Vienna Things to Do Tips by IreneMcKay

The area around the Spanish Riding School

This is a beautiful area with lovely buildings and statues.

The Graben Graben Review

The Graben - this large square near the cathedral is lined with shops and restaurants and dominated by a very over the top plague column. This was built by Emperor Leopald 1 in gratitude for his survival of the 1679 plague.

Volksgarten Volksgarten Review

The Volksgarten I love this pretty park located near the Burg theatre. As well as being pretty itself, it also has great views towards other buildings such as the parliament and Burg Theatre. Wonderful rose gardens and ponds.

Rathaus

The town hall
This lovely building is one of the many sights on the ring. There is an outdoor restaurant area (for two months during the film festival) in front of it with all sorts of lovely food and drink. There are also some pretty gardens.

Stefan's Dom Stephansdom Review

Saint Stephen's Cathedral

This huge building dominates the centre of Vienna. It is hard to fit into a photo! I have been inside once and remember it has a very dark interior. This year we just looked from the outside. There are some lovely carvings on the outside walls. The cathedral dates from 1147. The cathedral was badly damaged in the second world war, but the south tower survived intact and is seen as a symbol of the indestructibility of the Viennese.

Address: St.Stephens cathedral

Saint Nicholas's Cathedral.

Saint Nicholas's Cathedral

We passed this beautiful Russian church many times on the train then finally got off to have a look. It is located in Rennweg. Very beautiful.

Fernewarm

Fernewarm
We discovered Hundertwasser in our visit last year so this year we went to see an electricity works which he designed. Hard to make such a building interesting or attractive but I think he managed it. There was a visitor centre that houses exhibitions but it was closed during our visit. It seemed to close around 3pm most days.

Gasometer Gasometer Review

I was interested in visiting this sight because I like to see old buildings which are no longer used for their original purpose used for something else rather than demolished.
Gasometer is basically four disused gas works towers which have been converted into commercial and residential premises. Each tower was designed by a different architect and while they are the same on the outside, they are very different on the inside.
We could only see the towers from the bottom. The top parts have been made into offices and flats. Tower A was mainly devoted to shopping, tower B was a bit of a building site, tower C was my favourite - very sci fi inside, tower D housed a gym and fitness centre. The four blocks are connected by walkways which was handy in the pouring rain.
We visited on a Sunday when most things inside the blocks were closed. We quite liked the walk of stars on the floors throughout the building showing the hand and foot prints of famous people such as Slade, Katie Melua, Deep Purple and many others.
My husband, who is half Viennese, remembers the towers from his youth when he thinks they were actually cooling towers. His relatives lived in Simmering at the time. The towers have also housed raves due to their powerful acoustics.

Get here by taking the train to Gasometer Station.

Donau Canal

For something a little different you may want to try the graffitti walk along the Donau Canal. We began near Schweden Place where there are boat trips and cafes/restaurants overlooking the canal. There is also a city beach with deck chairs on sand next to some of the cafes. We only walked as far as the former Urania Cinema which is now a restaurant overlooking the Donau Canal, too. Some of the graffitti is really quite artistic. We passed an artist who was displaying some of her creations and working on others. There were also several people sketching the scenery.

Stad Park Stadtpark Review

The Stad Park is a pleasant green space just off the ring. It is famous for its statue of Strauss which has a constant flow of tourists posing for photos with it. At the moment the Strauss statue is being repaired but they have placed a temporary one there for tourists. The park also has a lake and several other statues such as Schubert and Schindler. The beautiful Kur Salon overlooks the park. The park has some cafes and restaurants.