Weekend in Vienna at Christmas

[WelshMoth]

Has anyone been that can offer advice? It's for a weekend and we are celebrating a friend's 50th whilst there. Want to see lovely Christmas Markets, visit lovely restaraunts and possibly one or two tourist attractions.

Help!

Cafe Central...I try not to leave there when I'm in Vienna, as I need to try all the cake on offer and drink numerous cups of Wiener melange.

Ate here www.melkerstiftskeller.at/ last time. It was very good, and the hazelnut schnapps was amazing.

Xmas isn't celebrated on 25th like it is in the UK. It happens on Xmas Eve and everything will shut early the day before that.

The Xmas Markets are the same as those in the UK - selling mulled wine and hot chocolate and the usual tat - baubles for the tree and other decorations. Personally I think they're hyped up to attract tourists.
The usual tourist attractions are busier than usual so you'll likely queue for about 45 mins to visit eg Belvedere.
Stephansplatz is the central square and lovely to look at - the shops all around are designer - so expensive.
Lots of beautiful buildings and architecture to look at.
It's quite expensive about 5 Euros for a coffee etc and there are lots of delicious cake shops.
Food is very Viennese - very homely such as stews, cabbage and fried food
Hope you enjoy!

Thanks!
I'd quite like to book a lovely restaurant whilst there, stroll around some markets etc. Have booked quite a central apartment.

Would you mind packing me away in your suitcase? I promise I would be no trouble at all.

Check out the architectural wonders of Red Vienna.

If you have time, head to the Vienna Woods and do a little hiking, or stay closer to home and stroll through the Zentralfriedhof.

The market is the same one that they have everywhere there's nothing particularly special about it. If you're on a tram line it's easy to use. Eat schnitzel. I found the restaurant staff very rude as a rule although we had DD with us (very quiet and well behaved) but I don't remember seeing children in any of the restaurants oddly so maybe that was the reason.

Math it would be a pleasure to take you but alas, I may have difficulty squashing you into my hand luggage.

A stroll in the woods would be incredible but my 2 friends are serious shoppers/coffee
Shoppers/ wine tasting foodies. I'll have trouble prising them away from surburbia. One of them is celebrating a significant birthday so it'll be more art galleries and markets.

I looked online and there seems to be loads of different markets?! Did you see just one?

Last question was for Ken

They are all run by the same company so all sell the same stuff.

I get lost on every city break I go on, but getting lost in Vienna was fantastic. Have a great time, I'm incredibly jealous. I'd second Café Central, the food was delicious, the service was amazing, and the cakes...😋

Where are you staying? Hotel Bristol is our favourite. It is right opposite the opera. And not insanely more expensive than some other 3 star hotels.

Graben. Drinks loads of mulled wine (kinder wine for the non drinkers). Hot roasted chestnuts.

Cafe Landtman- old style Vienna. Has not changed since whenever.

Restaurant Placutta for the famous dish Taflspitz.

Oh i am so jealous. We used to go 2 weeks before christmas every year for about 4 days.

The Christmas market at Schonbrunn was about the best we encountered - partly because of the setting, partly because there was a bit more room to move than the other markets. You could visit the market, the Palace, and have a wander round the grounds, then have coffee and cake at the Gloriette. It snowed when we went - very romantic!

We loved just wandering round the Karlsplatz area, and there are some interesting little shops around the Old University Quarter - then you can have schnitzel at Figmuller!

If your friends are foodies, take a look at Merkur Hoher Markt.

I think a horse carriage ride is worth it for a first visit and you can see the Lippizzaners do their morning workout for not much money. It is a proper working workout. I am horsey so that worked for me.

Real sacher torte - it comes with a glass of blueberry schnapps.

Fabio’s is a good modern Italian restaurant. And YY to Cafe Central and Cafe Landtmann.

Cathedral worth a visit, main museum a must (Kunsthistoriche Museum). If you are OK with spas there is one at Oberlaa which is good.

I recommend the Leopold Museum for Klimt and Vienna Secession exhibits.

Also the MAK (Museum of Applied Arts/Museum für angewandte Kunst) if you like design/arts and crafts.

I'm not one for shopping but do like eating. I really love Vienna zoo. It's got some amazing buildings and the Emperors Pavilion is lovely for food. We were with the children last time we went so just went to the cafe for cakes and hot chocolate.

Some great suggestions - thanks!

The cafes/restaurants mentioned - are they for evening? We'd like to spoil our friend on the Saturday night - she's had a crazy year.

Bump

I'd recommend the Christmas market on Karlsplatz, definitely no tat, they sell lovely stuff.
Plachutta is good quality, but it's a big chain and I wouldn't recommend it. For traditional Viennese cuisine, try a Heurigen, preferably not Grinzing. You could try one of the Heurigen in the Neustifter Strasse.

99 thanks! That's fab advice.

I second the idea of Heurigen. This one in Grinzig is family run and really lovely. You will need to take a bus to get there, there is a bus stop nearby. www.weinbauobermann.at

In the centre, Brezlgwölb Restaurant is great for traditional Austrian food. It's a short walk away from Cafe Central so you could do both on the same day. It will be very busy everywhere so I would suggest you make reservations in advance.

Cafe Demel is also great for cake. Yes it's touristy but worth a visit. Their shop is great for gifts of sweets and chocolate in beautiful vintage packaging. Further down, on the same street is Julius Meinl am Graben. Great for a cup of coffee and picking up some foodie gifts. It's a bit like the Harrods Food Hall.

If don't want to do too many museums and sightseeing, at least visit Upper Belvedere.They have some beautiful Klimts that are worth seeing.

Kunsthistoriche Museum is amazing. If you are not interested in paintings, check out The Kunstkammer Wien. It's a collection of objects collected by the Hapsburgs. You can see some info here www.khm.at/en/visit/collections/kunstkammer-wien/There is a Christmas market outside the museum.

My favourite are The Am Hof and Freyung Christmas markets.They are close together. The surroundings are beautiful. www.visitingvienna.com/sights/christmasmarkets/am-hof/

I know
This sounds utterly dense, but I'm trying to google everything you're all suggesting as I've never been to Austria and don't understand the terminology.

Am I right in thinking that a Heurigen is some sort of traditional Austrian bar/restaurant?

We are going to be staying in an apartment approx 450 yards from St Stephens Cathedral and we are about 10k from airport.

How did you travel from airport to city centre? Bus? Is there a tram? Taxi?

We used the train. The very regular standard one not the premium fast one.

At the train station there was a fab tourist information who talked us through the Vienna Pass, tourist pass, transport pass options. We purchased a travel pass as we didn't intend to do lots of museum type stuff.

Heuriger a less formal restaurant, usually attached to a vineyard. They used to be open only a few times a year, these days they are open most of the time. You order your food at the counter. It's a good opportunity to try out things you haven't had before.

It's easy to get to the city from the airport, no need for taxi unless you are arriving very late. Take the local trainline S7 to Wien-Mitte Station and then underground U3 line to Stephansplatz. There are two trainlines, CAT and S7. Make sure that you take S7 line as CAT is more expensive for the same service. Or you can take long-distance train service (RJ, IC) to Vienna Hauptbahnhof Station and then underground U1 line to Stephansplatz.(it's only a few stops).