A Weekend in Vienna, Vienna, Austria

I had a fantastic time in Vienna last weekend. It鈥檚 been a place I鈥檝e wanted to visit for ages 鈥� I even mentioned this in a Bucket List blog post back in 2012, but it鈥檚 taken me four years to realise the dream. In the end it came about because my daughter was heading there for a work conference (she鈥檚 an academic) and invited me to spend the preceding weekend with her in the Airbnb she鈥檇 booked for her stay. I wrote a daily journal for the blog while there, but here鈥檚 my roundup of what鈥檚 great about Vienna and what to do there. Necessarily, it鈥檚 only a first glimpse at all Vienna has to offer. A weekend really isn鈥檛 nearly enough time to fit in even a large part of what one might want to do. But at least it鈥檚 a start and of course I鈥檓 really hoping it won鈥檛 be too long before I go back to do more.

Vienna, Austria鈥檚 capital, has much to offer historically, artistically, intellectually and culturally. In 2001 its old centre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Vienna was the seat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Habsburg dynasty聽and is聽full of vast imperial palaces that you can visit. Its architecture is impressive and bold, slightly pompous, more a symbol of its power, I think, than buildings designed for beauty. It鈥檚 a fairly small capital city and thus easily manageable for a weekend 鈥� although there鈥檚 so much to do you might well want to be there longer! This is the home of Sigmund Freud so one could say it鈥檚 where psychotherapy was born; composers such as Beethoven and Mozart lived here, and of course Strauss 鈥� all those Viennese waltzes we know so well. There鈥檚 a rich history of art too. Vienna鈥檚 most famous artist is Gustav Klimt and seeing his famous, 鈥楾he Kiss鈥�, painting is almost mandatory. But Egon Schiele and others lived and worked here too. Intellectuals, writers and political giants came too, like Trotsky and Lenin. Even Hitler hung out here. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).

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Guide Name: A Weekend in Vienna
Guide Location: Austria » Vienna
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Article (B))
Author: Kay Gale
Read it on Author's Website:
Sight(s) Featured in This Guide:

Landtmann
Sacher Hotel
Cafe Sperl
Caf茅 Central
Kaffe alt Wien
Cafe der Provinz
die Burgermacher
Gelateria La Romana
St Stephen鈥檚 Cathedral
Albertina
Naschmarkt

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