Vienna "Must Sees:

For us the Kunsthistorisches Museum was a must, and a few hours was too little time. There are more Brueghels there than anywhere, and he is one of my favorites. Also some Velasquez and Durer, which you don't see everywhere. (But there is a lot more than just that). We ran out of energy and could not look at the egyptian collection which also looked great. It sounds as if your tastes are different, but I would still recommend it for a couple of hours at least.

I too love the impressionist, but the Kunsthistorisches Museum is well worth it. Also, try to hear some music while you are there. On my first visit I got to attend an Opera-- it was my first opera! In addition the Treasury (Schatzkammer) is very interesting. The Holy Roman Emperor's Crown is there. ; ) I enjoyed my tour of the Opera. A funky museum is the Haus der Musik. It's a real change of pace. We visited the Melk Abbey on our tour and found it fascinating. My sister and brother-in-law are big fans of Vienna's ferris wheel. ; ) Pam

If you have any interest in ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian artifacts, the lower level of the Kunsthistorisches Museum is terrific. I spent two hours solo just browsing the European art at the KHM and then a third hour among the antiquities. If you can spare even an hour or two, I highly recommend it.

We had the same length of time in Vienna. In addition to the visits you name (though we did not go to Melk or the river), I would add these fascinating add-ons: 1) the Kaisergruft -- the imperial crypt under a fairly minor church in the heart of Vienna. just fascinating.
2) Sigmund Freud house (museum). his office and waiting room, just as he left it.

If you like Klimt there are a number of other sites to see around Vienna. (Secession, Burgtheater) The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna for a Bosch triptych. Also, the state opera at night outside on the RHS has a big screen showing for free on select nights. Grab a bite and a drink and grab a seat early to see a free show and interact with the public. Edwin

You don't have much time in Vienna, so you will want to be selective in what you do with your limited free time. Are you intrested in architecture? Walk, or trolley, around the Ringstrasse. Don't miss St Stephen's cathedral. The Statsoper has a quided tour - takes less than an hour. Music? Both Edwin & Pam suggest the Opera - excellent suggestion or, if opera is not your thing, check out the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus for classical music, expect Mozart and Strauss. I always enjoy a few hours strolling the Graben and the Kartnerstrasse - window shopping, coffee and pastries. Spanish Riding School at the Hofburg - you might be able to catch a preformance or a practice. A few years ago I visited the Albertina for a show of the Impressionists. That was a temporary exhibit, but I think their permanent collection might be more modern. If you have time, try to visit a Heurigen. Taverns that serve the young wines (and plain German food). RS has a good description in his guidebook. They're mostly in the outskirts - maybe 30 minutes by tram.

one other "extra" that we loved: the old cemetery, an easy tram ride of about 20 minutes. see the musicians' graves: all the greats in one tiny area!
and the old jewish cemetery, part of the same larger cemetery. gives you a window on the old vienna. tragic to see the destruction of so many of the headstones, complete with bullet marks.

Your've gotten some good tips from the others who've responded but I'll throw in my two cents worth. With the exception of your trip to Schönbrunn, Vienna itself is quite compact and you can see quite a few landmarks in a short walk. I live in Vienna and have had more than 60 houseguests during the past four years. Of course, your likes may be different but based on their general levels of delight, I'd recommend including the following walk: Make a quick visit to Stephansdom, walk down Graben, pop into St. Peter's Church (Peterskirche) midway on the Graben, turn left at Kohlmarkt and pop into Demel's bakery for a coffee and pastry. Walk through the Hofburg Palace and turn right when you reach the Ringstrasse. View the Parliament and Rathaus (City Hall). At this point you may want to walk back to the Kunsthistoriches Museum, directly across from the Hofburg (although I like the Natural History Museum even better and it is a mirror image building across from the Kunsthistoriches Museum). If you have time, the Naschmarkt during the day is a real treat (with its flea market on Saturday mornings) and Hundertwasser Haus is an architectural delight. By the way, we tried to go to the Treasury a couple of weeks ago but there was a sign on the door saying it was closed until September...so depending on when you are here in September, it may or may not be open. If it helps, you may want to check out my blog: www.marthasvienna.blogspot.com&#59; I've got quite a few photos there. Have a great trip!
Martha

Thanks, Martha. Surprisingly, this is exactly the walk I had planned, but I hadn't included the Parliament or City Hall. I have now included them. How long do you think I should allow for this walk? Figure that I will do everything you suggested with the exception of the Naschmarkt -- I have that planned for a different day. Please figure just the walking time (leisurely walk) -- I will figure out what I need to tack on to visit the interiors of the different venues. In fact, I have a visit to the Kunsthistoriches Museum on a different day, too, but I'm fine with walking past it on this walking tour. Also, we are staying at the Imperial Hotel. How long would it take us to walk to the Hundertwasser Haus? If it's not walkable, what is the best way to get there by metro? I'm going to send this message to you as a private message as well to be sure it reaches you. Of course, you only need respond once. I'll find your response either way. I will definitely check out your blog, too. Thanks again.
Shelley

