| Page Views: 642 Last Visit to Vienna: March, 2008 | Vienna - Wien by pure1942 - last update: Apr 23, 2008 |
Cultural Vienna | View from Gloriette - Schonbrunn Palace |
Vienna's city centre is relatively compact but contains a huge amount to see and do. Because of it's compact nature and good transport system, a lot of Vienna's main sights can easily be explored on foot especially around the Hofburg Quarter, Stephansdom Quarter and Museum/Townhall Quarter where there is so much to explore. The Belvedere Quarter, Opera Quarter and Schottenring/Alsergrund Quarter are also filled with interesting sights as well as the hugely impressive Schonbrunn Palace/Gardens and Prater which are located only short U-Bahn rides away.
Stephansdom Quarter:
The main sight in this area is of course, the Stephansdom, with its 137 metre high spire towering over the area. The tiled roof of the Cathedral is beautiful with around a quarter of a million glazed tiles used in its construction. Other noteworthy parts of the Cathedral's exterior are the Giant's Doorway (dating from the original church built in the 13th century), North Tower, Capistrano Pulpit, and Singer Gate. The interior is equally impressive with highlights such as Pilgram's Pulpit, High Altar, Catacombs and Wiener Neustadter Altar. The remains of some of the Hapsburgs lie under the High Altar.
Apart from the Cathedral the Stephansdom Quarter also contains the Figarohaus (Mozarts home from 1784 to 1787), Academy of Sciences, Dominikanerkirche, the constroversial modern Haas Haus, Peterskirche and Jewish Quarter. |
| Pilgram's Pulpit - Stephansdom |
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Hofburg Quarter:
The Hofburg is immense. The Hofburg Complex itself is only part of the area with further gardens, museums, streets and churches all housed in the area. The Hofburg Complex itself was the seat of the Austrian Empire and contains the former imperial apartments and treasuries. The complex also houses the world famous Winter Riding School/Spanish Riding School. Apart from the complex itself the Volksgarten, Lobkowitz Palace and Bankgasse are all located in the Hofburg Quarter.
Museum/Townhall Quarter:
Vienna is proud of its designated museum quarter and rightly so. While, I myself am not a huge museum goer, everyone will find a museum which will appeal to them. For me it was the Kunsthistorisches Museum which, during my visit, had an exhibition of the unique work of Giuseppe Archimboldo. The museum also houses Oriental, Egyptian, Roman and Greek collections. Opposite is the Natural History Museum housed in a mirror building of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Other museums in the area includeLeopold Museum, Tabakmuseum, Museum of Modern Art and Kindermuseum.
Apart from museums the area houses the Austrian Parliament Building, Rathaus and beautiful Burgtheatre.
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| Maria Theresien Platz - Natural History Museum |
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Belvedere, Opera and Schottenring/Alsergrund Quarters:
The other areas of central Vienna all contain their own main highlights which include the Opera House (Opera Quarter) Votivkirche, Freud Museum, (Schottenring/Alsengrund Quarter) and Karlskirche, Schwarzenberg Palace and Belvedere Palace and Gardens (Belvedere Quarter)
Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens:
Schonbrunn Palace and Gradens need at least half a day to explore or even a full day if you want to include the full tour, gardens and city zoo. I only did the tour of the palace, half the gardens and the Gloriette and still needed half a day to do properly.
The palace itself is only half the story of the complex but is the main highlight of the vast area. Highlights included the Grand Gallery, Chinese Room, Vieux Lacque Room. Outside the rear garden avenue leads up to the towering Gloriette which stands proudly on the hill behind the palace offering great views over the city and palace.
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pure1942's Vienna Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do
Tips: 19 - Photos: 55 | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations
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 pure1942's Vienna Travelogues | | | | Title [Click to view] | Travel Year | Pictures | | Austria | March, 2008 | | | Austria | March, 2008 | |
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 Comments for pure1942 about Vienna | | | | |
volopolo Thu May 1, 2008 22:52 UTC
The most beautiful city in Europe | HORSCHECK Wed Apr 23, 2008 21:29 UTC
Brian, interesting start about Vienna. I especially like your accomodation tip. Well done. :-) |
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