Vienna, Austria & vicinity

Travel Dates: October 2025

What to do in Vienna

Belvedere Palace –  The palace is actually an art museum divided into three main sections:

• Upper Belvedere – This is where you’ll find the classics, including Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss  and other masterpieces from the 19th and early 20th centuries
• Lower Belvedere – Features rotating exhibitions, often with a more contemporary or thematic focus
• Belvedere 21 – A separate modern building dedicated entirely to modern and contemporary art

We only visited the Upper Belvedere as we were really only interested in Klimt’s The Kiss and some of the other classic pieces from Monet and Van Gogh. For art enthusiasts, I definitely recommend visiting here. 

Tips Before You Go

• Lockers – Backpacks aren’t allowed inside, so you’ll need to use the lockers. Each locker requires a €2 coin deposit, which will be returned when you return the locker key. Only €2 coins are accepted. If you don’t have exact change, there’s a cash exchange machine in the adjacent room that can provide change from a €10 bill or convert two €1 coins into a €2 coin. Alternatively, if you don’t have cash, you can ask at the gift shop counter for a special token to use instead—just be sure to return it when you’re done.
• Tickets – Buy your ticket online for a small discount. This allows you to bypass the ticket booth and proceed directly to the entrance. You will have to select a specific entry time when booking and arrive accordingly. There’s no need to purchase tickets in advance—you can buy it the day of.

Schönbrunn Palace – Visiting this former imperial summer residence of the Habsburgs is a must for those interested in Austrian history. You could just visit the palace garden and grounds as they are beautiful, expansive, and free. However, since Schönbrun is located a bit outside the city, it may not make much sense to go all the way there just for the gardens.

We opted for the Palace Ticket, which includes a free audio guide and access to the private rooms of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth, as well as Empress Maria Theresa’s chambers and the state rooms. You can save around €10 by choosing the State Apartments Ticket, but we found the additional private rooms of the former royals stunning and well worth the extra cost.

Tips Before You Go

• Tickets: The online ticket price is the same as in person, but booking ahead can save you time since it lets you skip the ticket line. The ticket office is located in the building at the front, before you reach the palace itself.
• Bathrooms: There’s a free restroom inside the palace right before the start of the tour.
• Bag Check: Backpacks aren’t allowed inside. You’ll need to check your bag in the palace building—it’s free, but staff will ask to see your ticket first.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Domkirche St. Stephen) – Entry to the church itself is free. If you want to go up the towers, you’ll need to purchase tickets. We only visited the North Tower, which is on the left side of the church. The ticket booth is inside the church; tickets cost €7 per person and are cash only. A quick elevator ride takes you up to the outdoor viewing platform. Honestly, it wasn’t particularly impressive—the platform is small and there isn’t much to see—but it’s nice to get an up-close view of the cathedral’s beautiful tiled roof. For the South Tower, I heard it’s a climb of over 300 steps up a narrow spiral staircase. There’s no outdoor platform, just an indoor viewing area.

What to do outside of Vienna

Wachau Valley and Melk – The Wachau Valley and Melk make a great stop between Vienna and Salzburg. The valley is located along the Danube River between the towns of Krems and Melk, and offers a scenic drive and riverside vineyards. Unfortunately, the weather started to turn during our visit so we didn’t see much of the valley beyond Schloss Schönbühel, but it was still a lovely stop along the route.

We also stopped in Melk, a small and quaint town best known for Stift Melk, the impressive Benedictine monastery overlooking the area. It’s beautiful to see from afar—walk across St. Leopold Brücke for the best views. We parked at Melk Public Parking for a few euros and strolled into town, where there are a handful of souvenir shops and restaurants.

Where to eat in Vienna

Glacis Beisl – Come here for Austrian cuisine with a slightly upscale touch. We had the grilled fish, which was a bit bland, and roast goose, which was delicious. Reservations are recommended—you can make one the day before. Note that there’s a cover charge of €3.50 per person.

Figlmüller – Restaurant Bäckerstraße – We couldn’t miss trying the original Wiener Schnitzel while visiting Vienna, where the dish originated from. We ordered both the veal schnitzel and the traditional pork version. The veal was crispier, but the pork was more tender. They do ask for a tip. Also, try their house-made grape juice was very tasty!

Viet Thao Restaurant – After a week of heavy Austrian food, you might be craving something different. This Vietnamese spot was packed to the brim on a Saturday night, and you’ll definitely need a reservation. We didn’t have one, but the host kindly offered us a table if we came back in about an hour and a half. While the beef pho was just okay, they certainly didn’t skimp on the meat.

Café Landtmann – Of all the dessert spots in Vienna, this was probably our favorite. We didn’t have a reservation and were seated right away—no line, no wait. The Mozart cake was absolutely delicious, and the Kaiserschmarrn (shredded pancake) was nice—it was served with two kinds of jam. We also ordered a mango cake and Maroni Blüte (Chestnut Bloom), though I wasn’t a fan of the latter. They do ask for tip and also request that you check your coat, which is free.

Café Demel – We also tried the Kaiserschmarrn here for comparison, and compared to Café Landtmann’s, this one was less fluffy and cake-like. However, the warm jam with large fruit pieces made it absolutely delectable. There’s a to-go window that sells Kaiserschmarrn, though it looked like there wasn’t much of a line for dine-in either.

Café Central – There was a line out the door to get a seat, but it looked like the wait was only 15–20 minutes. We ordered the apple strudel to-go. While it was served warm, the pastry wasn’t very crispy. Overall, it was mediocre, but better than the ones we had in Salzburg.

Café Sacher Wien – Given their famous namesake, I was a bit disappointed in their sachertorte (chocolate cake), as it was dry, though the chocolate flavor was rich. If you want to try it, there are two lines: the left is for sit-down, while the right lets you buy it to-go from their gift shop.

Papas am Naschmarkt – We wanted to check out Naschmarkt thinking it was a food market with stalls, but it turned out to be more like a collection of small restaurants packed into one area. We tried Papas am Naschmarkt for their doner meat and spätzle (a bit like mac and cheese). The spätzle was heavy and quite salty. Overall, there wasn’t much to write home about. On the bright side, they provide free water and don’t ask for a tip.

Where to stay in Vienna

Le Méridien Vienna – We chose this hotel because our Marriott Platinum status gave us a free room upgrade and a complimentary breakfast buffet, which offered plenty of options and tasted great. The location is also excellent—right in the heart of the city center, within walking distance of major sights and conveniently close to a subway station.

Other tips for visiting Vienna

Public transportation – Before using any form of public transportation in Vienna—whether it’s the U-Bahn (subway), S-Bahn (train), bus, or tram—you must validate your ticket. Failing to do so can result in a fine if ticket inspectors check and find your ticket unvalidated.

If you’re purchasing your ticket from a U-Bahn ticket machine, you’ll have two options during checkout:

• “Validate later” – Choose this option if you’re buying tickets in advance to use another time. When you decide to use the ticket, you must manually validate it at one of the small validation machines before the platform.
• “Validate now” – This digitally validates your ticket immediately, so you can go straight to the platform and board without any further action.

If you’re buying your ticket from an S-Bahn ticket machine, such as the one at Quartier Belvedere train station, you’ll need to enter your final destination and select your desired departure time. The machine will then print your ticket on a larger paper ticket than the ones used for the U-Bahn. Because this ticket already includes your travel time and route information, you don’t need to validate it separately—it’s automatically valid for the train you selected.

In our case, we were transferring from the S-Bahn to the U-Bahn, so we entered our final U-Bahn destination when purchasing the ticket. The one-way fare for this trip was the same as a regular U-Bahn ticket: €2.40.