A plan for Vienna

History

The low-lying Danube plain in and around what is now Vienna has had a human population since at least the late Paleolithic (see Prehistoric Europe); one of the city's most famous artifacts, the 24,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf, now in Vienna's Natural History Museum, was found nearby. Vienna's own recorded history began with the Romans, who founded it in the 1st century CE as Vindobona, one of a line of Roman defensive outposts against Germanic tribes. Vindobona's central garrison was on the site of what is now the Hoher Markt (the "High Market" so-called because of its relative height over the Danube), and you can still see astounding excavations of its foundations there today.

Given its prestige, Vienna hosted the Habsburg court for several centuries, first as the Imperial seat of the Holy Roman Empire, then the capital of the Austrian Empire, and later of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which finally fell in 1918 with the abdication of the last Emperor Karl I. The court tremendously influenced the culture that exists here even today: Vienna's residents are often overly formal, with small doses of courtliness, polite forms of address, and formal dress attire. One distinguishable paradox of the quirky city is that its residents can be equally modern and progressive as they are extremely old-fashioned.

Vienna has a rich history as the capital city of the monarchy, and thus, there is an abundance of historical buildings and museums. Most of these, including Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) and the three most well-known museums, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts), Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History) and Albertina, are located in the Innere Stadt. The Ring Road (German: Ringstraße) is a circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna and is one of its main sights. Its architecture is typical of the eclectic, historicist style called Ringstraßenstil (Ring Road Style) of the 1860s to 1890s. Built in the style of the Renaissance according to plans by Heinrich von Ferstel, the MAK- Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art is the first museum building on the Ringstraße. The Schloss Schönbrunn palace, a part of the UNESCO World heritage list, is located in the Outer West area.

Probably the best (and cheapest) way to get an overview of the city is on a tip-based "free tour": Good Vienna Tours offers daily two-hour walking tours in English, meeting at 10:00 and 14:00 in front of the Albertina.

Ball Season: One thing you should not miss when you visit Vienna during the carnival season is to attend one of the many glamorous balls in the city, some of them in wonderful elegant locations like the Vienna Hofburg or the City Hall (Rathaus). The most widely known and elegant balls are the Opera Ball in the State Opera or the ball of the Wiener Philharmoniker. Many professional guilds have their own ball, e.g. the Kaffeesiederball by the Vienna Coffee house owners. A different twist is the famous Life Ball, an AIDS/HIV benefit which features celebrities and other attendees wearing outrageous costumes. The ball calendar can be found on the pages of the Vienna City Council

River and Canal tours — The canal tours are horrible. All you see are trees and industrial buildings. It's a waste of money and time.

There are also a lot of other open-air-film festivals in summer, e.g. at Karlsplatz, the Vienna Turf Krieau, the Prater, the Arena, the rooftop of City Library on Urban-Loritz-Platz and Schloss Neugebäude.

In the summer, there is also the ImPulsTanz Festival for contemporary dance & performance. They are also good if you are interested in dance workshops.

Football: international soccer matches are played at Ernst Happel Stadium on the riverbank in the Inner East district. The city has two club teams playing in the Austrian Bundesliga, the country's top tier: SK Rapid Wien play at Allianz Stadium in the Outer West, and FK Austria Wien play at Generali (or Viola) Arena in the Outer South.

Classical music

Vienna is considered by many to be the spiritual home of European classical music, with many great composers such as Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss II spending a significant part of their careers in Vienna.

Viennese restaurant menus offer a bewildering variety of terms for dishes, most of which the visitor will never have heard of and many of which aren't in the brief lists of menu terms included in phrase books. However restaurants that have any foreign patrons at all usually have an English menu, though you may have to ask for it: the phrase "English menu" usually will be understood even by wait staff who don't speak English. A small bilingual dictionary will be useful for trying to decipher menu listings: at least it will enable you usually to determine what sort of food (chicken, beef, potato, etc.) is concerned, even if you can't tell how it's prepared. Not only savoury but also sweet main dishes are common in Austria.

Classic Viennese dishes to try are the famous Wiener schnitzel, a thin veal cutlet lightly breaded and fried, and the perhaps less well known Tafelspitz, where a beef roast is simmered in a broth with root vegetables and herbs. Schnitzel made from pork ("vom schwein", also called "schnitzel Wiener art") is also popular. By law, restaurant menus are supposed to clarify if anything sold as "Wiener schnitzel" is made from something other than veal. As is common in much of eastern and central Europe, mushrooms are very popular, and when they're in season, you'll find a plethora of varieties on restaurant menus and for sale in markets, often for surprisingly low prices, at least if you're from North America. Chanterelles for €10/kg, anyone?

