Vienna 1st week of December

Steirereck is Austria's top rated restaurant and awarded in 2016 as being number 9 in the list of the world's 50 best restaurants. Austria is more conservative regarding attire, so a jacket and a tie would be appropriate. Expect an exceptional dinner and an exceptional bill as well.

The Musikverein, Staatsoper, and the Volksoper are the major music venues in Vienna. With a Christmas Concert scheduled at the Staatsoper on the 10th, I would certainly investigate the availability of tickets. La Traviata on the first should be exceptional. The operas always offer standing room quite cheaply, but one has to invest time into waiting in line before the event. The Großer Saal at the Musikverein is the setting to the famed New Years Concert, you may want to see if any of the concerts appeal to you during the week you are there. If it has to be one or the other, I would consider the tour of the Staatsoper and a performance at the Musikverein.

Do have a glass of wine at one of the kellers, Esterhazy or Zwölf Apostel. Get out to Nussdorf or Grinzing to experience the Heuriger scene.

Most of the sites of interest to visitors are on or within the Ring except for Schönbrunn and the Heurigen. Perhaps Emily can suggest lesser visited areas.

As the previous poster says , your choice of music should be dictated by the repertoire , look at the appropriate websites to make a determination . As far as lesser visited , off the track sites , here are two - Kirche am Steinhof ( U3 to Ottakring , then bus # 48A to Otto Wagner Spital ) . This is a stunning art nouveau church designed by Otto Wagner in 1907 on the grounds of a state psychiatric hospital ( open Saturday and Sunday , check hours ) , it will knock your eyeballs out . About 45 minutes from town , Klosterneueburg Abbey , fascinating history , and notably , the magnificent Verdun Altarpiece . Also if you head up to one of the villages in the Wienerwald , and are lovers of classical music , in the cemetery in Grinzing you will find the grave of Gustav Mahler , and that of his infamous wife , Alma . The ride on the #38 tram up into the hills is a bit of history , well described by the author Elias Canetti in his memoir " The Play of the Eyes " .

Yeah, he might get away without a tie at Steirereck, but he needs a jacket. If you can get him tix for the Philharmonker, do it. :-)

The area that lies between Mariahilferstrasse and the Naschmarkt has lots of neat small shops (Theobaldgasse, Gumpendorfer, etc) and designer galleries that aren't touristy. Also check out the museum gift shops. We have some very good ones, including the one at the Spanish Riding School.

These aren't private walking tours, but the folks at spaceandplace.at have some fun offerings. Not tourist-oriented. More for locals who want to get out and discover their own city by walking. They have events in German and English. You have to check their program. I went on one and got inside a really cool building where they build sets for the opera--a building I had never even noticed. Not sure if that sort of thing is what you are looking for?

Thank you all for the good information; I really appreciate it. Also, any good restaurant and wine bar recs that will not be filled with tourists?

Kirche am Steinhof (U3 to Ottakring , then bus # 48A to Otto Wagner Spital)

If you start from the center you can take the 48A bus at the ring boulevard (Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring).

You should try to get tickets for the opera or concerts as soon as possible:

http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/Content.Node/home/spielplan/Spielplan.en.php?month=12&year=2016&mode=current&
https://www.musikverein.at/konzerte/konzerte.php?currMonth=12&currYear=2016
https://www.konzerthaus.at/calendar#month=12&year=2016

Private walking tours:

http://www.welcometourvienna.at/
http://www.goodviennatours.eu/
http://www.primerooms.at/prime-tours/free-walking-tour/
http://www.viennagreeters.com/

A short remark:
Guiding tourists is a strictly regulated business in Austria. Working as a certified tourist guide requires 2 years of studying and a rigorous exam. Explanations given by people not having this education may lack accuracy and correct historical context.

wmt1--thanks for the good info!

I love the Musikverein. The Berlin Philharmonic, of course, is top notch. I'm not sure what "the first week of December" includes, but if you are still around on Dec 10 & 11, the Concentus Musicus Wien concerts are fairly unique -- the orchestra uses "time-period correct" instruments to play works as they may have been heard when they were originally played. Sadly, the great Nikolaus Harnoncourt is no longer directing the orchestra, but I saw a post-Harnoncourt concert in May, and it was great. It looks like the only seats left for either the Berlin Philharmonic or Concentus Musicus Wien concerts are the 5-6 euro seats, which I guarantee have a terrible view, but should allow you to hear the music.

If your entourage includes history buffs, I highly recommend Cold War Vienna Tours for a private tour. My tour was led by the Rick-Steves-endorsed Gerhard Strassgschwandtner, who is also the owner/curator of the Third Man Museum. He walked us through the streets of Vienna, spinning the tale of post-war Vienna and using a book to allow us to "see" the time period, including comparing current streetscapes with their bombed-out, post-war appearance. The last bit of the tour was at the Third Man Museum, which includes a lot of memorabilia from the film, a cleverly-constructed film-screening area (made by Gerhard himself), and an area dedicated to post-war Vienna. If you haven't seen the movie, it's worth watching before going to Vienna.

Alyssa, there are some reasonable places on the Naschmarkt to have wine by the glass, but if you want something more specialized, maybe check out Pub Klemo. I have only been to their summer pop-up place on the canal, but they have a permanent wine bar in the 5th district. They serve some really interesting wines and flights with beautiful small plates. Staff are very knowledgable and helpful. I doubt many tourists go there.

A few nontouristy restaurants I like: Wild on Radetzskyplatz (tram 1 goes right by it) does a nice job with traditional dishes. Neighborhood sort of place, but for dinner reservations might be a good idea. Rebhuhn is similar, in the 9th (the D tram stops in front of it). Rebhuhn has a bigger menu than Wild. Mykai in the 1st (very close to the Schottenring UBahn station) is a mix of asian thai and indian flavors. They always have something nice for starters and it's good for lunch or dinner. For fish, Umar (Naschmarkt) is very good. You need reservations here.

These are great recs Zonderpaard--I appreciate it! One question though--given our limited knowledge of German, will we have any problems?

So it looks like Verdi's Falstaff is playing at the Staatsoper several nights we are in town. I am leaning toward getting tickets for one of the shows. Would there be any reason to skip that and do the Musikverein or Konzerthaus instead? And what is the exact difference between the latter two? Thanks!

The Musikverein is the main symphonic venue in Vienna . Generally speaking , it concentrates on the standard repertoire while the fare at the Konzerthaus is , shall we say , more eclectic and off beat . The choice really is hinged on what your listening preferences are . I went to the Musikverein on my last visit for two reasons - The hall itself is ,essentially , a fine instrument . The acoustics are absolute perfection , and secondly , the program was Mahler's fifth symphony . Having been an avid listener of Mahler since my teens , it was an evening of pure heaven .