Vienna - Itinerary

We found the Freud Museum fascinating. It is located in his former apartment.

We recently did a coffee/food tour which was a lot of fun. We saw a few neighborhoods we would have never visited, and got some good ideas for restaurants to visit, ones that are frequented by locals.

Is the Hofburg New Palace Museum the one with the historic musical instruments? We really enjoyed seeing those. Also loved the Globe Museum, which I do not see on your list. But our favorite was the Kunst Haus Wien, which houses the art by Hundertwasser, along with a few (very few) photos or models of his architecture, and a nice little cafe. The building itself is an example of his work, and you can see Hundertwasser Haus nearby.

I really enjoyed some of the smaller Wien city museums (I sadly didn't make it to the main one!) The Romermuseum, the Neidhart Frescoes, and the Virgilkappelle (which you access from inside the Stephansplatz Ubahn station), those, combined with the open-air ruins in Michaelerplatz, gave a sense of the city's history that's richer than just all that Hapsburg stuff (the antics of the long-dead rich bore me). I also enjoyed ducking into a few of the many churches, which stand open during the day. I loved the tiny, humble little Ruprechtskirche, which is one of the oldest extant buildings in the city. Also, it seems many of the churches have frequent evening concerts. (I was there in late July, when all the major cultural performances were on summer hiatus). For 10 or 15 Euros you can hear some wonderful music in astonishingly beautiful, spiritually rich surroundings (I'm not a believer, but houses of worship do inspire awe--so many people have found solace there.)

I look forward to traveling to Vienna again!

I would recommend the Military Museum,very well done and the Carriage Museum at Schonbrunn.For a coffee house go to Cafe Hawelka just off of Graben.
Mike

Ann , just leaving Dresden in a few hours for Gorlitz , glad to hear about your trip . Lots of ideas for your return to Vienna ( with pictures , of course ) , we can get to details on November 11 . Meantime keep a few in mind - Zentralfriedhof , Klosterneuberg Abbey , and Otto Wagner's Kirche am Steinhof . Much more in November , all my best , Steve

Another usually overlooked site is the Prunksaal in the National Library ( in the Hofburg complex )

It all depends on your interests. Most people want to see the heritage of Vienna's glorious imperial past, but others want to learn about the more peculiar facets of the town. There are a lot of the latter.

I don't know when you are going, but I really enjoyed visiting Augarten Park on a Sunday afternoon/evening during the summer. There were a ton of people out and about in the park -- tending to the flower gardens, playing sports, listening to music, and just walking. The park also contains two enormous concrete Flaktürme (anti-aircraft towers) from WWII that were too big for the Allies to destroy.

I'll also endorse the Freud Museum and the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (HGM/Military History Museum), where you can see the car in which Archduke Ferdinand was riding when he was shot in 1914 (as well as the clothes he was wearing).

Given your attendance at concerts and opera, I'll second one of steven's suggestions. You would probably appreciate seeing the grave sites of many famous Viennese composers at the Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof).

Hmmm, the Heurigen scene is very much a part of the Vienna experience, as is the Schweizerhaus at the Prater in the summer. In the winter, the Zwölfapostel and Esterhazy Kellers are always on my list. A walk from the Kahlenberg through the vineyards to a fine Heuriger can be sublime on a pretty day, as is time in the Vienna Woods.