Hi, Shelly, I would estimate that "just walking" between Stephansdom and the Rathaus (City Hall) could be done in 15-20 minutes if you're only walking. I think you would find it impossible to do that, however, as there are so many sights constantly begging you to pause to take photos or look in windows. It probably takes me 30-40 minutes (but I take lots of photos). Since you are staying at the Imperial and are visiting the Hofburg separately, you might want to take a right as you approach the Hofburg rather than walking through it and, instead, walk down Herrengasse to Cafe Central and Palais Ferstal (beautiful!), then left on Bankgasse, going around the beautiful Burgtheater to the Rathaus. Then you could return back to your hotel via the Ringstrasse, passing Parliament, Volksgarten, the Natural History and Art History museums, the Goerte statue which looks toward the Vienna Art Academy (that refused admission to Hitler), Burggarten with its beautiful Palmhouse and Mozart statue, the Opera and other great buildings on the Ring. I'll post another message about getting to and from Hundertwasser Haus. Oh, by the way, your Day 2 seems like it will take more than 8 hours. If you like apricot jam, the Weiser shop (there's one at each end of town) in Durnstein makes some of the best I've ever tasted...and their rose liqueur is divine! More to come...
Martha

Hi, Shelley, From the Hotel Imperial to Hundertwasser Haus would take another 15-20 minutes (again "just walking") but I'd allow at least 30-45. A nice route would be to walk out of the hotel, take a right and walk along the Ringstrasse, turn right into Stadtpark, walk past the golden Strauss statue and turn to the right again at the statue to view the beautiful Wagner pavilions, backtrack past the Strauss statue again, go along the pond and turn right at Landstrasser Hauptstrasser, crossing the Vienna River (Wienfluss). It's a bit of a mess right there where the new Wien Mitte U-Bahn and train station is being rebuilt but continue walking until you get to the charming Rochusmarkt open air market. The market is quite nice to walk through or you can turn left on Salmgasse (just before the market), a charming old street that will curve around to Rasumofskygasse. Walk further down Rasumofskygasse until you get to an X-shaped intersection. Cross Marxergasse and turn left on Lowengasse. Hundertwasser Haus is just a couple of blocks on your right (you'll see lots of trees growing out of a building). You can visit Hundertwasser Village there with its little gallery (and lots of gift shops). To return to your hotel, take the U-Bahn at Rochusmarkt to Stubentor and either walk back to the hotel or wait for a tram. Maybe between now and September I'll do a post on Hundertwasser Haus. Whew! That's enough for now (hope I haven't overloaded you). It's bedtime here. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'm happy to share what I know. All the best,
Martha

Thank you so much, Martha! Both of your replies are incredibly helpful! I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to do the City Walk in an afternoon, but now I see that I definitely can. Sights really are compact in Vienna. That's fantastic! I will definitely follow your amended version and take in Cafe Central and Palais Ferstal. I plan to visit so many cafes in Vienna -- it will be dessert heaven! I really appreciate the directions to the Hundertwasser Haus as well. My biggest challenge will be finding the time to get over there since everything else that I'm doing seems to be in another direction. I love unique architecture, however, and I will do all that I can to see this. I absolutely love all of the Gaudi architecture in Barcelona, and it sounds like Vienna has equally spectacular architecture to offer. Thanks again for the help. Shelley

I toured the Schonbrunn Palace, then the gardens and would have loved to go back for an evening concert. 2 days later, I toured the Hofburg and felt it was a waste of time. First you spend over an hour looking at the silver and china collection (too extensive), then an exhibit on the empress Elizabeth (Sisi) which was too much detail about her life and little to see. The royal apartments were almost identical to those at the Schonbrunn, but many fewer rooms. No wonder, the same royal couple lived in both (winter/summer homes). There is so much more to see in Vienna. The yellow Ring-Tram for tourists is the Vienna version of the HOHO bus - a good overview of the city. I was frustrated at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the ancient sections (Egyptian, Roman, Greek) had some very fine pieces, but nothing was labeled in English at all, just in German. Like you, my preference in art begins with Impressionism so, while I acknowledge that they have a fine collection of paintings, they weren't what I wanted to see. Skip it. The Holocaust Memorial in Judenplatz is worth a walk-by (skip the adjacent Jewish Museum). Spend an evening just strolling around. Vienna after dark is beautiful. Of course it is also beautiful during the day.