Vienna one-day-visit

If you are staying already in Austria or you are doing a road trip through this beautiful country or whole Europe, I can show you how you get the best out of the city in one day.

My favorite picture from Vienna

I explored the capital of Austria with 2 million inhabitants because I visited my friend in Graz. This city is the second biggest city in Austria and just two hours away from Vienna. So we decided to take a cheap bus and start the one-day-trip at 6 am. Yes, it was early and yes you feel awkward and not able to walk the whole day but your excitement will push you when you arrived the city center of Vienna.

Around 9.00 am

What we saw first was the beautiful Karlsdom (cathedral). The Karlsplatz (place) is one of the major places where the tram, bus and underground lines of Vienna come together.

Karlsdom

We got a really good recommendation for taking breakfast, because it was still very early. But so many people where already awake and in shopping mood or ready for work or whatever...at 9 am on a Saturday! At cafe Hawelka we were served by a real servant with a shirt and a bow tie dressed in black and white. He was very kind and fast. There are no menus so the servant tells you what you can order or you ask for it. We asked for breakfast and he told us that the cafe only serves "Wiener Frühstück" (Vienna breakfast) which contains Semmel (bread rolls), butter, marmalade, an egg and coffee or tea. It was not much to choose but very tasty and enough to feel ready to explore the city.

Around 10 am

We started crossing Stephansplatz to get to the underground (U4) for visiting Schönbrunn the palace of empress Sissi. I am watching the german Sissi trilogy since I am a little child so I was very fascinated and excited!

The palace is so huge, you can visit many wings of the palace and there is also a museum for kids. We didn´t visit the museums. We rather wanted to explore the place behind the palace and we hiked the little hill to take better pictures of the whole park. Up the hill you have an amazing view over the palace and the city. Unfortunately the weather was cloudy so the pictures look a bit dark.

Schloss (palace of) Schönbrunn

Around 12 pm 

After enjoying the view of Schönbrunn we were ready for lunch. Actually we planned to eat cake first and take Wiener Schnitzel later back in the city, but as we reached the restaurant we decided for Schnitzel, which was a perfect idea! As the weather was cloudy and cold we wanted to sit inside and the only real restaurant/cafe was Kutscher G`Wölb which is located at the stables where Sissi liked to stay. She loved to ride. The Schnitzel was perfect!

Around 2 pm 

After lunch we headed back to the city center of Vienna as we booked a bus tour for sight seeing. We thought it would be good to get an overview to check some sights we liked best, afterwards. We booked at Redbus Citytours one day before. The tour takes about 2 hours and there is a stop at Hundertwasserhaus (Hunderwasser was a famous artist back in the history and where born in Vienna 1928) for taking pictures and shop some souvenirs.

Hunderwasserhaus - House of Hunderwasser

Around 5 pm

Sitting made us a bit tired so it was time for coffee and cake. We decided to try Cafe Griensteidl located at Wiener Hofburg. When you are in Vienna you need to try Sachertorte (cake) and Apfelstrudel. So my friend took Sachertorte and I chose Apfelstrudel. We wanted to share both but Sachertorte was too sweet for me. I was happy with my Apfelstrudel and enjoyed it a lot.:)

Wiener Hofburg

Around 6 pm

As we were not far away from Wiener Hofburg we checked it from both sides and walked through the park and took pictures from the National library as well.

A panorama - amazing and impressive architecture

People want legalized use of marijuana

Suddenly we heard techno music and where wondering if there was a concert at the Stadtpark (city park). But after crossing the park and arriving at the parliament we found out that there was a demonstration for legalizing marijuana. It was funny to see the people totally relaxed and without any aim to be violent. There was just a small crowd of the police at the parliament.

Around 8 pm

After taking pictures of the gorgeous parliament, the amazing city hall and the state theater, we headed back to Karlsplatz to get the tram to the bus station. Everybody from Graz who had the same idea to visit Vienna for a day fall asleep in the bus except me. I can´t sleep in a bus, car or airplane. Who has the same problem and can understand?

Nevertheless after coming home to Graz we fought back the tiredness and went for partying. But this is another story. :)

What do you think about my one-day-visit in Vienna? Could I help you to plan a trip to this old and impressive capital of Austria? I know I have just seen everything from outside but this is how I explore cities on a budget and without having much time. I usually travel like this since I was a student. After graduation and starting a job I have more money but less time. If you have more time in Vienna you should definitely visit the museums and book a show at Wiener Hofreitschule.