Guide to Vienna for a weekend visit

So you have a few days in Vienna and you want to make the most of it? You came to the right place. I just went to Vienna for a weekend (Thursday night to Sunday afternoon) and I am ready to share my experience and recommendations with you and overall tips to know before you go.

Tips for Vienna:

Bring some cash with you.

I made the mistake of not bringing any because I am used to not using cash in Europe and getting by just fine. But I have heard that in Central Europe they are a bit behind the times and still only accept cash some places. As well as at outdoor markets you’ll need cash to buy things. Depending on how long your stay is, I would come with enough cash to cover a few snacks, drinks, and souvenirs.

Vienna is an expensive city, so budget accordingly.

I do think you can get by on not too much if you are ok cutting back on food and drinks. While I was there, I did enjoy a few drinks and those alone ran me at least €30, which of course I could have saved on. Same with food, I could have eaten a lot cheaper as the grocery stores are really good with pre-packaged foods and snacks so you don’t need to eat out for every meal.

Public transportation is excellent in Vienna

You won’t need to take a cab or Uber anywhere. The metro and tram system is excellent and can get you anywhere.

Where to stay in Vienna

I stayed in an AirBnB in an area called Neubau and the location was wonderful. It was only a 25 minute walk to the center, had plenty of public transport near, and was a very cute area generally with plenty to see and do. Even if you don’t want to book an Airbnb, I would even recommend the area for hotel stays as the location was very nice, but a lot cheaper than staying in the center would be. We were very close to a lot of the museums and the restaurants in the area were all delicious.

Where to eat:

I didn’t go to Vienna because of the food, but I will go back to Vienna because of it. It may be because I live in Spain where the options are more limited, but I thought that Vienna had a great variety of Austrian classics, Turkish Kebabs, Asian dishes, and a lot more.

Breakfast

Our first morning we went to a lovely brunch place called ULRICH that had delicious egg dishes, pancakes, and more. It was a great way to start our day and fuel before a long day of sight seeing.

Cakes

Later in the day, while we didn’t get a full lunch because we had a late breakfast, we stopped for some Austrian cakes and coffees at Cafe Central. We had booked a table in advance, which was a very good call, because when we arrived at 2pm there was a line way out the door on the street of people waiting for a table. We got sat right away with our reservation and ordered about 4 different cakes to try between us and they were all delicious. You must get the Apple Streudel and the Kaiserscmarrn (a torn up cake with delicious cherry sauce).

Street Food

If you are looking for a bustling market, then you must go to Naschmarkt, where you can find venders selling local and Turkish delicacies mostly. Its a great place to get some falafel, dolmas, dates filled with cheese, and more. Come hungry cause by the time you get all the way through you will be stuffed after all of the samples and buying a few delicious looking items! The vendors are very nice and the locals as well may help you out if there is a language barrier.

You must go to this granny cafe

One afternoon we went to a lovely ‘granny cafe’ called Vollpension. By that I mean a granny serves you cake and you are sat in a cafe filled with decorations straight out of your grandmas house. It is an interesting concept because instead of paying by item, you pay a flat rate for an about of time. For about 11 euros you get one hour, unlimited sparkling lemonade, unlimited coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and one slice of cake with a healthy serving of whipped cream. For Vienna prices, I thought it was a pretty good deal because you can easily drink 3 drinks and have a slice of cake, which in Vienna can cost you a lot more. It was really fun and the staff was all lovely and the cake and rinks were delicious.

Where to visit:

Churches

Vienna is full of sights and historical places to visit. I personally love to walk as much of a city as possible, especially on the first day. While Vienna is a large city, it is still one you can walk through a lot of.

The main sights are of course beautiful. St Stephen’s Cathedral, the Hofburg Wien, and the area around it with many museums and green space.

The ceiling of Karlskirche, we got so close you could see the gold leaf and tiny details!

Another church that I think its less visited, but I found the most beautiful, is the Karlskirche. The exterior is beautiful and doesn’t look like many of the other churches you will find of Europe. The interior (8 euros for adults, 4 for students) is really beautiful and you can go to the roof for a view of the city. In the inside you can also ride an elevator up to near the ceiling so you can see the intricately painted ceiling up close, which I have never seen before.

Palaces

From there, you can walk to Belvedere Palace to admire the famous ‘The Kiss’ painting by Guztav Kilmt. Belvedere Palace is very beautiful with plenty to see outside and inside. I liked much of the art in the section surrounding ‘The Kiss.’

On our last day, we went to the famous Schonbrunn Palace to admire the exterior and walk the grounds. We were surprised by a lovely easter market. You can walk through the grounds and walk up a hill to have a lovely view of the palace and city. It was definitely worth the hike.

Music

Of course you can’t leave Vienna without seeing a concert or Opera. We went to the State Opera House to see ‘Carmen.’ It was very cool to see an opera in Vienna, but I do recommend you make sure your seats have full view. We were sat on the side and could only see about one quarter of the stage which made it a bit less enjoyable. When booking, make sure your seats are not on the sides of the venue.

Map of Vienna

Here is a Google Map with all of my recommendations linked for you to see!

Enjoy!

I hope my recommendations make your trip even better than it is bound to be in such a beautiful city.

Things to do in Vienna, Austria