Are we trying to do too much in Vienna?

P.S. Rick Steves is our hero!

"Are we trying to do too much in Vienna?" for my taste YES.

If its possible reverse your route so you can spend your time in Budapest recovering from what you did in Vienna.

Thank you James for your reply. Unfortunately we are flying in to Budapest, train to Vienna, train to Prague (on Tuesday).

Patti, my hat is off to you! I was in Vienna for four days and did about half that. But, unless you want to see every piece of every collection, you should be able to do it. I spent more than a half-day at Mauthausen and wouldn't have wanted to do much else after that.

Thank you for your comments Zoe! We will probably have to cross some things off our list as we go. I hope we can get all Rick Steves' 3*** sights in. I appreciate your comment on Mauthausen! I'm sure it will be a very exhausting experience. I found a book recommended about that camp called To See You Again by Betty Schimmel. She was at that camp and eventually moved to the US.

Hi Patti,

Just a personal preference, I would move some of your Monday activities for the first day of arrival - Vienna City Walk/ride the Ringstrasse Tram to get acclimated to Vienna. Then you could do some of the indoor museum activities. Don't forget to enjoy their famous cafes & work-of-art desserts!

You have a long list; don't feel like you have to get through the list to have a great time in Vienna.

Thank you Ray and Jean! Good points!

I have been to Vienna many times and will be there again in September,Naschmarkt is better on Saturday if you are going to the flea market.Saturday should be interesting Schonbrunn Palace is not in the center of town and is probably worth four hours with the Carriage Museum which is on your right as you walk toward the Palace.Thursday will also be interesting, we spent four hours in Kunsthisorishes Museum,including all the other destinations for Thursday but on different days.The one Museum that you have not listed is the Military Museum which has Arch Duke Ferdinands car that he was assinated in amongst other worthwhile things to see.
Mike

Hi Mike, Thank you for your comments and the information about the Military Museum!

Thank you very much (worldinbetween) for the bus information in Bratislava! I copied it in my itinerary!

Thank you, again!

I think it's do-able, I find that I can go quickly through some museums while others take longer, and always leave time for unexpected things; my last day in Vienna I hit Schonbrunn, lunch at Naschmarkt, Wien Stadt museum, Sissi and Imperial Apartments with last-time wandering through the Graben area, didn't end up doing the Kunsthistoriches (after Schonbrunn I realized I did indeed want to know more about Sissi and had already seen plenty of art) because my feet were exhausted so saw my favourite movie The Third Man at the theatre next to my hotel (for about the 85th time, but my trip was very Third Man focused so it needed to happen).

Thank you for your input Christa! It sounds like you had a very busy last day in Vienna! I am encouraged that many people think our plans are doable - we will see how our energy holds out. I am torn sometimes when we travel because I'm not sure if we will ever get back to that location. So we try to plan & see everything we can and I will rest when we get home. And then I wonder if we are not taking time to just relax and enjoy the atmosphere....

Hi Patti,

I'm going this summer, and have been doing some research. Your itinerary sounds exciting if a bit exhausting! I think you could really pare it down, however, by moving the Monday Tram Tour and City Walk to Thursday. Since you're staying in the city center, by Monday, you'll already be familiar with the area anyway and it might be redundant to do the walk/tram then instead of a good overview on your first day. Maybe move one of the palaces for Monday since by then you may decide that you've seen enough baroque splendor.

Thank you Todd for your comments! I am revising my schedule to plan the tram tour on Thursday, as you and Jean suggested. I think we might try to do the City Walk as well. I'm also planning to visit Naschmarkt on Saturday, as Mike suggested. So I am in the process of moving things around and checking for closing days, etc. I very much appreciate all of the comments and suggestions everyone has contributed!!!

While in Vienna, make sure to spend an hour or two at Cafe Hawelka and order a Wiener Melange and Buchteln. The coffee is excellent, the service is average and the decor is shabby bordering on derelict. But you don't go there for the decor. You go there to experience the ambience of old world Vienna and mingle with the ghosts of the past.

Also not to be missed in the Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury) in the Hofburg (I believe you access it via the Swiss courtyard, the oldest part of the palace). It holds ecclesiastic and secular treasures going back to the middle ages, for example the famous crown jewels of the Habsburgs and the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Thank you so much for your recommendations Allen! I googled Cafe Hawelka & it looks like it will be close to St. Stephen's Cathedral. And I also appreciate your recommendation about the Hofburg Treasury!