Vienna Things to Do Tips by antistar

A great way to get to know a city before you visit is to watch a movie about it. Film directors are experts at finding the best views, and these aren't necessarily the most popular sights. Possibly the greatest British movie of all time is the Third Man, based on Graham Greene's novel of murder and intrigue in post-war Vienna. I found that scurrying about from one film set to another, seeking out the same views that I had seen in the movie, gave me a glimpse of Vienna that no tourist guide could ever show me. It opened up views on the city that were far better than I could locate on my own, and many were off the beaten tourist path.

You don't have to be a huge fan of the movie to enjoy this kind of tour. I've watched it once and that was enough for me. The great thing about it is the feeling of discovery. Scouting out each location and then suddenly realising that *here* is where Orson Welles stood in that climactic scene. I've already written about the famour Ferris Wheel in Prater, but there are many other scenes, some of which offer much better views and photographic opportunties. Some of my favourites I've given photographs for here, like the Zentralfriedhof cemetary, the Maria am Gestade church, Michaelerplatz, St Ruprecht's Kirche and the final scene at Minoreten Kirche.

There are tours you can pay for that show you where the scenes were set, but I think you'll have much more fun searching them out for yourself. You can use the excellent web page I linked to for discovering where everything took place, and then make your own plan to get about the town and see what you want to. I didn't go to see every location in the film, that would take some real fanatical dedication, and instead chose what looked to be the coolest, most memorable ones.

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Website: http://axion.physics.ubc.ca/thirdman/thirdman.html

A combination of phenomenal and bizarre architecture combine to make a colourful fantasy to house a collection of one of Austria's most orignal artists. Just walking around the house is worth a visit in itself, but the art collection is wonderful too. The collection got better as it got more colourful. Some of the paintings were so bright I could swear they had backlight, but try as I might I could find no evidence of any.

Much of Hundertwasser's work is inspired by his love of nature, and his distrust, even hatred, of modern life. The collection includes paintings of bleeding office towers and models of nature friendly utopias. Along with the paintings there are the occasional words of the painter which give a different insight into his thinking, and expose, for me, a slightly
irrational view of the world.

Some of these, like the treatise on tree-tenants, suggests growing trees in your house, instead of humans. The benefits failed to mention the ugly bugs and creatures that the trees would encourage into the house (he only mentions pretty butterflies) and the structural damage a growing tree would do to a building. Of course, this kind of response is rational, and Hundertwasser hates rationalists.

Open daily from 10am to 7pm it is quite expensive at 9 euros a ticket.

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Address: Untere Weissgerberstrasse 13
Directions: Take tram N or O to Radetzkyplatz.
Website: http://www.hundertwasserhaus.at/

I was lucky enough to be at the Stephansdom for Christmas Eve, and couldn't believe I was able to make it into Midnight Mass in the main Cathedral of one of Europe's major capital cities. It was an impressive experience, from the sound of the bells calling the faithful to worship, through the procession of the Archbishop and his entourage, to the choir singing in the trancept.

Stephansdom is not the most impressive Cathedral I've seen in Europe, and it was covered in scaffolding when I was there. It's not all that pretty or stunning, and the wonderful architecture that abounds in Vienna made it feel rather ordinary, relatively. Even the interior wasn't all that impressive. The best thing about the Cathedral is its location, right in the center of everything. This makes it a great point to navigate from.

I won't bore you with a poor rehashing of the Cathedral's history, as you can read an excellent article on that at Wikipedia in the link below.

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Address: St.Stephens cathedral
Directions: Get off at the Stephansplatz U-Bahn stop. You can't miss it.
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephansdom

Around the Hofburg

When this Greek Rival parliament building was first put into use in the 19th century, its government was responsible for half of the entire Austro-Hungarian empire. This vast body stretched from the Ukraine to Croatia, so it's not surprising to find that the building is itself grand and imperious.

