The ticket includes entrance to the intriguing Jüdisches Museum of Jewish tradition and culture, at Dorotheergasse 11 to the south of Stephansplatz (Mon–Fri & Sun 10am–6pm). 8 (Mon–Thurs & Sun 10am–6pm, Fri 10am-5pm €10), which brings something of medieval Jewish Vienna to life. The square marks the site of the medieval Jewish ghetto and you can view the foundations of a fourteenth-century synagogue at the excellent Museum Judenplatz at no. Though one of Vienna’s prettiest little squares, Judenplatz, northwest of Stephansdom, is dominated by a deliberately bleak concrete Holocaust Memorial by British sculptor Rachel Whiteread. Alternatively, if you just want to take a peek at the horses, look into the stables (Stallburg) from the glass windows on Reitschulgasse.įinally, at the Hofburg’s southeastern tip, the Albertina (daily 10am–6pm, Wed till 9pm €12.90) houses one of the world’s largest graphic art collections, with works by Raphael, Rembrandt, Dürer and Michelangelo. Of the school and stables (March to mid-June & Aug to mid-Dec daily, otherwise 5–6 days per week tours 2pm, 3pm & 4pm tour €18 combined tour and training session €31). There are three main ways to see them: book a performance well in advance (mid-Feb to mid-June & mid-Aug to Dec, usually Sat & Sun at 11am, occasionally Fri & eves standing from €25, seats from €50) attend a morning exercise session (10am–noon: April–June, Sept & Oct Tues–Fri Nov–March & Aug Tues–Sat tickets for exercise session and tours from Michaelerplatz visitor centre Tues–Sun 9am–4pm €15) or join a guided tour On the north side of the Hofburg, the imperial stables are home to the white horses of the Spanish Riding School, known for their extraordinary, intricate performances. Steps beside the Schatzkammer lead up to the Hofmusik Kapelle (Mon & Tues 10am–2pm, Fri 11am–1pm free), where the Vienna Boys’ Choir sings Mass (mid-Sept to June Sun 9.15am t 01 533 99 27): you can obtain free, standing tickets from 8.30am (otherwise €10–36 book in advance). The Hofburg is also home to two of Vienna’s most enduring tourist images: singing boys and prancing horses. Skip the rather dull Kaiserappartements in favour of the more impressive Schatzkammer (Mon & Wed–Sun 9am–5.30pm €12), where you’ll see some of the finest medieval craftsmanship and jewellery in Europe, including relics of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg crown jewels. The tourist office also publishes the free monthly Programm.Ī block southeast of Graben is the immense, highly ornate Hofburg palace, housing many of Vienna’s key imperial sights. The local listings magazine Falter ( w has comprehensive details of the week’s cultural programme. are a good bet, while in summer beach bars line the Donaukanal. Drinking and nightlifeįor a bar crawl or live music the string of clubs under the railway arches around U Thaliastr, Josefstädterstr. The loftier of the two, the Oberes Belvedere, has the best concentration of paintings by Klimt in the city, including The Kiss, while the Unteres Belvedere and Orangerie show temporary exhibitions. Two magnificent Baroque mansions face each other across a sloping formal garden. South of the Ringstrasse, the Belvedere (daily 10am–6pm Oberes €14, combined ticket €20 tram #D from the opera house) is one of Vienna’s finest palace complexes. Several hostels are near the Westbahnhof, which is an easy few stops into the centre. However, for all the grand palaces and museums, a trip to Vienna would not be complete without spending a leisurely afternoon over a creamy coffee and a piece of cake in one of the grand, shabby-glamorous coffeehouses for which the city is famous.įor cheaper accommodation booking ahead is essential in summer. Efficient public transport allows you to cross the city in less than thirty minutes, making even peripheral sights, such as the monumental imperial palace at Schönbrunn, easily accessible. The most important sights are concentrated here and along the Ringstrasse – the series of traffic- and tram-clogged boulevards that form a ring road around the centre. By the end of the Habsburg era the city had become a breeding ground for the ideological passions of the age, and the ghosts of Freud, Klimt and Schiele are now some of the city’s biggest tourist draws.Ĭentral Vienna is surprisingly compact, with the historical centre, or Innere Stadt, just 1km wide. The great aristocratic families flooded in to build palaces in a frenzy of construction that gave Vienna its Baroque character. Vienna became an important centre in the tenth century, then in 1278 the city fell to Rudolf of Habsburg, but didn’t become the imperial residence until 1683.
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