I’ve been a fan of Vienna ever since I read some of Eva Ibbotson’s novels as a kid. As I learned more over the years–of Gustav Klimt and the Secession movement, its musical past (Beethoven, Mozart, and many others had connections to the city), the winter ball season, the Spanish Riding School with its prancing white Lipizzaners stallions–I fell even more in love with the city. So when I realized the little ski town in the Alps where we were staying was only a few-hour train ride from Vienna, I knew we had to plan some kind of trip. Though we only had about 36 hours (actually a few hours less with transit time), we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. I wanted to share our itinerary so that you can experience the magic of Vienna as well, even if you’re short on time!

Morning: Say “Guten Morgen” to Vienna

Arrive in Vienna this morning, be it by plane, train, or automobile. We arrived by train, which was a pleasant way to come in, since we got to enjoy a the lovely, snowy views through the Alps. We then made our way from the train station to the hotel–more on that a bit later. Though we visited in January, Vienna was unusually warm and the grass was even green for us. What better welcome could you want to such a dazzling city?

Once you’ve dropped off your bags, take some time to orient yourself with a walk around Vienna. One of the best options to do this is a walk along the Ringstrasse (or Ring Road), which is actually designated as part of Vienna’s UNESCO World Heritage site. This road passes by many Vienna landmarks, like the Vienna State Opera, the Hofburg Palace and its gardens, and the Art and Natural History Museums. We enjoyed window-shopping and checking out the architecture along the way.

Lunch: Palmenhaus

Coffeehouses are an important part of Viennese culture–so much so that they’ve been listed as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage” by UNESCO. If you do a little research, there are many famous ones that are absolutely breathtaking inside. I’m not a coffee drinker, but I do wish we’d had time to visit a few more than we did. It’s definitely on the list for the next time I’m in Vienna!

For lunch our first day, however, we went to a coffeehouse/restaurant called the Palmenhaus. It’s a Hapsburg-era greenhouse with glass walls soaring up to 50 feet high, located along one end of beautiful Burggarten. It’s a calm, relaxing place where you can enjoy food, drinks, and coffee surrounded by lush greenery, even if you visit in the middle of January like us. There’s even a butterfly house on site, though it was unfortunately closed when we visited. The food was great, but of special note was the apple strudel I had for dessert!

Whether you choose Palmenhaus or another beautiful coffeehouse in Vienna, make sure you don’t miss out on this sumptuous bit of Viennese culture!

Afternoon: Austrian National Library

Next up was the Austrian National Library, located in Josefplatz, a very short walk from Palmenhaus and the Hofburg Palace complex. The creators of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast used this library as one of their inspirations for the Beast’s library, and after seeing pictures online I knew I had to see it whenever I made it to Vienna. It’s one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever stood inside. Though it’s not huge, we spent a good bit of time inside it taking pictures, enjoying the frescoes and architecture, and soaking up the atmosphere.

Afternoon: Kunsthistorisches Museum

We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the beautiful Kunsthistorisches (Art History) Museum, which is only a short walk along the Ringstrasse from the Hofburg Palace complex. There’s a great collection of European fine art housed there, and the building itself is a marvel. Of special note is the grand staircase with its frescoes by Gustav Klimt and other artists of the era, and the beautiful cafe.

I’m a notoriously slow art museum patron, but had I not been we probably would have had time to visit the Naturhistorisches (Natural History) Museum as well, which is located just across Maria-Theresien-Platz from the art museum. We decided we didn’t have enough time to both do the natural history museum justice and get ready for our evening event, so we returned to the hotel. As we passed through the Burggarten again, we were able to get a few sunset pictures of its Mozart Monument.

Evening: Ballet at the Vienna State Opera House

We were very excited to see the Vienna State Ballet perform Sylvia at the beautiful Vienna State Opera House. We’d purchased cheap tickets in advance, and got dressed up at the hotel for the occasion (I even rented opera glasses for photo ops and to better see the stage). The interior of the Opera House was everything we imagined, but then we sat down for the show.

Though purchasing cheap tickets in which you sit in the second row of a box has worked well for me before (notably at the Palais Garnier in Paris), this was a different case. From where we sat we could only see about half the stage, and then only if we stood up. We could still hear Léo Delibes’ wonderful score of course, and the parts of the ballet we could see were great, but it wasn’t an ideal experience at all. At curtain call there was a “new” character we realized we hadn’t been able to see for the entire ballet!

I highly recommend either a) splurging on a good seat where you can see the entire stage or b) if you’re on a budget, you can purchase standing-only ticket (“Stehplatz”) for as little as 3€! Check out this guide to purchasing standing-room Vienna State Opera and Ballet tickets to see how. Do note that during the pandemic, these tickets are no longer always available in order to maintain social distancing. We could see the balcony standing-room area from our seats, and seriously considered going up there, as we would’ve been able to see much more of the ballet from there!