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Address: Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring 3
Directions: On The Ring, near the Hofburg, overlooking the Volksgarten. Take U2 or U3 to Volkstheater.
Website: www.parlament.gv.at

Around the Hofburg

The Volksgarten was designed in the early 19th century, and have seen a number of famous concerts performed. It's most prominent possession is the Theseus Temple, a faux Greek building in the same style as the Parliament building that overlooks the gardens.

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Directions: The gardens can be accessed from across the road from the Hofburg. Take U2 or U3 to Volkstheater.

Until the nearby Austrian Parliament took over the reigns of the empire, the Imperial family ruled over the great empire from this glorious and expansive palace. The size and oppulence of the palace makes the Parliament building look like a ornamental bath house in comparison. The palace started out life as a castle in the 12th century, but grew in size and grandeur to reflect the growing power of the Hapsburg family that inhabited it. Now it is home to the President, along with a number of world famous institutions, including the Spanish Riding School.

Guided tours are extensive and cost 11.40 euros.

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Address: The winter palace of the emperor
Directions: Difficult to miss: it's the center of everything around the Volkstheater stop. Take U2 or U3.
Website: www.hofburg-wien.at

Around the Hofburg

Vienna's town hall is remarkably similar to its cousin on the other side of the border in Munich. At 322 feet tall it is significantly higher than its German neo-Gothic counterpart, but manages to look only half as impressive due to its proximity to such intimidating neighbours as the Hofburg and Parliament. As with many of the more overlooked buildings in Vienna, it would be center stage in almost any other city in the world.

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Address: Friedrich-Schmidt-
Directions: On The Ring near the Volksgarten and Hofburg. Take U2 to Rathaus.
Website: www.wien.gv.at

Around the Hofburg

My good friend and lead artist is a huge fan of the German artist Egon Schiele, so when I saw his colourful and distinctive works on adverts for the Albertina all over the city, I made a bee-line for this gallery. Schiele's work is fantastically expressive, especially in the human form. He's most famous for the uninhibited eroticism of many of his paintings. By modern standards they could be described as tame in terms of what they show, but how he shows the models can evoke many more complex emotions than simple titilation.

Unfortunately Schiele's exhibition was only temporary, but his calibre is indicative of the quality of work on offer at this gallery. In addition to the excellent and encompassing Schiele exhibition, the gallery has permanent exhibitions that include some works of Schiele himself, along with paintings by Picasso, Cezanne, and Klimt. Possibly its most famous work is Albert Durer's iconic "The Field Hare."

In addition to the art displays are the impressive rooms of the Albertina itself, which were once occupied by the Hapsburg family as part of the Imperial Palace. You can wander around these and it is included in the ticket price.

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Address: Albertinaplatz 1
Directions: Near the Hofburg. Take the U-Bahn to Karlsplatz.
Website: www.albertina.at

The Prater is a scruffy little amusement park on the other side of the Danube from the center. It's most famous attraction is the Riesenrad, a giant ferris wheel and landmark for the city. It was also the setting for the most dramatic scene in one of the best British movies, The Third Man. Here Orson Welles' Harry Lime took Holly Martins for a trip above the rooftops of Vienna, for a not so subtle bit of coercion from the open door of a cabin halted at the apex of its journey.

For fans of the movie, the Riesenrad is a must see. For others, it depends on whether you want to see this historic monument close-up. There's not a lot else to see in the area. The ferris wheel takes you up to almost 200 feet (60m) above the city for some great views, but it is very expensive for what it offers at ?7.50 for a slow moving trip to the top.

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Address: The Giant Ferris Wheel and recreation-park
Directions: Take the U-Bahn to Praterstern. Exit the station, take a left, and then left again under the bridge.
Website: www.wienerriesenrad.at

The United Nations has four main offices around the globe, in New York, Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. This place is worth a visit for anyone, like me, who is interested in international politics, but it also contains some great modern architecture, not only in the UNO city site itself, but in the Messe that connects to it. The Vienna site may rank behind Geneva and New York in importance, but it certainly looks impressive.

Guided tours cost 5 euros, and run from 11am to 2pm every day from Monday to Friday.

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Address: Vienna International Centre & UNO-City
Directions: Take U1 to the Vienna International Center.
Website: http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/index.html