St. Anne's Church in Vienna

“Music Exclusive at St. Anne's Church - simply breathtaking!”

Gorgeous church with thousands of years of history, outstanding performance, music that you can listen forever. In the program that night were Mozart, Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” Schubert’s serenade and as a bonus Bach and Strauss. The evening you will never forget. Highly recommend.

You can buy the ticket at the door, however depending on the season and the program there might not be seats left. So if you're in Vienna for a short period of time you might want to book online in advance to be on a safe side.

The church is tucked away in the alley not far from the Opera. Dinner at a good Italian restaurant after concert is perfect way to end the day (when out of the door go left, it’s first on you right, just 2 seconds away, called SOLE).

 

Visited October 2012

SOLE Restaurant in Vienna

“Fantastic pizza!”

After a long day of walking and sightseeing it is important to find a lovely place for dinner to have a complete experience, so to speak. Look no further! SOLE restaurant just steps off the main shopping avenue (on the side of the Opera) is exactly what you need.

From the second you enter you have a feeling you've stepped through a portal to a restaurant in Italy. As we were shown to our table I heard staff speaking Italian which only added to the impression we had.

Cafe Sacher Vienna - Sacher torte!

"Sacher Torte...hmmm..."

Well, the torte itself was not all that fascinating as one can imagine after reading all these “Oh” and “Ah” and “Yam” everywhere. My opinion is absolutely subjective because we all have different taste and this was just not my type of cake. But it is THE most famous cake, and it felt like a must, like being in Paris and seeing the Eifel Tower kind of thing! (I wonder if that’s why everyone’s eating it, but is anyone’s actually liking it?).
Having said that, going to that cafe, sitting by the window and looking at the Opera – all this is an experience in its own.

Visited October 2012

Albertina Museum in Vienna

"Do visit!"

The permanent exhibition “Monet to Picasso” worth seeing for everyone who has a soft spot for the art. Matisse, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet, Picasso and others. Not many paintings, for some just one or 2, Picasso however is well presented.

State Rooms are marvelous and some paintings and drawings are presented on the walls. There’s no need in audio guide, unless you really want it. All paintings and drawings are signed and as far as rooms there’s an indication of who and what and when but only in German. I don’t speak the language, but I could read names and sort of imagine the rest. The only one paragraph I was interested in and a nice fellow tourist near by were kind enough to translate for me.

The Exhibition “Maximilian I” is interesting and whether you’re a fan of the emperor or never heard of him it is definitely worth seeing. There’s an audio guide but the information is extensively presented in English on the walls, so if you’re not a fan of audio guides skip it. I did.

11 Euros for all exhibitions.
After you treat your soul stop for lunch or dinner in Augustiner Keller (same building).

Visited October 2012

St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna

"The best guided tour of my entire life!"

The Cathedral is simply stunning and breathtaking! But in order to lean about it and actually remember it all, to find out interesting facts and listen to fascinating story do yourself a favor – forget about audio-guide. Sure, they are comprehensive and detailed and in most cases are better than the guide-person, but not this time. If you early, wait for it, if you’re late come back next day (if you can), it is absolutely worth it. The man’s got a real talent and knows the Cathedral very well. I only wish I had written down every single word he said so fascinating it was. Having said that you don’t really need to write it down, you will remember it all anyway, because the history of the Cathedral is presented not in a form of boring lecture, but in a form of a very interesting story. I didn’t quite catch the guide’s name, I believe it was Florian (or something close).
The English tour is at 3.45pm. The price is 4.50. And that was the best 4.50 Euros I’ve ever spent.

Before tour, I went up to the top to see a bell (4 Euros). Well worth it, if the weather is good, nice view from up top.

time and price valid for October 2012, so please recheck.

 

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