December 2018 – 3 nights, adults only
This is the perfect long weekend getaway to pack in some last-minute holiday shopping at the Christmas markets of Vienna and relax with a warm glass of glühwein while listening to classical music in the land of Mozart.
Like the rest of our travel guides, this is not an all-encompassing account of everything we did. We do not want to make a list of ‘Best’ or ‘Must-do’ experiences since we know it depends on your personal preferences. These are only our personal favorites and they are divided into two groups: “Avventura Favves” and “Other Things We Liked”.
Overview
With only 3 nights, we had no time for art at the Kunsthistorische Museum (KHM) or Albertina. Instead, this trip was mostly about shopping and drinking beverages at the Christmas markets. Be prepared for chilly weather. Although the temperatures in December in Vienna are around 40 F (4 C), it is a wet 40 degrees and it’s a trip where you spend all day walking outside. Lynn had to stop to buy some long underwear. The warm, boozy punsch and glühwein were enough to keep Dave toasty.
We did sneak in some visits to the Habsburg palaces and St. Stephen’s cathedral. We also enjoyed some non-market food too. How could you go to Vienna and not have schnitzel, hot dogs, chocolate, and coffee with pastries? Plus wine, Vienna is supposedly the only city that produces as much wine within its limits as it drinks. Is it merely a coincidence that the words Wien and wein (Vienna and wine in German) are so close?
Avventura Favves – Christmas markets, sleeping through Mozart concerts, enjoying high- and low-brow meals
Am Hof Christmas Market, Art Advent Karlplatz, and the market outside Schönbrunn Palace
Christmas Markets: This was the main event and of course, the reason we went to Vienna in December. We were hoping to get all of our Christmas shopping done in these few days. There’s a reason they have such a good reputation. There was a lively environment, satisfying food, and warm beverages, as well as tons of stalls to buy their goods. In the end, we didn’t get much shopping done. We picked up a few unique gifts, but the more markets we visited, the more we felt there was so much repetition between their offerings. Below is a listing of the ones we went to. Some are larger than others, some have better food and drinks, but really there was no best market. We would recommend just wandering around the city to check a bunch of them out.
- Christkindlmarkt in front of the Rathaus (City Hall) – enjoy live music some nights
- Am Hof Market – a smaller market with good food choices
- Weihnachtsmarkt am Spittelberg – another great market with unique gifts
- Art Advent on Karlsplatz – huge market!
- MuseumsQuartier – younger vibe with pop up bars in tents
- Weihnachtsdorf Maria Theresien Platz
- Altwiener Christkindlmarkt on Freyung
- Weihnachtsmarkt Schloß Schönbrunn – outside the city center at the palace, only go if you also want to see Schönbrunn since it’s similar to the others in the center.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral – We attended the advent concert on the first night of our arrival. Lynn fell asleep because it wasn’t the Christmas ‘classics’ she was expecting. It was instrumental classical music and very relaxing, particularly after strolling around in the cold and drinking Glühwein. We purchased tickets through Wien Ticket. We would have liked to see Vienna Boys Choir but they were on tour at the time of our visit. There are lots of other music concert choices, check out https://www.wien.info/en.
Steirereck restaurant – Since we didn’t have the kids, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a fancy lunch at Steirereck (number 17 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list). It’s a sleek, contemporary building nestled inside the leafy Stadtpark with elevated versions of Austrian cuisine using local ingredients.
So you don’t think we’re (only) food snobs, we also enjoyed the Bitzinger Wurstelstand. It’s basically a permanent hot dog cart with tasty sausages (and beer), perfect for the cold. Go for the ones filled with cheese. Yum.
Naschmarket – This is an outdoor food market with tons of delicious produce, meat/fish, and more. Don’t tell the chocolatiers in Torino but we did buy quite a bit of chocolate here. We tried to have lunch at NENI, but it was too crowded so we just ended up snacking our way through the market.
The Hofburg Palace – We took the guided tour (daily tour @ 14:00) here and really enjoyed it. It’s very similar to Schönbrunn Palace, so you probably don’t need to do both as we did. Schönbrunn has gardens if you enjoy that and the season is right, while Hofburg is in the heart of the city and has royal apartments of Empress Sissi that you can visit. Empress Sissi (Elisabeth of Austria) is not historically significant, but she has a very interesting personal story and life. Rejecting a lot of the royalty she was a part of, she lived an independent life and died by assassination. She became even more famous in pop culture after a trilogy of romantic movies that were made about her (in the 1950s) and are shown every year on tv during the holidays.
