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Organized Island » Travel & Leisure

Visiting Vienna For the First Time

Published: Mar 16, 2016 · Modified: Oct 24, 2022 by Raquel · This post may contain affiliate links · 7 Comments

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Visiting Vienna for the first time was a wonderful experience!

 

Family friendly recommendations on things to see and do when visiting Vienna for the first time! We did our best to discover as many splendors of Vienna when we were there for the better part of four days. There is so much beautiful history and artifacts to be seen there that I want to share what I saw and would recommend if you have an opportunity to visit.

 

Ritz Carlton hotel is on the Ringstrasse

This beautiful and elegant city in Austria sits next to the Danube and is a mecca of cultures and languages. It is the birthplace of Mozart and home to one of the most famous opera houses in the world. The city is not only beautiful and grand, but rich in history, fine art, and elegance.

Visiting Vienna for the First Time

We began our visit by taking a walk to the center of town. The city is famous for its Ringstrauss, which is a boulevard that replaced the original city wall. The Ringstrauss is about 3 miles long and is the home to many important buildings. The boulevard encompasses the center city district also known as district one. I have to admit when I first heard about the districts, it reminded me a bit of the Hunger Games, but it really makes things easy to navigate. The photo above is our view from the front of our hotel, the Ritz Carlton, Vienna that is on the Ringstrauss.

The city of Vienna offers great views of the Danube

I cannot even describe how breathtaking the Hofburg Palace is! Home to the Habsburgs for over six centuries.

 

Home of the Hapsburgs, the Hofburg palace holds beautiful and priceless treasures.

The fascinating story of the Hapsburg Empire comes to life well viewing the fantastic magnificent art collection, the elegant and sumptuous furniture and the myriad of jeweled crowns, robes and artifacts in the Imperial Treasury.

The Hofburg Imperial Palace is open most days and now you can visit the Sisi Museum and the Imperial Apartments as well. We went to all three and the many treasures that are there are absolutely dazzling. Photos are not allowed but let me tell you that visiting this grandeur residence is unforgettable and is right up there with the Palais of Versailles in France. Photos were allowed in certain areas of the Treasury.

 

Crowns and jewels of the royal family in Vienna are on display at Hofburg Palace

Nearby is the Vienna Burggarten (the palace gardens). Burggarten is a large, beautiful park in Vienna's first district.

 

Vienna Burggarten is a large park in Vienna Inner City.

This beautiful and luscious part located in the on the edge of the old city of Vienna. With lots of sculptures and walking paths it's the perfect place to relax and take in the gorgeous scenery. The air was so crisp here and there is a splendid sophistication that makes this park a popular site.

 

Natural splendor in Vienna, Austria

We were lucky enough to catch it on the day of a food and wine festival. The Burggarten often has special events so be sure to look at the schedule if you visit.

food-festival-vienna

vienna-burggarten-2

The Museum Quarter, is a large complex with several museums and is a must see. We did not have time to see all the museums, however, it is an amazing complex whether you are an art fanatic or a casual fan. The Leopold Museum, the Museum Moderner Kunst (Museum of Modern Art), Architekturzentrum (Architectural Center) and the Kunsthalle, are all in the same area.

Many splendors of Vienna can be found in the museums near the city center.

While Vienna was once surrounded by communist and eastern blocked nations, it is now a multinational mecca. We even witnessed President of Austria at a   celebration of visiting dignitaries of Canada. It was kind of unbelievable that we could get this close to them!

 

President of Vienna during a visit from a visiting diplomat

 

We did get a chance to go by the Schönbrunn Palace as well, this former imperial summer residence, is one of Vienna's most popular sites. If you are visiting Vienna for the first time you will want to take in at least one of the palaces, if not both!

One of the best ways to spend a late afternoon is shopping the many department stores, gift stores and cafés that line the pedestrian only Kärntner Strasse.  There are street musicians, wonderful shops of every kind and a few American chain stores as well.

There are also lots opportunities in the city to enjoy the music of Mozart and Johann Strauss, two of the most prominent Austrian-born composers in the world, in the form of classical concerts.

 

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Another site I enjoyed was St. Stephens Cathedral which has been there for 700 years. There are many beautiful Renaissance style alter-pieces decorated with gold and precious stones. There are catacombs are here as well.

 

St.Stephen's cathedral in Vienna. Visiting Vienna for the first time.

 

The Giant Ferris Wheel (aka the Wiener Reisenrad) is a nostalgic and magical thing to see. It is open year round and is one of the oldest of its kind in the world.

 

Ferris wheel in Vienna

The heart of the city center is stylish and elegant. The architecture ranges from Gothic to Modern and is all sophisticated and elegant. Many of the architects were world-class designers and Nobel Prize winners.

where-to-shop-Vienna

You may notice that I have not mentioned food yet, but that is coming in another post. Known for its coffee houses, restaurants and lavish bakeries like Demel and Sacher, I checked them out throughly so that I could share with you my thoughts. I also want to tell you about the not to be missed, Naschmarkt, which is an absolute must if you are visiting Vienna for the first time.

While there, we took a day trip to the Danube valley and visited the Melk Abby which sits upon a cliff overlooking a stretch of the Danube River.  But that too is for another day.

Visiting Vienna for the first time

I will be sharing the best of my dining finds in Vienna in a post soon.

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About Raquel

Southern California mom who blogs about time-saving recipes, entertaining and party ideas.

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Comments

  1. Tamara

    March 16, 2016 at 1:53 pm

    I would love to go on the giant ferris wheel! It will be a big deal for me to actually leave North America!

    Reply
  2. Akaleistar

    March 17, 2016 at 10:12 am

    The Hofburg Palace looks magnificent! I'd love to visit Vienna 🙂

    Reply
    • Raquel

      March 17, 2016 at 11:35 am

      I was amazing Ashley! I hope you can get there!

      Reply
  3. Angelina @ Peonies & Orange Blossoms

    March 26, 2016 at 8:03 pm

    I have always wanted to go to Vienna... looks like such a beautiful city. How funny you ran into the Austrian President... many years ago, I was with my parents in Salzburg and we shook hands with the Austrian President at the time. It seems to be a thing, "Welcome to Austria, Meet our President in Person"!!! Happy Easter and thanks for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop!

    Reply
    • Raquel

      March 27, 2016 at 2:10 pm

      Wow that is so cool Angelina! I know that he really wants to be out with the people and I just could not believe how available he was. Very cook that you got to meet him!

      Reply
  4. Olivia

    March 28, 2016 at 8:11 pm

    The architecture is exquisite. I would love to visit Austria some day. I studied architecture in college and loved learning about it. St. Stephens Cathedral is quite an impressive Gothic structure. I enjoyed looking through your photos. I hope you share again.

    Thank you for sharing with us at Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop. 🙂

    Olivia, co-hostess
    Reinvented Collection

    Reply
    • Raquel

      March 29, 2016 at 8:43 am

      I love that you studied Architecture Olivia! I am truly amazed at the artistry involved in structures. Thank YOU for hosting!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Raquel! I am a self-proclaimed foodie and have enjoyed cooking and baking since I was little. I loved baking cookies with my mother and grandma as a child, and later making dinners for my parents to foster my passion while in high school. I also had a passion for organizing and keeping things tidy.

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