With her amazing modern architecture and vibrant charm, Austria’s capital has a lot to offer. If you have just one day to spend in this beautiful city you should plan carefully. To be sure you make the most of it let me guide you through some of the highlights of the city.
Note that you may not be able to see everything from this list in just one day. That’s why as I mention above you have to plan carefully and choose wisely what do you want to see.
Walkthrough the Belvedere Palace Gardens
The whole place is split into two parts, Upper and Lower Belvedere. They are well connected by the garden that runs downhill between the two of them. The palace is home to the world’s largest Gustav Klimt collection, medieval, classical, and other types of artwork. The palace gardens are very beautiful and you can easily spend even a whole day just there. The gardens are free of charge.
Get on the famous Ferris wheel at the Prater
The Vienne’s Prater is a big public park which has the famous Ferries wheel in it. The park offers a lot of different attractions and the entry for the Prater is free of charge, but the different attractions have fees. The giant wheel is one of Vienna’s landmarks, his form can be seen from a long distance.
Working time: 24 hours, 7 days a week
Ticket price: 10 euros
Visit the St. Stephan’s Cathedral
The St. Stephan Cathedral is also one of the symbols of the city and one of the main tourist attractions. The Cathedral was built on the ruins of two earlier existing churches. The current Gothic style it acquires in 1511. The Cathedral is located in the heart of the city. To get inside you have to pay a fee of 5.50 euro, with Vienna PASS you get free entry.
Stroll down on Ringstrasse
Ringstraße (The Ring Road) is the main boulevard in the center of Vienna. The boulevard is also one of the main sights of the city and its home to many other attractions, such as the Parliament building, The State Opera House, etc.
Eat the worldwide famous Sacher cake
The most famous Viennese dessert, and probably the most famous cake in the world. The story of the Sacher cake starts back in 1832. The cake is made from chocolate with a thin layer of apricot jam on top, the dark chocolate icing on the top, and it’s served with unsweetened whipped cream.
Tasting this famous dessert is one of the most touristy things to do in Vienna, but you should definitely go for it.
The best place to try this famous dessert is The Sacher Hotel in Vienna, Philharmoniker str. 4. You may have to wait for a table since there are hundreds of people going there to taste the real Sacher cake. This sweet delight will cost you 6.50 euros.
Visit the Museum of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts is another main attraction located at the Ringstrasse. The Museum collection range from Greek and Roman Antiques to Medieval art, Renaissance, and Baroque. If you’re visiting Austria’s capital on a budget you can definitely skip it, since the tickets are 15 euros.
The green oasis in the heart of the city
The colorful apartment house is built after the idea of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, whose name they are wearing. The house is located on the corner of Kegelgasse and Lowengasse, in the Landstrasse district. I don’t know about you but I like everything that is colorful so I really enjoy it.
Admire the beautiful architecture of the Parliament
When I was there someone asked me which one I like more, the Austrian Parliament or the Hungarian. What do you think? Which one do you find more beautiful? For me, I think that the Hungarian Parliament is more impressive, but that’s my opinion, you can let me know what you think in the comments.
Stay for a while at the Maria Theresa Square
Strolling down the Ringstrasse, make a stop at the Maria Theresa Square, interesting things can happen there ( see the picture – horse playing an accordion, hah ). The Square is also located next to the Museum of Fine Arts.
Explore Vienna’s Imperial Hofburg Palace
The Hofburg Palace in the center of Vienna is a former imperial palace, which has been the seat of power of the Habsburg dynasty rules. Nowadays the Palace is the official residence of the president of Austria.
State Opera House
”Of all the noises known to man, opera is the most expensive” – Moliere
Turns out that this is not exactly true. Do you know that it is possible to enjoy a Viennese opera for less than a piece of a Sacher cake? Now after I got your attention, let me explain how. Although I haven’t tried this because I was in the city just for the day, I know that this works for sure. So what’s the catch? That applies to the standing-only tickets for that day’s production. It opens 80 minutes before the start of the performance, and these tickets cost between 2 euros and 4 euros. Can you imagine getting the chance to see a performance in one of the world’s most prestigious opera houses for that cheap? I don’t know about you, but the next time when I`ll visit Vienna, I would definitely take that opportunity.
And if you have more than one day in Vienna, check this post to find out what to do in Vienna in two days. Of course, you can spend even more days in the Austrian capital and also explore its surroundings. The Hungarian capital Budapest, for example, is one of the best day trips from Vienna.
So, have you chosen what you want to do and see in your one day in Vienna?
Thanks for reading,
Bilyana
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