Vienna lodging, sightseeing recommendations

Hey Alan,
Rick lists several hotels and pensions in the area you're looking at staying in. Pick up his Germany & Austria 2008 Guidebook if you haven't all ready. You'll find it very helpful. There are a multitude of must sees in Vienna including the Hofburg, the Schoenbrunn Palace, Stephansdom, the Belvedere Palace, the Spanish Riding School, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Opera House, the Burgtheater, and the Prater. Of course, it really depends on where your interests lie. Happy travels.

Hi Alan!
We just returned from Vienna. We stayed at Schweitzer Pension (it's in Rick's book) & loved it. It is basic but has big rooms, a friendly host & a lovely breakfast. We had two different rooms--one at the start of our trip & one at the end of it--both unique & both with en suite showers. Some rooms have shared showers.

Good luck & enjoy your trip! We loved Vienna!

Donna

Hi Alan,
... From The Graben, walk down Naglergasse a few steps to find Esterhazy Keller. It is a cellar restaurant/ wine celler -- and is a very economical place to spend your €. Guten Appétit! P

Shawn's suggestions are very good. We loved Vienna and wish we had allowed an extra day to see Melk Abbey. It was early November and the boat ride to MA and Krems had been discontinued for the season. Have a pastry or lunch at Demel--very nice. We also checked out places that were in the Third Man. If you enjoyed that movie this may be of interest.

Take the tram suggestion that RS has in his book - I think it is trams #1 & #2, but look at the book to be sure. I used these trams as a hop on - hop off bus like RS suggests. You can visit many sights this way. The rose gardens are amazing in Europe and I especially remember the one in Vienna. I was there in early October and the roses were perfect. Also wander to the center of town and find the gelato shop RS has in his book and order Nutella. There is nothing like it in the U.S. and that is just so sad! I wish Nutella would catch on over here. I also really enjoyed the Zoo. You could get pretty close to most of the animals and there was a couple of bird houses where they just fly free inside where you walk around.

Thanks all for your suggestions. Just made reservations at Pension Schweitzer. Did anyone see ANY TYPE of musical performance in Vienna they liked?

buy the 1 day transit passes; its very convenient to be able to just step on and zip across town and if you ride it 3x in a day you break even. We did the walking tour Rick mentions (meet at the TI office and pay there) and had a good guide.

For dinner go at least once to the Spittelberg area which are pedestrian-only alleys (mentioned in RS book) and just sit at any restaurant that seems interesting. Probably the best meal I had in Europe was at Witwe Bolte in that area.

Thsnks-we will go to Witwe Bolte.