Overnight: Grand Hotel Vienna

After the ballet, we had a quick meal at a restaurant near the Opera House and then returned to our hotel. Since we were only in Vienna one night, we decided to live it up a little bit and stay at one of Vienna’s classic hotels. Two good options are Hotel Sachers or the Grand Hotel. Probably because it was the middle of January, we were able to get a good deal on a room at the Grand Hotel, and pay with some credit card travel points I had accrued.

The hotel was lovely and had great attention to detail. While we were out at the ballet, someone came in and did turn-down service, leaving chocolate mints on our pillows and slippers by our beds. (And we were embarrassed at the state of disarray in which we’d left the room after getting ready for our night out!). The hotel and room itself were very nice and really added to our experience. If you’re only going to be in the city for one night, why not splurge a little? 🙂

Morning: Schönbrunn Palace

In the morning, we debated going to the Spanish Riding School to do a tour or watch a training session of the famous Lipizzaner stallions. However, the reviews were mixed on whether the training sessions are worth watching as compared to the actual shows (which were not running in January). I plan to go back to Vienna in the future, and hope the timing works out better to see a full show. In the end, we decided to skip it due to timing and allowing ourselves more time to explore Schönbrunn Palace.

Also in the interest of time, we took a cab there. I’d heard good things about Café Restaurant Residenz, a beautiful coffeehouse/restaurant located near the ticket booth to the palace, so we had an early lunch there. In typical Viennese coffeehouse fashion, it was beautiful inside, with crystal chandeliers and granite tabletops. I had a delicious meal of spaetzle and goulash, paired with some of their delicious lemonade and followed by a hefty slice of gugelhupf, a popular Austrian cake. (See how to make gugelhupf here!) I highly recommend eating at this restaurant while visiting the palace!

We first decided to do the (paid) Audio Tour of Schönbrunn Palace. Unfortunately, you can’t take pictures of the breathtaking interior rooms. I did really enjoy the audio tour and learned a lot about the Hapsburgs who lived there. The other nice thing about the audio tour is it keeps people moving through the space, so though there were a lot of other visitors, it didn’t feel as crowded as other places I’ve been, like notoriously packed Versailles.

After our tour, we explored the Schönbrunn Palace Gardens. I should note here that the gardens are open to the public, and there is no entry fee. If you are photography-focused (or short on time/money), you could simply walk through the lovely gardens and skip the interior of the palace, though the rooms you’ll miss are incredible to see. We enjoyed walking through the gardens, which were beautiful even in winter, and up to the Gloriette, from which there are very nice views of the palace and Vienna beyond it.

Afternoon: St. Stephen’s Cathedral & Shopping

Our (sadly) final stop in Vienna was to St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom) and the stores around Stephansplatz. The main construction projects of this impressive cathedral, with its Gothic architecture and distinctive, zigzag glazed-tile roof, took place from 1160 to 1511. The northern tower is unfinished and has become shrouded in numerous legends, many, like this one, involving the devil sabotaging the tower.

There was excellent shopping around Stephansplatz, both of the cheesy, touristy kind and of the upscale fashion boutique kind. I ended up purchasing a couple of necklaces on clearance at Swarovski, which I thought were a fitting souvenir since Swarovski is an Austrian company. We also stopped for a few snacks, including a fennel seed-covered pretzel, before heading back to the hotel and then on to the train station.

Evening: Bid Vienna “Auf Wiedersehen”

We said goodbye to Vienna and return to our lodge in the snowy Alps (not a bad problem to have!). We were able to see and experience a surprising amount of this historic city in only thirty-odd hours, though of course I plan to go back and see even more of it.

Besides the aforementioned Spanish Riding School show, the Natural History Museum, and spending more time in Vienna coffeehouses, there are a few other things I’d like to experience in the future. Once it’s safe pandemic-wise, I really want to experience Ball Season in Vienna, perhaps attending the Confectioner’s Ball or the Ball of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. I’d also like to explore The Hofburg and Belvedere Palace, both of which were skipped in favor of Schönbrunn on this visit. A walk around the Prater amusement park sounds nice, as well as a ride on its giant Ferris Wheel. We were too late in the year to stop by any Christmas markets, but from photos I’ve seen they look charming.

Someday I’d love to splurge and experience Vienna as part of a Danube River cruise. The city also makes a great jumping-off point for day trips to other Central and Eastern European cities, like Bratislava, Prague, Budapest, or Salzburg. Whether you have 36 hours or a couple of weeks to spend in this lovely city, I hope this guide can help you plan your itinerary!

Have you visited Vienna? How long did you stay? Or, if you plan to go, what are some of the attractions you simply can’t miss? Share in the comments below!

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