we will be traveling to Vienna this summer along with other places and staying for 4 nights, 3.5 days. We have 3 kids ages 15,13, and 11. We're staying near Schonbrunn palace and will be arriving at 2:20 in the afternoon on the train from Budapest. Originally we were going to the palace and gardens, and then going out to dinner our first day, but after I saw that both the palace and gardens close at 5:30 I'm thinking we'll go into the city center. I'd like to do a walking tour for orientation beginning around 4 or 4:30 to give us enough time to get there and then do dinner nearby. After that we can walk around and enjoy the evening. So here is my basic schedule and let me know if this is reasonable.
Day 1: half day of arrival. walking tour, dinner, enjoy the evening or possibly Votive Church light show
Day 2: Hofburg, Volksgarten, treat at Demel, tour of riding stables at Spanish Riding School (my kids are interested and they're on a break for shows), dinner, maybe a show (recommendations? Would like something with music, singing and possibly ballet. not chamber music or just the instruments. Would like one our kids would enjoy as well. Thank you.)
Day 3: Kunsthistorisches Museum, St Stephens including walking up tower, other recommendations? maybe visit one of the wineries, Prater and/or Ferris Wheel
Day 4: Schonbrunn palace in the morning and zoo in the afternoon, dinner
Also considering splitting up Schonbrunn palace and zoo to do part on day 3 and part on day 4. open to suggestions for schedule and additional activities.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1924 posts
With kids in that age group, I'd be mindful of not overdoing the stuffy palace and Kunsthistorisches Museum - if you must do a museum, the Museum of Science and Technology may be a better choice. I would make a visit to Prater a priority.
Posted by
2824 posts
Best for your kids:
Museum of Science and Technology (very close to Schönbrunn palace)
https://www.technischesmuseum.at/en
Museum of Natural History
https://www.nhm.at/en
House of Music
https://www.hdm.at/en
Maybe of interest, Europe's largest festival for contemporary dance:
https://www.impulstanz.com/en/
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
6081 posts
I am a mom who lives in Vienna with similarly aged children.
I don't think you have the hours correct for Schonbrunn, in case that matters. The zoo is open until 6:30. The gardens are open until 9:00 in July and 8:00 in August. The palace is open until 6:00. I wouldn't do both the Hofburg and Schonbrunn interiors. Very boring. Instead, at Schonbrunn do the maze/labyrinth, zoo (but only if zoos are your thing - there is nothing truly unique about the zoo except that the facilities are old), and the carriage museum (my favorite thing at Schonbrunn). The gardens are also worth a stroll. For the Hofburg, skip the apartments (Sisi Museum) and instead visit the National Library.
Volksgarten is full of roses in the summer - you can see it easily in a few minutes, unless you are obsessed with roses. I suggest instead to go to the Rathaus (city hall) across the street where a summer-long food and film festival is happening. You definitely want to make an evening here - having dinner from pop-ups of some really great restaurants - and catching a broadcast of a music event. Speaking of music events, all of the good stuff disappears for the summer, so you are stuck with tourist shows.
If you want to visit a museum, I think that the KHM might be boring for the kids. I always recommend the Wien Museum, which tells a highly interactive story about Vienna and includes world class art. Plus it is free. Much better choice.
I hate the Prater, but that is just me. My kids hate going there too. Lots of teens there with little to no supervision up to no good. The rides look like a really bad version of your state fair. But go if you have to. As an alternative, my favorite thing to do in the summer is to rent a small motorboat in the Alte Donau from Marina Hofbauer. Easy to get to on the U1 Subway line. Take some snacks and really enjoy this old arm of the Danube looking at charming lake cottages and enjoying summer in a Viennese way.
If you want to do wineries, I think you mean Heurigen. I highly, highly suggest that you take the 38a Bus from Heiligenstadt to Kahlenberg where you will get a sweeping view of the city. Follow Stadtwanderweg 1 down the hill and stop in the many heurigen along the way. My favorite is Mayer am Nussberg. What is better than a cold glass of grape juice with some fresh bread with cold cuts and cheese?
Finally, coffeehouses. Demel is fine, but now a real tourist trap if you wait in line to be seated. Instead, get the Kaiserschmarrn from the take away window or try another (less touristy, but more authentic) coffeehouse like Diglas on Wollzeile, Kaffee Alt Wien, Cafe Schwarzenberg or Café Bräunerhof.
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
5377 posts
The KHM cafe is stunningly beautiful-your kids would probably enjoy lunch there.
Posted by
OP
47 posts
Thank you everyone for your helpful responses, and to Emily especially for your thorough description. That's so extremely helpful as sometimes I feel that we have to see every site in detail, but instead we'll pick and choose and only visit the inside of parts of the Hofburg as suggested. What are your thoughts about the boats you suggested vs Mien Insel? I was planning to book a "my private island" for an evening to have dinner, swim and see the sunset. Also, I had planned to do 3 hours since the kids would like to swim. Is that reasonable or should we do 2? They're pretty excited about it.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
6081 posts
I have done both multiple times. I think that Meine-Insel would be a lot of fun in your circumstances. We usually do it at sunset and bring champagne and sandwiches from Trzesniewski - a true local institution with several locations.