Hi All! Feeling overwhelmed with the amount of things to see and only having three days in Vienna. We are there in between Christmas and New Years and are planning to go to a few christmas markets that are open, but what are the "must sees" and "must dos" in Vienna if we only have three days there? and it being the in between of Christmas and New Years? We love to explore, walk, and let things unfold, but also would like some options for "must sees". Thank you!!
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2705 posts
It depends on what appeals to you.
Have a look at the AT A GLANCE section here, and check for opening days/times.
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/austria/vienna
Posted by
2275 posts
Posted by
alameda, ca, usa
2694 posts
For me, my 3 visits to Vienna have been all about their glorious museums (so many museums, full of my favorite artists from the Secession and Wiener Werkstatte era) and all things Third Man. If those things don't appeal, then I would definitely suggest touring Schonbrunn Palace, and a ride on the Riesenrad (giant enclosed Ferris wheel) in the Prater is always fun. If you pick just one museum I'd vote for the Belvedere, or possibly the Kunsthistorisches.
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
4646 posts
The Kunsthistoriches Museum is beautiful inside and is a good place for lunch.
Posted by
Chicago
16 posts
Hello - we are in Vienna now and absolutely loving it. The innerestadt (inner city) is mostly a pedestrian walking zone. It is just one stunningly beautiful building after another. I think you could spend three days walking and not get bored. We are not museum people. We love to walk, drink coffee, eat pastries, look at architecture, and window shop. For cafes, Cafe Mozart, Cafe Museum, and Cafe Landtmann are all run by the same owner so they have identical menus. However the are all lovely, traditional Viennese cafes. Cafe Mozart and Cafe Museum will have shorter lines. Cafe Central is in a stunning building. Arrive early in the morning to avoid a LONG line. Cafe Demel doesn’t open until 10am and always has long lines - probably not worth it in my book. They do have take away, but it’s winter and I want to be inside. Cafe Sacher is also famous, but I personally don’t like Sacher Torte. It’s a dry chocolate cake with an extremely small layer of apricot jam. Disappointing to me unless you like dry cake or just to eat something famous.
We also enjoyed Cafe Dreschler and Vollpension Cafe (the grandma cafe - the one on Schleifmühlgasse is the cuter one). If you are here on a weekend you likely will have to have a reservation to get into most any of these cafes. Or just hope to get lucky that they will squeeze you in.
There are Christmas markets everywhere. You can do one each afternoon or evening. We have gotten a brat there for dinner a couple nights. The market at Karlsplatz has more artisan crafts. We also liked the market at Maria Thereisan platz. But really any will be enjoyable.
Walk the inner city in the evening - the Christmas lights are magical. Be sure to walk by Stephansdom in the very center. The best way to see inside is to attend a concert. In my opinion, though, it’s more beautiful on the outside. You can stop in some churches as you walk by and see similar, if on a smaller scale, architecture.
It is also worth walking by the Rathaus (city hall), another stunning building. They have a market and ice skating rink in the front plaza. There are apparently tours inside on MWF at 1pm, but we haven’t done that yet.
The Hofburg is also in the inner city and worth a walk around. It is huge. We did a self guided walking tour which gave a good bit of history on the Habsburg family. I found it interesting. We also went to a Spanish Riding School practice (also part of the Hofburg complex), held at 10am. Ours was disappointing. The Lippizaner stallions only trotted and cantered around the arena for the entire hour. They did not do any of the more advanced dressage for which they are famous. I was told it’s hit or miss as to what they will be practicing each day. You could go to a performance if you are here on a weekend. You can also do stehplatz (standing room) for the performance for less expensive tickets. I would advise arriving at least a half hour in advance as it is first come first served for the standing area. You’ll want to be near the middle of the long side of the arena if possible. (Assuming it’s in the same arena as the practice session).
The Staatsoper is also a stunning building, however we did not opt to see a performance there. They also have a stehplatz, but we didn’t look into it. We got tickets while we were here (not ordered weeks ahead) for a Vivaldi concert at the Musikverein.
We have walked 15,000-20,000 steps daily and thoroughly enjoyed soaking it all in. Vienna at Christmas time is magical. I hope you will have a similar experience. We often came back to our hotel for a couple hours in the afternoon to rest. And we also bought a couple of our dinners just as salads from the grocery store (Billa and Interspar). Our bellies got a little full of the rich and heavy Viennese/Austrian cuisine. But maybe you will be okay for just 3 days. Enjoy!
Posted by
SoCal
1278 posts
Even in winter, you should visit the Prater (park) IMO. Wonderful place to get a bit of light exercise and see the average Viennese doing the same. Also the place to see some cheesy, but fun, festival rides and get a pork knuckle and beer at the Schweizerhof. Finally, few people mention seeing the Hundertwasser House. It's definitely worth a visit.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
20616 posts
"between" means you are there three of these days 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. The 26th is a holiday in Austria so thats a street wandering day and dinner at a place where you got reservations in advance.
But LIZinPA suggestion is spot on, and wmt1's link to Emily's great advice is also excellent. But I wonder if anyone knows of anythig to look for on your particular days?
Posted by
2275 posts
This app for your smartphone might be useful:
https://www.wien.info/en/travel-info/ivie-app