hotel recommendation in Vienna

You're looking for the "innere Stadt" or "first district", which is the area inside the Ring. Yes, the Cathedral is more or less at the geographic centre of the old city.

Thank you Phillip! Do you know how far the Strauss park is from that center? Any recommendations will be appreciated on the important things to see for a 2-3 day visit, what hotel to book and so on. Airport to hotel taxi or private car? Any information will be helpful. Thanks.

You probably mean Stadtpark (city park) where Johann Strauss statue is located. The park is on the edge of the center, no more than 10 minutes walk from the Cathedral. I recommend Pension Nossek. It's right on Graben, you possibly cannot be any closer to the center. The rooms are big, with huge windows, high ceiling. Very good breakfast. Even the rooms with windows on the street are surprisingly quiet.

I loved my week-long stay at Le Meridien on Operngasse, a block down from the Opera on the Ringstrasse and one block away from a U-bahn station, which is extremely efficient and easy to use if you buy a pass. Vienna is a very walkable city, just use the U to get to farther areas or to save your feet.

If you check the airport's website you can find options for getting into town. I arrived in a complete and utterly exhausted frazzle so used the CAT that takes you directly to Wien Mitte--it's the first thing you see and costs more than using the other train service, which I will use next time. Something like $16 US vs. $6. From Wien Mitte I easily took the U to my stop, maybe 5 minutes. In some cities it's not wise to take public transport with luggage but that's not the case in Vienna--plenty of escalators and no feeling of being an easy mark, though of course one should always take the usual precautions.

Another alternative is to take the express bus from the airport to Morzinplatz, which is on the edge of the Innere Stadt.

We spent 3 nights recently at Hotel Stefanie. It is a 5-minute walk to the Ringstrasse at Schwedenplatz and the #2 tram runs rights by it. Vienna is very small and easy to get around, including public transportation to/from airport and train station.

If you stay at the Stefanie, don't miss restaurant El Hans nearby. Reservations highly recommended.

Vienna is small and compact with excellent public transportation. While the First District has the highest concentration of sites, many are in other areas - such as the Belvedere, Schonbrunn and the MuseumsQuartier. In addition to the first district (postal code 1010), I would also look at hotels in districts 3, 4, 6 and 7, postal codes 1030, 1040, 1060 and 1070, respectively. I am a fan of the 25Hours Hotel as well as Hotel Daniel.

This link has excellent detail written by local experts on getting from the airport into town:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g190454-s301/Vienna:Austria:Arriving.And.Departing.html

Overall, the S7 train is the cheapest and one of the fastest ways. The CAT option is very overpriced and more than likely you'll still need to take the subway. I prefer to take a pre-ordered taxi for 32 Euro from Red Cab. It is money well spent.

Thanks to everyone. Still looking for a hotel near the inner center.

siran,

One other place you can have a look at is Pensionne Suzanne. It's in the same area as the Opera, and only a short walk to St. Stephen's Cathedral. There's also a Metro stop nearby and lots of choices in restaurants along Kärntner Straße, which is a large pedestrian shopping area.

Thanks a lot Ken, I will check.

Thanks everyone, we have already booked the Marriott, near the park. We would appreciate any recommendations on sightseeing, interesting places to eat and visit. Thanks.