Vienna is, not just geographically, but culturally, the beating heart of Europe. For hundreds of years this former seat of the Habsburg empire has attracted the continent’s brightest writers, artists, and musicians. With more than 100 museums crammed into a city you can walk across, you would expect down time be out of the question, but Vienna’s large open spaces, numerous cosy cafés, and easy rail access to gorgeous Austrian countryside means that life goes at your speed. From awe-inspiring architecture to techno street parties, great shopping and dining offerings to wild river swimming… Vienna has it all!
If it's summer and it’s too hot to do anything major. Grab some beers and head to the Donauinsel, an island park between two sections of the Danube river, for a chilled afternoon. After this, if you still need to cool off, jump on the U2 to Donaustadtbrücke and go swimming in the clean, fresh, waters of Alte Donau!
Artist and environmentalist Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser, as you can tell by his name, was a pretty wacky dude. Along with his bombastically colourful paintings, housed in the KunstHausWien, he was also behind several architectural projects in Vienna which can be seen around town including the Hundertwasserhaus, and a garbage incineration plant (Müllverbrennungsanlage) in Spittelau.
Tourists love the 1st district for it’s postcard beauty, and the 7th for it’s hipster cool, but the smaller 4th, 5th and 6th districts offer the best of both, without the crowds. Start with a coffee in Kaffeefabrik, grab some lunch in Naschmarkt and go for a wander, stopping in Phil for some cake and a read.
A trip to Vienna wouldn’t be complete without a visit to one of the city’s numerous palaces. Schönbrunn is the palace to end all palaces. It’s just so damn palatial! With its huge gardens and commanding views, a trip to the Kaiser’s summer home is not one to be missed.
With regards to food, if you're ever in Siebenhirten you HAVE to try Schnitzelpalast. Also the best restaurant in Vienna is called the Leopoldauer Alm. Vollpension is a cute little restaurant for brunch in Vienna, it's run by Omas and Opas. There is also an arcade style array of restaurants and bars just outside of Kettenbrückengasse which had amazing food at reasonable prices. Try Figlmuller which is famous for its Schnitzel.
Other restaurants to check out in Vienna include: Gmoa Keller, Gasthaus Ubl, Skopik & Lohn, Kikko Bā, Mochi
I found that most of the studenty-life was in Schwedenplatz. There are a bunch of bars/clubs that have happy hours etc. Our favourite places to go were Billiard Köö, Funky Monkey Bar (where they give out bowls of free popcorn all night btw) and Look Bar (that is more of a bar/club where we found the cheapest drinks).
Best bars for students in Vienna: Mon ami, Schadekgasse 22, Phil is a cute bar/café/book shop. Code 1842 is a great bar in the first district which is full of musicians and studentsI would highly recommend Blue Bar in the centre of Vienna as it has some of the cheapest drinks in Vienna.
More of our best bars in Vienna include: Bonbonniere Pianobar, Loos American Bar
There is a big café culture in Vienna. At all times of the day, you'll find people sitting in cafes with newspapers, books, with their friends, laptops... it's really cool if you like to chill and have a coffee with a bit of cake. Best spots for coffee in Vienna include: Kleines Café, Café Central (more touristy), Café Prückel, PARÉMI.
As well as a wealth of trendy bars for chilled late night drinks, the city has a large and ever-growing underground Techno scene, which can be experienced at Grelle Forelle (Vienna’s answer to Berghain).
Alternatively, you can head over the the Gürtel area near Josephstädterstraßer and pick one (or more) of the clubs and bars there for a night so good you probably won’t remember half of it. Clubs- Grelle Forelle, the Loft and also they have events every couple of months where all the bars in the arches of the railway open and you can get entry for them all which is a lot of fun! I think this was called ‘Gürtel Connection’. Venues for gigs if you're into that kind of thing: Fluc und Fluc Wanne, Chelsea and area Wien Loco is a club I went to which was good fun so check that out.
If you like beer then go to the Ottakringer Brewery for a tour which is extremely cheap for students (under 10 euros) and you can drink lots of beer at the end.
The best way to travel is by the U-Bahn. You have to buy the monthly ticket which is 51 euros, but that'll save you a hell of a lot of money in the long run. The U-Bahn may seem confusing at first, but you'll get the hang of it in no time. You have options for a year, month, week and day pass, as well as a weekend pass. The year long pass seems expensive at around €365 euros but, it’s a euro a day which is actually pretty reasonable if you use the transport system all the time. here are also semester passes for students, but you have to be enrolled at a university in Vienna to qualify. All of these tickets can be either bought in the station or through the WienMobil app. Specific, super pricey CAT trains to the airport go from Landstraße. Alternatively, you can buy an add on to your central zone (Kernzone) ticket for €1.80 and take the S Bahn. While you can fare-dodge reasonably successfully, the network is teeming with plain-clothes officials and spot checks happen quite regularly so it can be pretty tricky. If you really don’t want to fork out for a ticket, buy a bicycle! Vienna is super bike friendly and there are loads of cycle paths everywhere, often totally separate from the road. Or just walk!
Be aware that many Austrian businesses still operate with a cash only policy, and so it is always useful to have a reasonable amount of cash with you to avoid multiple detours to cash points.