The Historic Center of Vienna is the beating heart of Austria, and the home of top attractions such as Vienna’s city hall, Parliament, and the lively Museum Quarter. Also known as the First District or Inner City and preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the area is rich with baroque castles and gardens, as well as the 19th-century Ringstrasse, a beltway of grand buildings, monuments, and parks that encircles most of the inner city. There are enough landmark sites here to keep you snapping photos all day long.
Founded in 1752 as a menagerie by Franz Stephan, Tiergarten Schönbrunn, or Vienna Zoo, is the oldest zoo in the world and is part of the imperial summer residence of Schönbrunn, which itself is a UNESCO Heritage Site. It houses some 750 animals of all shapes and sizes; the most recent arrivals to excite crowds were giant pandas in 2003 although lemurs, armadillos and baby Serbian tigers spurred plenty of interest in 2006.
The zoo’s layout is reminiscent of a bicycle wheel, with pathways as spokes and an octagonal pavilion at its center. The pavilion dates from 1759 and was used as the imperial breakfast room; it now houses a fine restaurant (so you can feel regal, too). Feeding times are staggered throughout the day – maps on display tell you who’s dining when.
The Hofburg was the winter residence for the royal family, the House of Habsburg, one of the most important royal dynasties in Europe and who ruled Austria for six centuries. Through prudent marriages, the family managed to also gain Spain, Hungary, parts of France and many other lands. They built many fine churches and residences and rarely finished any of them.
The Hofburg was the Imperial Palace until 1918, at which point the Habsburg dynasty had died out and been succeeded by another. The palace remains the center of government for Austria, but these days, the occupier is a democratic republic rather than kings and queens.
The St Stephen’s Cathedral, or Stephansdom, is the heart of Vienna both geographically and emotionally. It is a magnificent dark Gothic church, beloved and unmissable in Vienna.
A church has stood on this site since the 12th century, but little remains of the original structure aside from the Riesentor (Giant’s Gate) and the Heidentürme (Towers of the Heathens). Both features are Romanesque in style. The Riesentor (rumor has it that the gate was named because a mammoth’s tibia, mistaken for a giant’s shin, once hung here) is the main western entrance, topped by a tympanum of lattice patterns and statues.
Belgium has produced more comic-strip creators than any other country, and one of the world’s favorite comic characters flowed from the pen of Georges Remi, who breathed life into Tintin and his trusty terrier Snowy in 1927 under the name Hergé.
Tintin’s outlandish adventures are published in over 70 languages, and more than 200 million copies of all 24 titles have been sold around the world. Hergé is now commemorated at his own museum just outside Brussels.
The Musée Hergé is about 20 miles (30 km) southeast of Brussels in Louvain-la-Neuve and is accessible by public transport, shuttle bus or special tour. Admission is €9.50 (€7 for students and seniors), and opening hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and weekends until 6 p.m.
The two Baroque palaces were built in the 18th century as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. They are known as the Upper Belvedere – full of huge rooms for entertaining – and the Lower Belvedere – the former living quarters – and are set in huge and magnificent gardens. They are considered to be the best Baroque palace in the world.
The Upper Belvedere is now a gallery showing Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the present day, including the world’s best collection of Gustav Klimt. Klimt’s famous golden The Kiss is here.
If you’ve only got a few days in Brussels, make a speedy tour of the major sights of the countries in the European Union at Mini-Europe—all in miniature. Among the 350 detailed models exhibited here, the architectural highlights featured include the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the canals of Venice and the Acropolis; they’re all there in carefully replicated models.
Mini-Europe is in the Bruparck in north-west Brussels. The metro stop is Heysel. Opening hours are 9.30am-6pm, open until 8pm in summer. The park is closed between January and mid-March.
The pastel-hued façade of Vienna’s Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) may pale in comparison to the dramatic neo-gothic towers of the modern City Hall, but the former administrative center is still a charming reminder of medieval Vienna. Although first built in the 13th century, the majority of the present-day building stems from its 18th-century baroque redesign, featuring details like the striking Renaissance portico and the monumental Andromeda Fountain by Georg Raphael Donners.
The Old Town Hall housed the magistrate of Vienna until 1885, but today is home to the Museum of the Austrian Resistance Movement, a museum devoted to the Austrian resistance against the Nazis. One of the city’s most intriguing museums, the fascinating exhibitions include photographs, original documents and personal reports, detailing the work of Austrian resistance fighters and the victims of the Nazi regime.
Explore Salzburg’s Mirabell Gardens and UNESCO-listed Old Town on this day trip from Vienna. Led by a local guide, enjoy the stunning drive to Salzburg, stopping at Lake Mondsee and winding through the Austrian Alps. Upon arriving, take a guided walking tour of Mozart’s home town and visit the gardens of Mirabell Palace. Your day trip will conclude with transportation back to Vienna.
The drive to Salzburg alone is spectacular, passing lakes and mountains, and stopping to eat and snap photos, including at Lake Mondsee. In Salzburg, you must try Mozartkugel, a chocolate praline filled with nougat and pistachio marzipan. Make sure you get the original by Fürst and not an imitation!
Stay close to “Vienna Row” or Wienzeile if you want to be close to all of Vienna’s best gay bars and clubs. Vienna has some of the most stunning hotels located in historic buildings.
The luxurious, renowned 5-star Hotel Imperial is set directly on the Ringstraße boulevard in the heart of Vienna and takes you back to the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Built in 1913, Steigenberger Hotel Herrenhof is located in the center of the first district of Vienna, only a few steps from the Hofburg Imperial Palace. Spacious air-conditioned rooms.
Set in a charming building from 1912, Austria Trend Hotel Astoria Wien is located in the centre of Vienna, right on the famous Kärtnerstraße shopping street. Free WiFi is available.
The modern and elegant K+K Hotel Maria Theresia enjoys a central and quiet location right in Vienna’s artists’ quarter of Spittelberg and offers free WiFi, a wellness and a fitness area.