Pastries at Cafe Sacher and 2 pictures from Cafe Central
Viennese Pastries and Coffee – The coffee and pastry culture in Vienna is very different from the Italian coffee culture. We do have some fancy, historic cafes in Torino, but most are very basic. However, in Vienna, the cafes and pastry shops are in elegant settings that you can picture aristocrats enjoying pastries, or salons meant for philosophers like Freud sitting and discussing human nature. We checked out several during our trip. Enjoy a melange at one of these cafes, it is basically a cappuccino, and a great way to warm up. At Cafe Central we waited in line for about 20 minutes, which felt even longer in the cold, to get into this beautiful historic cafe. We had good coffee and pastries but it was a bit expensive. Demel Cafe has a long history of serving aristocrats including being one of the favorites of Empress Sissi. We sat in the back, enjoying the coffee and sweets and watching through the glass as they baked in their open kitchen. If you haven’t had your fill of coffee and pastries yet, then you can head to the Cafe Sacher, which isn’t as good but is an upscale setting and the place where the famous Sacher cake was invented (intense chocolate cake with apricot filling). For a more laid-back experience, there is also Cafe Hawelka.
Dave’s idol, Rick Steves has a Vienna City Walk tour, as well as at St. Stephens tour and a tram tour through his free Audio Europe app that we’ve used on other trips. We did the City Walk Tour and loved it (as usual). Highly recommended.
Other Things We Liked
- Ulrich – This cozy, trendy restaurant made us think of dining out at a farm-to-table restaurant in Chicago. Unlike in Italy, we ate in a crowded restaurant at 6:00 pm with lots of good beer options.
- Brasserie Palmenhaus – You don’t often get to eat inside a greenhouse so the ambiance was pretty cool. They had a variety of offerings and decent food, a nice lunch spot.
- Kolar Beisel – This cozy brewpub with a warm atmosphere had their own beers and simple pita sandwiches. Maybe go for a beer but have your meal elsewhere.
Logistics and Miscellaneous Notes
- https://www.wien.info/en – This is a great site that contains information about all the events going on in the city.
- We stayed at the Ruby Lissi Hotel – This hotel made us feel like we were staying in a trendy area of Nashville TN. It has a modern music vibe. Too bad we don’t play the guitar because they have electric guitars at the front desk that you can borrow. Our room was tiny but the lobby was super cool and they had a very nice breakfast. It was walking distance to all sites.
- If you are taking Austrian Airlines, you can check-in for your return flight and drop your bags at the train station in the city, which is very convenient.
- Be prepared for lots of smoking, even inside. We had great cocktails at the dark and cozy Kleinod but were a little overwhelmed by the smoke. And we’re used to living in Italy, but maybe the cigarettes are stronger in Austria.
Next Time We Go
- We’ll go in summer and hike through the farms and wineries on Stadtwanderweg/City Hiking Trail 1a (take tram D out of the city center to Nussberg/Nussdorf). Along the trail you can visit a heuriger (wine tavern) like Müllers Heuriger & Weingut. Maybe stop at Kahlenberg peak for a view overlooking the city, or check out Klosterneuburg monastery that’s also home to Austria’s oldest winery.
- We’d also bring the kids to revisit Schönbrunn for their children’s museum and gardens. And near the Hofburg palace, we’ll watch the Lipizzaner horses train at the Spanish riding school and see the “family jewels” at the Imperial Treasury.
- There are many more concerts that seemed interesting, like getting to listen to the Vienna Boys Choir live, or experiencing Mozart at the Vienna State Opera house or at St. Peter’s church would be a great memory (and nap for Lynn).
- For a deeper dive into life in Vienna, the Shades Tour company offers something we have not seen elsewhere. Instead of showing you around to famous tourist locations, they take you around the city to talk about social issues (like homelessness, drug addiction, and refugees) and how the city is handling them. And the guides are people directly affected by these issues.
The Avventura 