What to see, where to eat in Vienna.

[shadypines]

Hello, can anyone can offer some words of wisdom on the best places to visit in this wonderful looking city? I've got approx four days there soon. I love art and culture, history etc. I also like open air, nice green spaces/parks to walk around.
Most of all I love nice places to eat and drink! I'd be grateful for any advice.

The Museumsquartier has lovely cafes and all the art galleries you could ask for. MUMOK is my favourite. At least half a day for this part of town!

Not very adventurous but the equivalent of Pret in Austria is Der Mann (slightly posher), Ströck, and Anker. If you want a quick lunch or a coffee to go they are reliable and delicious. Der Mann does great eat-in breakfast and cheap lunches like soup and a roll in its larger branches.

Sachertort is the classic cake, chocolate with apricot jam... amazing. There are so many lovely cafes. As above the museum quarter should keep you busy. Also the Hunderwasser house which is a real gem my partner found
https://share.google/MH29ljNdpQqpMjeWr

If you like history then visit Schonbrunn Palace where Marie Antoinette spent her childhood. Also the Opera House tour is stunning.

There’s also a Time Travel experience you can do with 4D cinema type experience. A bit pricey but the kids really enjoyed it and it gave context to some of the historical sites we visited.

Figlmueller for schnitzel, hotel Sacher for sachertorte(you can buy to takeaway if queue is long)

We did the most amazing food tour in Vienna last year. I'll dig out the tour guide's details if that is something you might be interested in

Belvedere if you like Klimt

Unless you like horses I would swerve the Spanish Riding School. We queued for ages to get in for free to watch them practice, and all we saw was a few horses walking around and stopping now and again - very underwhelming.

Upper Belvedere - fabulous! Schoenbrunn is also lovely.

Schonbrunn is a must, amazing place. Also Hapsburg Palace and the Museum Quarter. Visit the Nachtsmarket for food stalls, there’s also a great choice of places to eat there. To be honest everywhere we went for food was nice and good quality, there’s great little cafes and coffee shops round every corner.

as mentioned a tour of Schonbrunn palace and grounds, Upper Belvedere for The Kiss at least, and that is next to the botanic garden, also for something quirky Friedhof Wein Meidling Cemetery for wild hamsters,

For almost all restaurants, it would be good to reserve. For many, you can reserve online.

Stomach: g.co/kgs/SwPahU8

Freunderlwirtschaft: freunderlwirtschaft.at

(Bit fancy) Zu ebener Erde und erster Stock: zu-ebener-erde-und-erster-stock.at/

(Fashionable) Thell: thell.restaurant/en/

Great balance in terms of price, quality and ambience:
Amacord www.amacord-alimentari.com/
Silberwirt maps.app.goo.gl/GALxt4zKr43oPnADA
Die fromme Helene: frommehelene.at
Glacis Beisel: glacisbeisl.at/
Lugeck: www.lugeck.com
Brezl Gwölb: brezl.at
(Market) Do-An: doan.at
(Italian, only if warm enough to sit outside) Il Sestante: www.sestante.at/
Simple meals/snacks/coffee
Café der Provinz: www.cafederprovinz.at/
Cafe Telegraph: www.cafetelegraph.eatbu.at/

For drinks:
Bar Campari: g.co/kgs/HAkVHQS
Domestic wine with a bar for tasting:
Wein & Co maps.app.goo.gl/sFJddeZvdGbRahHTA

Amazing cake non-touristy:
Gregor’s www.gregors-konditorei.at/

Traditional coffeehouses:
Do not particularly recommend: Museum, Central, Landtmann, Mozart, Sacher
Strongly recommend: Kleines, Hawelka, Westend, Prückel, Eiles, Jelinek,
Recommend: Diglas, Sperl, Demel, Bräunerhof, Frauenhuber
Nothing really wrong with them: Schwarzenberg, Engländer, Korb, Weimar, Hummel, Alt Wien, Dommayer, Ritter, Drechsler,
Perhaps too authentic: Weidinger
Quirky: Vollpension, Kriemhild

We were only in Vienna for 24 hours but . . . . .

Really enjoyed Figlmüller for schnitzel and potato salad and (at least when we went) you weren't able to book at the original one but could book at the Bäckerstraße restaurant. There were long queues so we were glad we had booked in advance.

Also Demel for Sachertorte and Viennese coffee. There was a queue but it moved pretty fast. Would have like to try the Kaiserschmarrn (shredded pancakes with fruit sauce) which are also a speciality but not enough time!

Somewhere, I think Schonbrunn Palace, has Strudel making workshops which looked fun - I think I saw a video of them on youtube.

So many great responses,thank you! @SheherazadesSpringNonsense that sounds great but I probably just won't have enough time, thank you though. @HearstOida a really helpful list, just brilliant. I'm really grateful for all these replies, now to make a shortlist.

We really enjoyed the House of Music (music museum, at the home of the Vienna Philharmonic) and Mozart’s House.

Nene und Wasser for fabulous Middle Eastern food! For more traditional experience it’s worth going out to the heurigers - beautiful vineyards and beer gardens

The thing I loved about Vienna is that the public transport is cheap and easy, but everything is very walkable.

Best museums - Kunsthistoriches, the Museum of Applied Arts (a bit like the V&A), and if you like Klimt, the Secession building. Schonbrunn is definitely worth a visit.

The Palmenhaus is a beautiful place to eat.

For really traditional Austrian food, I recommend Zu den 3 Hacken.

Vienna is a fantastic city - I hope you have a great trip!

We are thinking of going to Vienna in early October. These tips are so handy. Op are you just going to Vienna or onwards to other places - just asking as we are looking to come home from another cheaper airport!

We went for four days in January. I agree about the Spanish Riding School - we were staying nearby and enjoyed seeing the horses being cared for in their stables. I liked this better than the actual show.

We did all the galleries because we were on a bit of a Klimt pilgrimage. They were all good, but I liked the Belvedere best.

The best meal we had was at Danieli. https://www.danieli.at/en/

Hope you have a good time!

I loved the Kunsthistoriches museum. It is such a beautiful building.

I'm surprised non-one has mentioned Prater.

It is many years since I visited Vienna, so I expect things have changed, but I felt safer there than in any other city I have visited.

If you have Netflix, watch The Empress, all about Empress Sisi, in German but with subtitles.

Do not miss seeing “The Kiss”. I’m not particularly into my art but it absolutely blew my mind.

If you like history, there is a museum of military history not far from the Belvedere - it houses the car that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot in, sparking off the first world war. I can't describe to you how I felt when I realised that was the car it was - standing in front of such a world-changing moment of history was incredible. The visit was worth it for that alone, imo!

HearstOida - I have a Top Trumps card set of Viennese coffee houses, from when I lived there 20 years ago. I will have to annotate with your updated rankings!

We got the tram out to Grinzig (I think!) one evening and went to one of the Heuriger there - wine taverns on vineyards within the city limits. We had schnitzel and potato salad and some lovely local wine, in really lovely surroundings! Think it was about half an hour on the tram from the centre of the city. We went in the evening but it would be a nice thing to do at lunchtime so you could see the vineyards

Thank you so much everyone, it's so nice that people are going to the trouble to respond so well and also for your good wishes. I am taking note of everything for my shortlist.
@Chickslicky we are just going to Vienna this time, sorry I can't help, glad you are getting tips too!