Vienna is described as Europe’s cultural capital; it is a City with it’s own unique charm, vibrancy and flair. The City boasts outstanding infrastructure, it is clean, safe and it has all the inspiration that you could wish for. In this post we will discuss how you can get the most out of your visit and discover this beautiful area of Europe.
A popular City break destination, Vienna is the largest and capital City of Austria, Austria’s is a landlocked country located in central Europe between Switzerland, Germany, Slovakia, The Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy. The Viennese climate is generally moderate and mild, it reliably follows the four seasons. The average summer temperature can range between 20°C to 30°C, the average winter temperatures is around 0°.
Vienna possesses a lively and vast selection of cultural attractions. Whether it classical or experimental theatre, film, dance festivals, opera, exhibitions and concerts – there is sure to be something exciting for you to discover when you visit.
Vienna is known as one of the most musical cities in the world. This is due to the large number of great composers and musicians, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Beethoven, Johann Strauss (both father and son), Liszt, Brahms, Bruckner who were born or lived and worked in the City. Whilst visiting Vienna you can experience the incredible works of these and many other musical talents and visit many popular venues like the Staatsoper and Musikverein.
The music of Bach and Händel is regularly performed to this day in some of Vienna’s historic churches. Vienna’s collection of Ancient Musical Instruments along with a visit to the Austria’s first museum of music, Haus der Musik takes you deeper into the texture of music and how it is created.
Vienna’s Museum of Fine Arts is one of the world’s largest and most distinguished museums, housing priceless works of art. Art is around you wherever you go in Vienna – even some of this City’s underground stations are listed properties.
Christmas Markets
Now is the perfect time to think about booking your Viennese break and experiencing the World famous Christmas markets, starting at the end of November and lasting until Christmas Day you can find “Christkindlmärkte” on most corners of the City and throughout Austria. Small huts can be found on the street corners, they provide you with potential Christmas presents, food, most importantly hot punch and “Glühwein” which is a heated sweetened wine. The biggest Christmas market is the Christkindlmarkt which is located at the Vienna City Hall.
Getting to Vienna
Many direct flights can be taken from London Heathrow (LHR) to Vienna (VIE), the flight takes around 2hrs, operators include British Airways, Air Berlin and Austrian Airlines. Cheaper flights can be had by flying from Luton with Easyjet, if you want to get even cheaper still you can fly from Luton to Bratislava with Ryan Air, Vienna is then an hours drive from the Slovakian capital.
Accommodation
Accommodation in Vienna is surprisingly cheap, I did a search for hotels using travecto and discovered hostel accommodation starting from just 13 Euro, those wanting a bit more luxury and privacy will be pleased to know hotels were starting at around 39 Euro.
This post was supplied by Mark Stubbles. Mark has visited Austria several times but never really stayed long in Vienna, he hopes to have the chance soon.