Exploring Vienna, Austria: My Favorite Spots in the City!
- Sarah Brooks
- Oct 20, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 11
Visiting Vienna feels like stepping into a living museum! This vibrant European capital is a true masterpiece. "Understated" is the last word I would use to describe Vienna!
This city is all about bold beauty, opulence and grandeur. These are my must-see sites and what you can skip!
My Top 5 Things to do in Vienna, Austria
There are so, so many amazing places to visit in Vienna and this is not an exhaustive list of everything you should do and see! I've narrowed it down to my top five.
Austrian National Library:
I say this without exaggeration: this is the most beautiful building I've ever stepped foot in!
I was just utterly awed by the architecture and the artwork and of course - all these books!
The library is located in the Hofburg Palace complex, which is in the heart of the most popular tourist hot-spots in the city.
The highlight is the State Hall, which is filled with massive marble columns that hold up the stunning fresco-covered dome.
And of course there are the books! The walls are lined with more than 200,000 volumes. I could have spent hours and hours here!
The State Hall is typically open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours until 9 p.m. on Thursdays. It’s closed on Mondays from October to May.
Tickets are pretty reasonable (for Vienna anyway, which is one of the more expensive European cities I've visited) at about $11 per person.
St. Stephen Cathedral:
The cathedral is the focal point of Vienna and a must visit when you're in town! It's a gothic, medieval church dating all the way back to the 12th century.
Entrance to the main cathedral is free, but you have to buy tickets to get close to the altar or visit the rooftop. It's easiest to buy your tickets online here, An all-inclusive ticket costs about $25, but there are more inexpensive options as well. You can also buy tickets inside the cathedral, but it's cash only - no cards are accepted inside.
Whatever option you choose, be sure to visit one of the cathedral's towers! We visited both the North and South towers.
Here's what you need to know about both:
The South tower is the taller of the two and requires a 343 step climb to the top. It's a steep, sketchy climb up a tight spiral staircase, but it's worth it for the amazing city views!
If you're not up for the hike, you can also take an elevator up to the North tower, which has the best close-up view of the iconic mosaic rooftop. The famous Pummerin bell is also located on this side.
The catacombs are also worth a visit if you time your visit right time for a required guided tour. (We sadly did not time our visit right, so we missed out!)
Do take note the cathedral will sometimes close to the public in the evenings for concerts, so make sure you double check the schedule before your visit - I learned this lesson the hard way!
Wiener Staatsoper Opera House:
The Opera House is one of Vienna’s most iconic landmarks and just walking in the building will take your breath away.
You can take a guided tour of the building, but we decided to go all-in and attend a performance. It's a fun experience, even if opera isn't really your thing (I'll be honest here - it's definitely not for me!)
We bought inexpensive balcony seats that had a semi-obstructed view of the stage, but they were equipped with screens that had an English translation so we could follow along.
While we're being honest, I have to admit that we ended up leaving part way through the performance. This isn't not a reflection on the performers or the show exactly - it's strictly my personal reaction to the performance we saw and the expectations I'd set.
I had been anticipating a traditional opera experience with historic settings and classic costumes.
But what we saw was an updated version of Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte, which was set in a modern college dorm room and the cast was dressed in jeans.
It just didn't have the vibe I'd been imagining and didn't have the romantic flair I'd been hoping for.
That said, I'm still glad we went!
The score was beautiful, the singing was incredible and the building is just absolutely stunning . I'm just very glad we didn't shell out the cash for more expensive seats!
Jesuit Church (aka University Church):
I imagine if Dr. Seuss designed a church, this is what it would look like!
If you’ve spent much time traveling around Europe, visiting yet another church or cathedral can start to get a little bit old and repetitive. They all seem to blend together after a while.
This was a delightful exception!
From its relatively unremarkable exterior, you would never expect to be greeted by this spectacular interior.
Everything is lavishly decorated in gold and the swirling marble pillars are bright blues and pinks.
Bonus: we had the entire church to ourselves which is a rare experience.
What to skip:
I loved Vienna so, so much! But there were a couple popular tourist attractions that I just didn't think were worth the hype.
The Spanish Riding School
This is an absolute don't bother in my book.
The riding school was founded about 500 years ago and is the world's oldest classic riding academy for haute école dressage. I thought it might be one of those cultural experiences that would be worth a stop. It wasn't.
I had read mixed reviews, so my expectations were already low. For starters, tickets are seriously expensive (xxx for an assigned seat.) We paid $25 for the standing room only and even that wasn't worth the money. When I heard 'dressage,' I was imagining what I've seen in the Olympics - horses and riders showing off athleticism and intricate moves.
This wasn't that.
Honestly, it was incredibly boring, long and underwhelming. The horses are basically led around the arena and every once in a while they're forced to do a little hop on their hind legs.
I haven't found any solid evidence that the horeses are mis-treated, but it made me uncomfortable to watch.
I suppose if you're a huge horse enthusiast it might be worth it - but for me this was a big miss.
The building itself is beautiful, so do take some time to check it out. It's a focal point of the city and hard to miss!
Cafe Central
Café Central is one of Vienna's most famous and historic restaurants and the line outside often goes on for blocks. We went for a late dinner after the opera and I will be honest when I say it is not worth it.
The good:
The building is absolutely stunning both inside and out.
The exterior facade is gorgeous and
the inside has grand vaulted ceilings and you feel like you're stepping back in time.
Famous Austrians like Sigmund Freud and Leon Trotsky were known to frequent the cafe and you can feel the history. But...
The bad:
Cafe Central is incredibly touristy.
To be clear, I'm not the kind of traveler who will bash a place just because tourists like it. But this was on another level. I didn't feel like I had an authentic Viennese experience in any way, shape or form.
As I mentioned, the ambiance should have been amazing. The cafe is gorgeous and there's a pianist playing classical music.
But the huge tourist crowds meant tables packed with loud visitors and screaming children running amok. (For example, the family next to us insisted on watching a European football game on full volume on their iPads.)
It just wasn't enjoyable and I do not think my experience is an outlier.
And the food... is not great.
We had a schnitzel for dinner and it was deeply disappointing - by far the worst we had in Austria (and we had quite a few!)
The apple streusel was actually quite good, so maybe stick to the pastries? It was also a little on the pricey side.
We waited in line for about an hour. Given the post-opera timing, the line was by far the shortest we had seen it. I can't imagine how long the wait is at peak times.
Before you say "But wait! They take reservations!" This is true.
However, we just didn't want to lock ourselves into a set time. It just wasn't worth planning our entire day around a reservation since we were packing a lot into just a couple days in the city.
So if this is a priority for your trip, I highly recommend booking ahead to avoid the line!
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