Things to do in Vienna

Explore the Stadt Park

The Stadt Park was Vienna’s first public park, designed along the lines of an English garden in the 1860s. It’s full of interesting statues of famous Austrians such as the composers Strauss and Schubert. When I was there in May 2011 the Green Gourmet Festival was on and you could buy all sorts of Austrian food and drink at the many stalls.

Visit St Stephens Cathedral

St Stephens is a Vienna landmark dating from the 15th century. For many years after its construction it was the highest building in Europe. On the roof different colours of tiles have been used to create the eagle symbol of the Hapsburg Empire.

Have a coffee at the Palm House

The Palmenhaus in the Burggarten was originally the greenhouse of the Hofburg Palace. It was in a bad state by the 1980s but was renovated to its former glory in the 1990s and is now home to a cafe and a butterfly collection.

Chill out at Sand in the City

As Austria lies in the middle of Europe it has no coastline but you can still get some sand between your toes at Sand in the City.

Ride in a horse drawn carriage

It’s not cheap at around 50 Euros a ride but you could do a city tour on an old fashioned carriage pulled by two horses. It’s amazing that the horses don’t seem to be in the least fazed by all the traffic.

Listen to the Vienna Boys’ Choir

You have to buy tickets to hear the Vienna Boys Choir. They are one of the best known choirs in the world and although made up mainly of Austrians, there are also members from other countries.

Image credits: Andrew Crump, europealacarte

Karen Bryan is the founding editor of the UK based, multi author Europe a la Carte Blog which features Europe travel tips about the best places to visit in Europe.