Hotel Sacher Wien

Hotel Sacher Wien.

Overview

Vienna (Wien) is a unique blend of the historic and the modern, so full of tradition it can be read on the face of the city, yet with a forward-looking approach that will surprise the visitor.

Vienna's role as the seat of the Hapsburg Empire for centuries can be seen in the wealth of architecture and in the city's artistic and musical heritage. Many of the world's most important composers, including Beethoven and Mozart, have lived and performed behind Vienna's baroque facades. In addition to this baroque splendour, there are excellent examples of the art nouveau (Jugendstil) architecture that also flourished here.

The fall of the Hapsburg Empire at the end of WWI allowed Vienna's socialist undercurrents to come to the fore during the ‘Red Vienna' period, resulting in numerous social housing and other projects, which still play a role in the city.

Vienna's occupation by the Nazis and subsequent partitioning by the four Allied powers tend to be forgotten, as the city instead focuses on its post-war neutrality and the glittering remnants of its Imperial glory.

This seems to be reinforced by the image of older Viennese walking small dogs or eating cakes in cafes but it ignores the energy of Vienna's alternative and underground scenes, whose members react against the attachment to tradition in a way similar to their Secessionist counterparts a century before.

Vienna is divided into 23 bezirke (districts). The original city that lay within the protective walls comprises the First District of modern Vienna. The demolition of the city walls led to the construction of the Ringstrasse and an impressive parade of buildings along its length. The majority of the tourist attractions lie on and within the Ringstrasse.

Districts two to nine are arrayed between the Ringstrasse and the concentric Gürtel (belt). The other districts lie beyond the Gürtel and extend into the foothills of the Wienerwald (Vienna Woods), where heurigen (wine taverns) and pretty villages are dotted among the vineyards.

Vienna's climate is generally moderate, although the city can experience heavy snowfalls and low temperatures from December to March, as well as occasionally very high temperatures in July and August. Summer, however, is usually comfortable with an average daily temperature of 20°C (68°F), although heavy thundershowers are likely.

The city is not only the capital of Austria but also a federal province, surrounded by Niederösterreich (Lower Austria). Vienna's location on the east-west trade route along the River Danube played an important part in its history - an empire that once covered a large part of Europe was ruled from here.

Even today, Vienna is the financial and administrative capital of Austria and home to a number of international organisations, including the United Nations. And with the fall of Communism, Vienna is once again at the centre of Europe.

Tourist Information

Walking Tours
There are several tours available in English (and many more in German), as part of the Vienna Walks programme (tel: (01) 774 8901; website: http://www.viennawalks.com/). These vary from ‘Vienna in the Footsteps of The Third Man', which scouts out the locations of the famous film, to tours of the homes of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. Other popular options include tours focusing on a historical period, Jewish life in Vienna, or the underground city of crypts and wine cellars. Tours take one and a half to two and a half hours. Any admission fees and transport on the U-bahn, trams or buses are extra.

Vienna With Love (tel: (01) 889 2806; website: http://www.verliebtinwien.at/) offers a programme of walks in both German and English. The walks vary, but include art nouveau architecture, medieval quarters and hidden courtyards, or the Imperial Palace. Tours are between 90 minutes and two hours, and there is a minimum of three walkers per group, although individual tours can be pre-arranged.

Bus Tours
Vienna Sightseeing Tours (tel: (01) 712 4683-0; website: http://www.viennasightseeingtours.com/) offers a number of half-day city tours, among them a three-and-a-half-hour ‘Historical City Tour', which includes a visit to Schönbrunn Palace and free hotel pick up. There are also full-day excursions to Prague, Budapest and other locations.

Cityrama (tel: (01) 53413-0; website: http://www.cityrama.at/) offers a similar full city tour, as well as number of other tours of Vienna and other destinations, in both German and English. The ‘Sisi Tour' (Sisi is the name given to Emperor Franz Joseph's wife, Elisabeth) covers the historical sites of the city and includes a visit to St Stephen's Cathedral, Hofburg and a training session at the Spanish Riding School. The tour lasts three hours and includes free hotel pick-up.

Redbus City Tours (tel: (01) 512 4030; website: http://www.redbuscitytours.at/) organises two tours of the city, one sticking to the attractions along the Ringstrasse and within the Innerestadt, and the second taking in all the sights of the first plus a handful of those on the outskirts of the city.

Boat Tours
The DDSG Blue Danube Schiffahrt GmbH (tel: (01) 58880; website: http://www.ddsg-blue-danube.at/) offers several cruises on the River Danube. Most are available only from mid April to mid October, but The Danube Round Trip is available year round. The two sightseeing tours, the ‘Grand Danube River Cruise' and the ‘Hundertwasser Tour', go between Schwedenplatz and Reichsbrücke and it is possible to take one tour in one direction and return on the other tour. Each tour lasts 70 to 100 minutes. They also offer themed cruises and evening dance cruises.

Other Tours
Pedal Power, Ausstellungsstrasse 3 (tel: (01) 729 7234; website: http://www.pedalpower.at/), provides three- to four-hour bicycle tours departing from the Prater ferris wheel, daily at 1000 May to September. Price includes a bike and guide, and the tours cover a number of city sites, such as KunstHausWien, St Stephen's Cathedral and the Danube Canal.

The Old-Timer Tramway is a sightseeing tour on trams that date from 1929. The tour departs from the art nouveau subway pavilion at Karlsplatz on Saturday and Sunday May to October. Tickets and information are available from the information office of the Vienna Transport Authority, Karlsplatz (tel: (01) 587 3186 or 790 9105; website: http://www.wienerlinien.co.at/). Points of interest include the Rathskeller, the Burgtheatre, the University of Vienna, the Schönbrunn Palace and the Riesenrad. The tour lasts for approximately one hour.

Alternatively, a romantic, albeit expensive, way for visitors to see the city is by a traditional Fiaker (horse-drawn carriage). These are available for hire at Stephansplatz just to the north of St Stephen's Cathedral, at Heldenplatz (near the Hofburg) and at Albertinaplatz (behind the Staatsoper). The prices and lengths of the ride must be negotiated in advance.