I am a great fan of a good Christmas market and therefore went to Vienna, which was very very cold for a few days. Austria is a German speaking country, meaning their markets are also very close to the high standard set by my trip to Berlin several Christmas' ago.
At the airport we purchased 72 hour travel cards (24 and 48 hours also available) for about 25 euros. We also had to pay a couple of euros extra to initially get the train into the city and again to return to the airport. Whilst we didn't need to show our ticket each time we used the metro and tram, you did need one for random checks. The inspectors circled the exit and it felt a bit like you would get rugby tackled if you failed to show a ticket.
Vienna is home to a lot of palaces. We brought a 'Sisi ticket' for 30 euros, which gave us access to 3 of the palaces with audio guide tours included. We visited Sch
รถnbrunn and Hofburg Palaces, home to Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth (also called Sisi). They were both very elegant and beautiful places, one of which also had stunning grounds. The Hofburg has the silver collection on display, with thousands of pieces intricately crafted for the royalty dinners. It then moves into the Sisi museum which tells of Empress Elisabeth, who travelled a lot and was murdered in Geneva. She was also the Queen of Hungary and her coronation dress was on display. It ended with the imperial apartments where they lived. The audio guides where very informative and you typed in the number for what you are looking at.
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| Schonbrunn Palace |
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| Gloriette |
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| The Hofburg |
St Stephan Domkirche (cathedral) stands on the ruins of 2 other Churches. It has a unique multi-coloured tile roof.
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| Pulpit stairs |
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| The tiled roof |
We visited the Liberation Monument, erected by the Russians during their occupation after WW2.
We took the metro to the river Danube and walked to the metro on the island in its centre. It was a bit overcast, but there was a nice view and lots of big boats moored up.
The hotel we stayed in near Strudelhof Palais had a roof terrace with a brilliant view of the city. Next door are the art nouveau steps leading up to the palace. It was a rather steep staircase and overlooked the Liechtenstein Palace and grounds just down the road.
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| Liechtenstein Palace |
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| Art Nouveau Stairs |
The Prater Ferris-wheel is something I certainly recommend. It cost 10 euros for a 10-15 minute circuit. We went at twilight and the wheel gives great views of Vienna, with the advantage of a display of what you can see. It also had the best souvenir shop of all those I had seen whilst in Vienna.
We visited a lot of Christmas markets, all of which had their own mugs. For a deposit you get your drink in a mug, then either return it and get the deposit back, or keep the cup. My favourite mug was from the market in Maria-Theresia Square. However, the market at the Rathaus was the best of them all. It was the biggest market and the Christmas lights were amazing with the town hall lit as its backdrop.
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| Rathaus Market |
The food in Vienna was also really good and the cakes were just so worth it. Torte, Schnitzel and soo much cake.
