3 days in Vienna

Dwight, It would help to have some idea on what sort of things interest you? It's probably safe to say that each traveller has a different "must see/do list" which is based mostly on their interests. There's a lot to see and do there, and three days is not a long time, so careful planning will be essential. You might enjoy the Schönbrunn Palace, Hofburg Palace or other sights. For something a bit unusual, you could try a Segway Tour (they're a lot of fun and a great way to get around). You might want to pick up a copy of The Vienna Guidebook as that will provide not only sightseeing suggestions but also good information for Hotels and restaurants. Happy travels!

Another vote for the Kunst museum. We spent a lot of time there and it was a very impressive collection. We spent most of our time looking at the vast collection of paintings, but also to appease my husband we went to the armory. Wowsa. If you like swords, armor, weapons or anything remotely like that - the Armory is something. We were wiped out by the time we made it to the Ancient artifacts. The Sisi museum is worth a stop. The Opera house was not my favorite for a tour. You can see parts of the opera house as to what it was before WWII when it was bombed and damaged heavily. Everything that has been refurbished since is kind of bland in comparison to what it was. For a day trip we did a biking wine tour of the Wachau Valley. This was a perfect day for us - highly recommend. The tour was "Grape Grazing Tours". We whipped through the outdoor market and that was a shame (we had to get to our Opera house tour time). If I were back in Vienna, I would spend more time at the market looking around.

Dwight,
I spent a few days solo in Vienna about five years ago. You'll get many suggestions for Vienna, but I see few people on these boards recommending the art history museum, or Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM), so let me speak up for it. The KHM is one of my favorite museums in the world. I spent two hours admiring the levels containing art works, and I don't even consider myself a big art lover. I don't read German and I didn't use the audio guide, but I was still sucked into the beautiful galleries. As I was about to leave, I suddenly remembered that there was a whole other level (lowest level) of antiquities from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Really amazing stuff. I ended up spending another full hour there. A framed poster of the antiquities gallery now decorates my house. Other people will recommend the concert halls, cafes and palaces, and they'll be right, but I highly recommend you take some time to check out the KHM. With three days in Vienna, you'll have a good amount of time to take in the sites.

I was just in Vienna in October for 3 days. As mentioned above, it really depends on what you like. Vienna is a living and working city, so mingling with the locals is easy to do. I agree that the Kunsthistorisches Museum is worth a visit. It can be done in about 2 hours if you keep moving, or you could spend all day if you love art and really take it all in. I would only see one of the two palaces (we saw both) as the residential tours and history covered are very similar. We enjoyed the Schönbrunn Palace more because the grounds are expansive and beautiful, but the "Kunst" is right next to Hoffburg Palace in town. We wandered around downtown quite a bit and enjoyed St Stephens, the shopping, the various historical sites, and the hot wine. :-) If you like music, try and catch a show at the opera or one of the many classical concerts around town as well.

Thanks all for the suggestions - the museum sounds like a must see so I will check it out. Are there any excursions up in the alps? Places to go see/hike there? Ways to get to up in the alps?