Viennese restaurant portions tend to be large. Many restaurants now include vegetarian options. Most restaurants have daily specials listed on a chalk board or sometimes on a printed insert in the regular menu. These are usually the best bet, though they may not be on the English menu, so you may have to ask to have them explained or try to translate them yourself.

Cafés

Vienna's Kaffeehäuser (coffee houses) are world famous for their grandness and the lively coffee house culture. Skipping the Kaffeehauskultur is missing out a big part of Viennese culture. You should at least visit one of the countless traditional baroque 19th- or funky 20th-century coffee houses where you can sit down, relax, and enjoy refreshments.

Most cafés also serve beer, wine and liqueurs. Many serve meals, especially at lunch, and these are often cheaper than in restaurants. Most have a fine selection of Torten (tortes or cakes), some offer other baked goods. In general some are more restaurant-like, some more café-like and some more bar-like.

Coffee

Coffee is obviously an important part of the coffeehouse culture. Vienna was not only the center of the Austrian Empire but also the center of a much larger coffee empire, and the local roasts were sold across Europe. Today many people are still familiar with the term Vienna roast.

Vienna prides itself in its dozens of varieties of different coffees, although the Italian style and names are better known by many youth than the Viennese, the cafés are keeping the traditions alive. Most commonly:

Kleiner Schwarzer also known simply as a Schwarzer or as a Mokka is the Viennese version of espresso. It is made with a tick more water, a Viennese roast (the point between origin and roast flavor) and it is pulled slowly allowing it to oxidize.

Großer Schwarzer is a double Schwarzer (similar to a double espresso).

Kleiner Brauner is a mokka (espresso) with cream, often on the side.

Großer Brauner is a double Mokka with cream.

Melange is perhaps the most typical Viennese coffee. Similar to cappuccino but with the Viennese style mokka and more foamy milk in equal parts.

Verlängerter is mokka (espresso) with extra hot water, similar to a small Americano.

Kapuziner is a mokka (espresso) with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Kaffee Verkehrt (or in the more modern places Kaffee Latte) is the local version of a latte.

Also consider specialties like the Kaisermelange (coffee, milk, egg yolk and cognac) on the menu. Most cafés have a house specialty (for instance, "Kaffee Central" at Café Central). Many coffee houses have a huge selection of international newspapers.

Public transportation

Vienna has a good public transportation system, which includes rail, commuter rail, underground, trams (trolleys), and buses. The underground is very efficient and will take you to within a few minutes walk of anywhere you are likely to want to visit. The subway alone has the second highest per-capita ridership in the world, and that is not accounting for the 27 tram lines, dozens of train lines or numerous buses.

Enquiries for routes and timetables are possible with the mobile application WienMobil, that is supplied by the public transport operator. The app is available for Android, iOS and can be accessed without installation on the internet.

Ticket inspections are frequent. Ensure your ticket is validated (time-stamped) before your journey begins to avoid a penalty fare.

Accessibility

The entire U-Bahn system has step-free access, but entering the platform is only allowed with a valid ticket. Buses are all low-floor, with lifts for full wheelchair accessibility. The tram system runs a mixture of older high-floor and modern low-floor trams. At tram stops with digital displays, it is indicated whether the next tram arriving is step-free accessible. Wiener Linien generally schedules the trams so you won't have to let more than one go by before a low-floor one comes along.

All U-Bahn stations have textured pavement on the platform to assist blind patrons in recognizing the platform edge. Service dogs can be taken anywhere on the system, but if they are not officially registered as such with the Austrian government, they must be muzzled (As a practical matter, the transit authorities will pretty much never question whether an obvious service dog is registered, though). Ordinary dogs can be taken almost anywhere on public transit, but must either be in an enclosed carrier or leashed and muzzled.

More information about accessibility can be found online.

Vienna is potentially one of the safest cities in the world for its size. There are no slums or districts you should avoid. In general, you can visit any part of the city at any time of the day without taking many risks — just use your common sense. The Prater (fair grounds/amusement park area) is said by some locals to be less safe at night, though more in reference to pickpockets than anything else. The Praterstern railway station is a magnet for drunks, homeless people and drug addicts, but they generally do not bother passers-by. As a general rule of thumb, it's best to avoid train stations, parks (especially Reumannplatz) and some larger subway stations at night, but even then, nothing bad should happen to you.

As in any major city, watch out for pickpockets who grab and run when boarding the U-Bahn. Petty crimes (like jackets 'going missing') are more common and normally go unreported and won't get much sympathy. There have been a very few racist assaults in Vienna (even some by the police themselves). One runs the risk of being pickpocketed. Schwedenplatz, along the Ring, is sleazy in the evenings, but basically harmless; the Stadtpark, along the Ring, to the East, is a bit deserted at night and therefore best avoided.