Rich in history and culture, Vienna is one of the most beautiful European cities and one day (even one week) is not enough to see it. I decided to take a day trip to Vienna when visiting Prague with my girlfriend. Even though it was just one day, we were able to see Klimt in Belvedere, Visit Karlskirche Cathedral, walk around Schwarzenbergplatz(Russian Plaza). We also had delicious lunch on Naschmarkt (public market), admired city center streets, saw magnificent Opera House, and ate hearty homemade spaetzle at Wiener Eistraum(Vienna Ice Arena) right in front of the Rathaus. And managed to get back to the train station just 10 minutes before our train departure. Our trip was a blast!! So, if you have a day to visit Vienna and, just like me, thinking whether you should spend just one day in Vienna, stop questioning and do it – you won’t be disappointed. And, of course, I am planning to come back to Vienna and spend more time in the beautiful city soon.
Taking train to Vienna.
The most conveniently located train station in Vienna is Wien Hauptbahnhof . It’s 15 minutes’ walk from Belvedere Museum and about 25 minutes’ walk from the city center.
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Traveling in Europe by Train Guide
ONE DAY IN VIENNA
Museums
If you have only one day in Vienna, I suggest visiting one museum and spend the rest of the time exploring the city. I am a big fan of Klimt (thanks to my cousin), so Belvedere was my choice as it has one of the largest collections of Klimts paintings. My obvious second choice was Albertina Museum, but it would require much more time to cover compared to Belvedere.
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How to plan your fist visit to Belvedere
Karlskirche
Build in 18 century, this Baroque church was dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo. Two recently installed mirrored spheres handing from the ceiling give an interesting perspective. There is also an elevator that allows to see the frescas on the roof of the church. I was a little uncomfortable walking narrow path on the top, but nothing that I was not able to handle for couple of minutes before taking the elevator down.
On our way to Nachmarkt from Karlskirche we stopped by Schwarzenbergplatz to see War Memorial(Russian Memorial) built in 1945 after the end of World War II.
Nachmarkt
Let me start from the fact that I just love public markets. If there is a public market in the city I’m visiting, it will be on my “must-do “ list and of course Vienna public market was not an exception. So, we spent some time walking around fresh produce stands, fresh fruits , vegetables, cheese and sausages, exotic spices, hand made soap and all kids of souvenirs. There also variety of restaurants and mini bars where you can have lunch of just grab a drink.
We opted out for Italian restaurant (don’t judge, it was not my choice after all ). But the food was delicious, so no complaints. After lunch we walked more around the market, bought delicious deer and pork salami, sampled dessert wine and traditional poppy seeds filled Mohnzelten. Yummy!!
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The Opera House and Kaerntnerstrasse
After lunch we walked the Karlsplatz to the Opera House and Stephansdom (St. Stephen Cathedral). We spent some time admiring beautiful Opera House building and headed to Stephansdom via Kaerntnerstrasse, main pedestrian shopping street. The street if full of luxury European stores and super crowded even during weekdays.
Stephansdom
Stephenson is free to visit but you need to pay 7 euros to get to the top of North and South Towers. North tower has an elevator, which makes it easier to visit. You can also see close up of roof mosaic from the North Tower, the view is somewhat limited, but still great in my opinion. So, if you want a better view you can climb narrow spiral staircase to the top of South Tower, its about 350 steps.
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The Hofburg Palace
Imperial palace in the past, The Hofburg is currently the main residence and work place of Austrian President. If you have time, make sure to see a performance at Spanish Riding School located inside of the The Hofburg Palace behind Michaelerplatz.
The MuseumQuartier
You easily spend several days exploring the MuseumQuartier (MQ) . It is recently redesigned beautifully kept area that house variety of museums. Various passages and courtyards offer a lot of picture taking opportunities. We strolled around the area and headed to the Rathauspark(Vienna City Hall Park).
The Rathaus and the Ice Arena
On our way to the Rathaus(Vienna City Hall) we stopped by the Parliament Building. Unfortunately, the facade of the building was under construction.
Ice Arena opens every year November-March on the plaza in front of Rathaus. So, you can spend good couple of hours there ice skating, drinking glühwein and enjoying the beautiful lighting. We sampled traditional homemade spaetzle there, spent some time people watching and headed back to the train station.
I really enjoyed Vienna and I’m sure I will be back to spend more time in this beautiful full of history and culture city.
Final Thoughts.
Even though one day was not enough to see a lot of Vienna, we were able to enjoy the city street, feel the culture and even visit one of the museums. So, if you have one day to visit Vienna, don’t give it a second though, just do it and you won’t be disappointed.
