If you have seen images of brightly lit streets and Christmas markets teeming with people waiting for their steaming hot chocolate and mulled wine, you’re probably visiting Vienna on your Instagram reels. The Austrian capital has several Christmas markets that serve as tourist attractions in Vienna from mid-November to mid-December every year. The best things to do in Vienna and the most interesting places to visit in Vienna are best captured by the 5 Cs - Christmas markets in Vienna, cakes like the Sacher Torte and apple strudel, Viennese coffee, culture, and classical music.
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Places to visit in Vienna
Vienna, also known as Wien in Austria, was part of the Habsburg Empire until the 20th century. One of the most popular tourist attractions in Vienna is the St. Stephens Cathedral, which displays striking gothic architecture. From the top of the tower at the cathedral, you can enjoy panoramic views of the city.
A few other things to do in Vienna are to visit the Spanish Riding School which is the oldest riding school in Europe and visit the Prater Amusement Park to ride the Riesenrad Ferris wheel.
If you are not planning to visit Salzburg, the birthplace of the classical music maestro Wolfgang Mozart, then you can also visit Mozarthaus in Vienna, where the musical genius lived for a few years. We visited the below-mentioned places in Vienna based on our travel interests, and we were not left disappointed.
Culture - Palaces of Vienna
The palaces of Vienna depict its culture through Austria’s signature baroque architecture which is signified by its ornate carvings, magnanimous monumental facades, and use of columns, domes, and arches. One of the palaces we visited in Vienna is the Belvedere Palace, which was a royal residence back in the day and also has some of the best art collections in Europe, including masterpieces by the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. The Upper Belvedere and Lower Belvedere are connected by beautifully landscaped gardens with regal fountains. If you’re an art enthusiast, you would need at least half a day to explore this palace in totality.
We could not make it to the other two popular palaces in Vienna - the Hofburg Palace and the Schonbrunn Palace. However, my travel research suggested that the Hofburg Palace is easily accessible as it is in the heart of Vienna as compared to the Schonbrunn Palace which is located on the outskirts. The Hofburg Palace was built in the 13th century and hence has a mix of different European architectural styles that evolved across centuries starting from Gothic to Rococo while Schonbrunn is a Baroque piece of art. The Hofburg Palace is also much larger as compared to Schonbrunn and is comparable to the Palace of Versailles in Paris and if you want to visit most of the museums on its premises, you may need to dedicate an entire day.
Vienna Cake - Sacher Torte and Apple Strudel
Austrians love their cake and two desserts that trace back its roots to Austria are the Sacher Torte and Apple Strudel. One of the most coveted things to do in Vienna is to indulge your sweet tooth here. The Sacher Torte is a chocolate cake first prepared by Franz Sacher, a teenage chef’s apprentice back in 1832 for the Prince of Vienna. It is the attention to the layers of this cake that makes it iconic which comprises a chocolate sponge, apricot jam, chocolate glaze, and whipped cream. Cafe Sacher, at the iconic Hotel Sacher, claims to serve the authentic Sacher Torte and it is an experience in itself to have it at Cafe Sacher with a cup of Cafe Melange as you gaze at the Vienna State Opera building on the opposite side of the road.
If you’re familiar with all the songs from Julie Andrew’s The Sound of Music, you would have heard of the Apple Strudel which is an Austrian pastry. The word strudel refers to whirlpool in German and refers to the flaky philo pastry used to cover the apple crumble in the dessert. This dessert dates back to the Austria-Hungary Empire and is served with vanilla ice cream. It is spiked with cinnamon like most apple-based desserts are we loved our serving at Cafe Sacher along with another one that we had tried in Zurich, Switzerland.
Vienna Coffee Culture
The Viennese coffee is very similar to a classic Cappuccino and is better known as the Wiener Melange, we loved our Cafe Melange at Cafe Sacher. It is a less intense form of coffee, creamy in texture with a light layer of foam on top and best paired with a cake. The cafe culture in Vienna dates back to the 17th century and is as popular as the cafe culture in Paris. Some of Vienna’s cafes are iconic and are known to be places of social interaction for the city’s thinkers and artists. Some of the more remarkable cafes in Vienna are Cafe Hawelka, Cafe Sperl, and Cafe Central and remain tourist attractions in Vienna till date.
Things to do in Vienna
While there is no dearth of places to visit in Vienna, there are two things I would highly recommend experiencing in Vienna. While we did not do the cliched things to do in Vienna like take a horse-drawn carriage ride in the city center or cruise across the Danube River, we attended a German ballet in the Vienna State Opera and experienced an outdoor market in the city.
Classical Music - Attend the Opera
Vienna is considered to be the mecca of Western classical music and this is surely something you want to tick off your things to do in Vienna bucket list. From Wolfgang Mozart to Beethoven, Vienna has been home to some iconic musicians and the Vienna State Opera is world-renowned for its acoustics and interiors. You may have to pre-book this experience as a lot of the performances tend to get sold out and last-minute tickets may not be available. You can experience what it was like to be a part of European nobility back in the day when you visit the opera and see people formally dressed walking up and down the ornate staircases that were meant to exhibit your attire. We attended a German ballet and while it is surely an acquired taste for a non-European it was better than an Opera which is typically in German and greek and latin to us as Indians. The ballet was easier to follow since there was only music and the dance movements of the dancers were therapeutic. Although, some may argue that it wasnt engaging enough - I think you should experience it once in a lifetime.
Vienna’s Christmas Markets and Naschmarkt
The Christmas markets all across Vienna breathe life into early dusk hours in the Austrian capital from mid-November to mid-December with eye-popping Christmas decorations, delicious street food, and festive fervour in the air amid the bone-chilling temperatures of Western Europe. If you’re here during that time of the year spending your evenings merry making at Christmas markets is one of the no-brainer things to do in Vienna.
We visited Vienna in the summer months, and an outdoor food market experience that we enjoyed was the Naschmarkt. From fresh produce to Austrian delicacies like schnitzels for non-vegetarians to small shops selling Swiss, German, and Austrian chocolates including Lindt, Milka, Merci, and more at discounted prices. There were middle eastern shop owners selling dried fruits, olives, and Iranian rose buds to flavour your tea. The best vegetarian falafel we have savored in Vienna is at this mom-and-pop style pop-up called Dr Falafel at the Naschmarkt which is an interesting daytime tourist attraction in the warmer months.
Last word
While we only spent one full day in Vienna, I’d recommend including at least two full days in Vienna in your Europe trip itinerary. A trip to Vienna is best clubbed with a few days in Salzburg within Austria. Be mindful of the way you structure your itinerary to give you the maximum variety in terms of culture and architecture. If we take our example, we visited parts of Switzerland, Germany, and Prague in Czechia on the same trip as Austria and Vienna was our last stop. We had already visited multiple cathedrals, and basilicas and covered all the places of Mozart interest in Salzburg. Hence, we chose to focus on other things like visiting a Baroque palace in Vienna, trying the classic cake and coffee, and attend a ballet at the opera.
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