The capital of Austria. Wein, as it is in local parlance. Some may say they speak Austrian, but it’s basically German with an accent.

Two massive palaces. A beautiful opera house. World famous foods.

The Hapsburgs ruled a sprawling European empire until they chose the wrong side in WWI, which ended the dynasty.

Top Attractions: Hofburg Palace, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna State Opera, St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

Nav:

It would be easy to spend a week here just trying to get through the highlights.

Pro Tip: Buy advanced tickets for palace tours. Many entrances are timed and lines for tickets can be a long wait.

Hofburg Palace…the winter residence.
Franz Joseph and Sisi, a tragic love story.
National Library of Austria
The Rathaus (town hall). A film festival was taking place.
Vienna State Opera
St. Stephen’s Church
St. Michael’s Church
There was a free 39 minute organ concert at St. Michael’s
Votive Church. Finished in 1879 to commemorate Franz Joseph surviving an assassination attempt in 1853.
Votive Church interior
The Plague Column, memorializing those lost to the plague.
Schönbrunn Palace interior.
Schönbrunn Palace interior.
Schönbrunn Palace. The summer residence.

Nosh:

There are lots of foods available in the city. Traditional favorites include the namesake dish, weinerschnitzel, and strudel. Apple strudel is more common but the cheese version (tapfensteudel) with some schnapps is quite tasty.

Weinerschnitzel
Beef döner from Bummelhof.
Falafel with lime curry from Bummelhof
Spicy tantan at Ramen Makotoya
Tapfenstrudel
Sacher-torte. A dense chocolate cake and icon of the city.

Nip:

Definitely try the beer. However, schnaps is a local favorite. If high sugar and low alcohol products like De Kuyper come to mind, that’s fair (though there is a place for their stuff in bars). However, this is different. The traditional apricot flavor is popular, called marillenschnaps.