You think of Vienna as the traditional city in the heart of Europe? Bristling with ancient buildings, Lipizzaner horses, Mozart and Empress Sisi myths? Well, you are right somehow – and way off at the same time. Vienna, in fact, has everything: the right mix of old and new!
A trip around Vienna‘s magnificent Ringstrasse boulevard is always a special sightseeing experience whether you are on foot or taking a ride in a traditional fiacre. The magnificent boulevard is lined with parks and breathtaking buildings.
Visitors to the Burgkapelle can listen to performances by the Vienna Boys’ Choir on Sundays, or watch the graceful movements of the Lippizaner horses in the Spanish Riding School. The Sisi Museum gives an insight into the private life of Austria’s most famous monarch, Empress Elisabeth. Art lovers are also drawn to Vienna’s best-known palace. At Schönbrunn the imperial family had 1,441 rooms to choose from, the majority of which are open to visitors. The Schlosspark contains a number of architectural masterpieces such as the Palm House and the zoo, which was crowned Europe’s best in 2009.
Vienna is the world’s capital of music — the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert holds millions of television viewers from 50 different nations in thrall, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra never fails to attract attention. The State Opera House is prized for its exceptional acoustics.
The young generation’s Vienna features hip clubs with live music, top DJs and dancing until the wee hours of the morning.
Life is good in Vienna. What the Viennese have always known is now official — the 2009 Mercer study ranked Vienna first in a survey of the best places to live. Why? The city has more green space than virtually any other. It is a place where you can relax — there are even parks in the heart of the city — or enjoy sport. The Danube Canal cuts through the center of the city and is transformed into a stretch of bars and restaurants each summer. If you continue along the banks of the canal you will come to the Prater park.
A true bon vivant will know that Viennese Cuisine is the only cuisine in the world to be named after a city. Vienna is also the only capital with a significant wine growing area within its city limits — 700 hectares to be precise. Even the places that stand as monuments to food and drink are genres in their own right — the Viennese coffee house is much copied, but never matched. Not to mention the 18th century Heuriger wine taverns on the outskirts of the city, which give young wines and hearty dishes a truly unmistakable flavor.
Local Events
- January – March: Vienna Ice Dream
- February: Opera Ball
- April: Sound of Easter, Vienna City Marathon
- April - May: Spring Festival
- May: Life Ball, Vienna Fair
- May – June: Vienna Festival, Vienna Festival Concerts at the Musikverein,
Festival for Fashion and Photography
- June – July: Vienna Jazz Festival
- July: Life Ball
- July – August: Music Film Festival Rathausplatz, Summer in the MQ
(Museumsquartier), ImPulsTanz, Vienna Operetta Summer
- October: Vienna Design Week, Long Night of Museums, Blickfang Design Fair
- October – November: Vienna Wine & Design, Wien Modern
- November - December: The Magic of Advent at Rathausplatz, Vienna Christmas
Markets, New Year`s Eve Trail
Year-round Events:
- Spanish Riding School
- Schönbrunn Palace Concerts
- Marionette Theater at Schönbrunn Palace
- Strauss & Mozart Concerts at the Kursalon
- Arts and Delights in the Museum of Fine Arts
- The Third Man: Reliving the Cinematic Classic (Tour)
- Fun Cooking in Vienna – Culinary Workshops
For more events, details and exact dates please check www.vienna.info.
More Information
Vienna Tourist Board
1020 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43-1-24 555
Fax: +43-1-24 555-666
www.vienna.info
info@vienna.info
US Marketing Management
Peter Staudinger
Phone: +43-1-211 14-361
peter.staudinger@wien.info
National Contacts
Austrian National Tourist Office
P. O. Box 1142
New York, NY 10108-1142
Phone: (212) 944 68 80
Fax: (212) 730 45 68
www.austria-tourism.at/us
travel@austria.info