you for getting back to me. I was hoping that you will.
I am unsure when we will arrive in Vienna on September 1. We will be stopping by at Cesky Krumlov and Melk on our way to Vienna from Prague. I think by 7 p.m. max.
We will leave early on Septemeber 6. We will drive to Budapest and would like to stop by at Gyore. We need to return our car by 3 p.m. - 3:30 pm, at the latest.
I definitely want to buy tickets to Musikverein as it is supposed to be an extraordinary concert. In fact, we already had tickets for this concert last year :) It is supposed to be here, in Philadelphia. But Me Kavakos got sick...
I thought about taking a tour of opera as well. What do you think?
I think I will buy tickets for Carmen. I probably won't care about the seats at this point. The performers' voices are really good and to be in Veinna State Opera is a unique experience.

Yes, any restaurant/cafe recommendations are highly appreciated as I am already lost. I understand that Vienna is a very tourist city but if can find some places which are simple and not touristic and the food is fantastic (I am asking too much?:)) that will be great! For now, I made the following dinner reservations:

Septemeber 3 - Apron
Septemeber 4 - Loca. casual dining
September 5 - Gastwirtschaft

Thank you so much in advance!

Mila

For aficionados of Jugendstil these two churches represent the acme of this style in Vienna

Thank you vmt1! Beautiful places!

I would find a way to add a few more days if I could. It's not enough time for such a great place.
St. Stephens crypt tour is a bit creepy, but worth doing. We once did it with handheld candles during an electrical outage. Oh my was that ever memorable. When the doors closed behind us the wind blew them all out.
There are other museums. Standing next to Liszt's piano was a surprisingly profound experience.
Beethoven left a trail of residencies.
If you do not score symphony tickets it's not a problem. Join the crowd outside in the adjoining plaza listening to the concert. It's a good experience.
It's touristy, but a heurigen is always on my list of things to do in Vienna as is searching out a plate of powidltascherl with sugar and warm brown butter. You can keep your Sachertorte. Give me warm tascherl and a high octane local obstler.
So much to do. So little time.

I would find a way to add a few more days if I could. It's not enough time for such a great place.

Thank you, Mack! Unfortunately, we won't be able to. I feel that a month won't be enough for Vienna. It is the City you need to return to. Like Paris. I was in Paris 5 or 6 times. And can go back in the blink of an eye. The same feeling I have about Vienna. I think I will need to return.

Thak you Emily and wmt1. Great suggestions!