Vienna Things to Do Tips by in4ik

The focus of the Innere Stadt is the magnificent cathedral, the Stephansdom, whose spire also acts as a useful landmark. Close by are the chief shopping streets of Kýrntnerstrasse, Graben and Kohlmarkt, which get progressively more exclusive the nearer you get to the Hofburg. There's a steady ebb and flow of folk along these streets at most times of the day, but the cathedral and the Kaisergruft, the last resting place of the Habsburgs, just off Kýrntnerstrasse, are the only sights that get heavily clogged up with tour groups. Head off into the rest of the Innere Stadt, with its baffling medieval lanes, hidden courtyards and Durchhýuser (literally, "through-houses"), and you'll soon lose the crowds.

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Address: St.Stephens cathedral

The Innere Stadt (Inner City), Vienna's first district, has been the very heart of the place since the Romans founded Vindobona here in 15 BC. It was here, too, that the Babenburg dukes built their powerbase in the twelfth century, and from 1533 the Habsburgs established the Hofburg, their imperial residence. In fact, the city occupied pretty much the same space until the zigzag fortifications, which had protected the city on two occasions against the Turks, were finally taken down in the mid-nineteenth century.

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Address: The old part of Vienna inside the Ringstrasse

The geographical heart of the Innere Stadt is Stephansplatz, the lively, pedestrianized square that surrounds the hoary Gothic bulk of Stephansdom. As such, it's one of the best places for watching Viennese streetlife, from the benign young flame-haired punks who lounge around on the benches by the U-Bahn escalators to the beleaguered folk in eighteenth-century costumes wearily flogging tickets for up-and-coming classical concerts. The smell of horse dung wafts across the square from the fiacres lined up along the north wall of the cathedral.
Apart from the cathedral, the dominant feature of the square is the Haas Haus, probably the single most inappropriate building in the Innere Stadt and one which, not surprisingly, caused something of a furore when it was first unveiled in 1990. The real disappointment is that the architect, Hans Hollein, is capable of much better – his equally uncompromising jewellery stores along Graben and Kohlmarkt are minor masterpieces. Here, though, the metal-coated glass and polished stone facade lacks subtlety, and the protruding turret is a veritable carbuncle; to cap it all, the interior is an unimaginative mini-shopping centre.

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Address: St.Stephens cathedral

The Hofburg (Imperial Palace) nearby was the home of the Habsburgs and is a monumental repository of Austria's cultural heritage. It includes the 14th-century Augustinian Church, the opulent Imperial Apartments, the Royal Chapel (where the Vienna Boy's Choir sings at Sunday mass), the Imperial Treasury (including religious relics such as one of the nails from the Crucifixion and one of the thorns from Christ's crown), the National Library, the Baroque Prunksaal hall and the fascinating Collection of Old Musical Instruments.

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Address: The winter palace of the emperor

By far the most rewarding of all the Hofburg museums (daily except Tues 10am–6pm; öS100/€7.27), is the imperial Schatzkammer or Treasury. Here you can see some of the finest medieval craftsmanship and jewellery in Europe, including the imperial regalia and relics of the Holy Roman Empire, not to mention the Habsburgs' own crown jewels, countless reliquaries and robes, gold work and silverware. You can wander at will around the twenty or so rooms, but, since the labelling is in German only, it's worth picking up one of the portable computer guides available free of charge.

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Address: The winter palace of the emperor

Taking either of the two alleyways that lead north from Schulhof brings you to Judenplatz, one of the prettiest little squares in Vienna, now totally dominated by a bleak concrete mausoleum designed by British sculptor Rachel Whiteread as a Holocaust Memorial, and unveiled in 2000. Smothered in row upon row of concrete casts of books like an inside-out library, the bunker-like memorial deliberately jars with its surroundings; a chilling A to Z of Nazi death camps is inscribed into its low plinth. Ironically, Judenplatz already has a much older memorial commemorating the pogrom of 1421, and clearly visible on the oldest house on the square, Zum grossen Jordan (The Great Jordan), at no. 2. However, in this case, the inscription, beside a sixteenth-century relief of the Baptism of Christ, celebrates the slaughter, when the Jews were driven out of Vienna. The lucky ones fled to Hungary, the rest were burnt at the stake, or – to avoid that fate – killed by the chief rabbi, who then committed suicide.

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Address: sights and places of Jewish life in Vienna

Judenplatz was originally the site of the city's medieval Jewish ghetto, dating as far back as the twelfth century, and during the building of the Holocaust memorial, excavations revealed the smoke-blackened remains of the ghetto's chief synagogue, which was burnt to the ground in 1421. The foundations, and a few modest finds, can now be viewed in the Museum Judenplatz (Mon–Thurs & Sun 10am–6pm, Fri 10am–2pm; öS42/€3.00), whose entrance is at no. 8. In addition, there's a short video with an English audio guide, and an interactive multimedia exhibition, both on medieval Jewish life in Vienna.

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Address: sights and places of Jewish life in Vienna

On Christmas Eve 1857, the Emperor Franz-Josef I announced the demolition of the zigzag fortifications around the old town and the building of a Ringstrasse, a horseshoe of imperial boulevards to be laid out on the former glacis (the sloping ground between the walls and the suburbs). Twelve major public buildings were set down along its course between 1860 and 1890 – among them the court opera house and theatre, two court museums, the imperial parliament, the city university and town hall – all at no cost to the taxpayer. By the end of World War I, though, the Habsburgs were no more: as Edward Crankshaw wrote, the Ringstrasse "was designed as the crown of the Empire, but it turned out to be a tomb".
Today Vienna's Ringstrasse looks pretty much as it did in last days of the Habsburgs, studded with key landmarks. The monumental public institutions remain the chief sights: heading anticlockwise, they include the Votivkirche, Rathaus, Burgtheater and Parlament buildings, the two monster museums – the Naturhistorisches and Kunsthistorisches – the new cultural centre of the Museumsquartier, and the Staatsoper. Countless other cultural institutions occupy prime positions on the Ring and neighbouring Karlsplatz, most notably, the Musikverein, the city's premier concert venue, the glorious Jugendstil Secession building, and three more excellent museums: the Akademie der bildenden Künste, the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, and the MAK (Museum of Applied Art). Last, but not least, Karlsplatz also boasts Vienna's most imposing Baroque church, the Karlskirche.

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Address: the buildings of the famous boulevard

Outside the city centre is the splendid Baroque Belvedere Palace (a single ticket (öS120/€8.72) lets you into both parts of the Belvedere (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm); take tram #71 one stop from Schwarzenbergplatz – or just walk – to get to the Unteres Belvedere, from where you can either walk through the garden or jump on tram #D from the Ringstrasse to get to the Oberes Belvedere) built for Prince Eugene of Savoy. The upper palace is now home to the Austrian Gallery, which has among its exhibits Gustav Klimt's famous painting The Kiss.

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Address: the baroque castle of Prinz Eugen

By far, my favorite place in Vienna. Peaceful, gorgeous and green.

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Address: the summer-residence of the emperor