10 tips for first-time travellers to Vienna

When you go somewhere for the first time it is always a good thing to do some research before your trip to avoid unnecessary troubles. Please find below some basic tips for your first-time trip to beautiful Vienna

1. There are few ways to get from the airport to central V (Wien-mitte). CAT is one of them. Very well advertized, very pricey (13 Euros one-way), very fast (15 minutes). Use it, I am sure it will be a great and comfortable journey. However, if the difference of 10 Euros in price does matter for you go for S7 line instead. It takes a bit longer – half hour, but it’s only 4 Euros. It is very comfortable, clean and quiet. Cushioned seats.

2. U-Bahn (underground). Very easy to navigate through (if you have a map). A bit confusing ticketing system. There’s a ticket-punch blue boxes on your way in. They are not always obvious, so you have to look around, and you must find the one before you go up (or down) to the platform (because once you’re there, no blue boxes). A very peculiar thing about Vienna underground system - there are no turnstiles! Just aisles! And you don’t stamp your ticket on your way out!

3. There are no sign-posts/indicators/arrows anywhere (only little around Hofburg), and if you lucky to find some they will be in German and if you don’t speak the language, you’re scr... hmmm lost. I walked by a beautiful building one day, no indication what it might be. I would never have known it was the Parliament if a nice lady who was waiting with me for green light, told me so. Therefore map is essential. The map with main sites indicated on it is even better. I got one from my hotel. It was the map of whole Vienna and also more detailed part of the map from hotel to main sites and it was very useful. Ask at your hotel or buy one.

4. Before your trip, make a list of sites you want to visit. Spend some hours googling and surfing the net. Find out how to get there, the opening times, the information about the prices and what is included in the tickets. It will help you enormously. 

5. If you plan to visit both palaces (Hofburg and Schonbrunn) then Sisi [combined] ticket is a very good choice that will save you money and time. It includes Hofburg (Sisi Rooms and Imperial Apartments), Schonbrunn (only palace, gardens are free, Glorriette is free, zoo and maze you pay separately) and Imperial Furniture Collection. I suggest you go first to Hofburg as there’s less of a queue and buy this ticket there, that way when you’re in Schonbrunn, you don’t have to wait in line to buy ticket, you can just go straight in. The price advantage is also a factor. You will pay more if paid separately.

6. Combined tickets – read very carefully what else you can visit on you combined ticket. I bought a combined ticket for Kunsthistorisches museum and treasury, that also included the visit to Neue Burg. It is written on the ticket, but they don’t say it out loud, so pay attention. After Neue Burg I even asked if that is all or there’s something else included? The answer I got was “NO”, but the same ticket included the Carriage Museum at Schonbrunn palace. I didn’t know and paid 6 Euros for that, and only then read on the ticket that it was included. So, again read carefully and don’t be afraid to ask. 

7. At all and every museum/gallery/palace there’s this fabulous system of lockers. I have never seen it before. Maybe it is everywhere and I was just ignorant. It’s free (you put 1 or 2 Euros, lock it up, when you open, the coin you put in falls out). Very useful when you have your coat or shopping bags. So, upon arrival, make sure to look around.

8. If you want to visit organ concert, go to St. Peter’s church at 3pm. Daily (though not sure about weekend).

9. All the pricey shops are on Kohlmarkt in the “central triangle” triangle (St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Hofburg and Opera). Everything from designer clothes and handbags, perfume and jewelry to shoes, books and souvenirs. All there. All pricey. Nice to walk around and look at all this and maybe try something on or even buy. But if you’re on the budget, I suggest you go on Mariahilfer strasse. It is on the map, it is in the proximity to Hofburg. (If you can’t find it on the map, ask. If there’s no one to ask go to Kunsthistorisches museum, from there walk towards Opera and take first turn right. That is the street. Walk 2 blocks. And here it is - all sorts of different shops for everyone’s budget.

10. This one is for travelers who get their VAT back on the way home. Very confusing system and different from other airports/countries. If you pack purchased items in your check-in luggage, you have to first go to check it in, ask for a special label and then you take your suitcase and drag it to the customs counter, the employee there makes all the paperwork and then your drag your suitcase to check-in to a special drop-off luggage counter. Very time consuming and a lot of running around. If at that you packed some of the purchased items in the hand luggage, those you have to take care after going through passport control. If you have a direct flight home and Vienna is the last European destination for you, to get stamps for items in your hand luggage you go to customs office after passport control. If however you flying home through yet another European airport (example: Vienna- Frankfurt-elsewhere), you don’t go through passport check in Vienna, you go through it in that last European airport (in our example Frankfurt), after passport control go to customs office. After you get your stamps then the procedure is as usual – you get cash refund or drop an envelope.

Hope all this will help you a bit.