Sights

Hofburg Palace

Leopold Wing of the Hofburg Palace
photo by: T. E. Watts

The Hofburg Palace is a massive complex; it was once the seat of one of the largest empires in Europe. The palace was the home of the Habsburg dynasty and served as the seat of the Emperor of Austria until 1918. The complex was expanded numerous times over the years, but its earliest origins date to the 13th century. It now houses various museums, chapels, the treasury, national theater, and the world famous Spanish Riding School. It's rather crowded in the summer, as it's one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city. FYI, if you're going to see the Spanish more..

type:	Palaces
World66 rating:	[rate it]
url:	www.affiliate.viator.com
address:	Vienna Austria

Wiener Staatsoper

The Staatsoper is considered to be the N°1 Opera House of Central Europe. Even if you're not into that kind of culture, the impressing building itself is worth a visit. Show up there two hours before the regular start of the perfomance and you can get tickets for as little money as 20 Austrian shillings (US$ 1.50).

When they are playing to a full house, there are no seats for holders of these cheap tickets, but the atmosphere in the standing room is funny anyway and most days enough seats remain free. T-shirt and jeans is also ok as long as you do not attend to a premiere. more..

type:	Landmarks
World66 rating:	[rate it]
address:	Opernring, 1. Bezirk
url:	www.wiener-staatsoper.at

Karlskirche

Karlskirche
photo by: Hans Lohninger / www.photoglobe.info

Probably the most pompous church in the whole of Austria. The brilliant white Baroque church with it's two thin towers and green roof is certainly worth a visit. The interior is pleasantly light and covered in colourful fresco's. The church is dedicated to saint Carlo Borromeo and was built by Emperor Karl VI in the early 18th century.

The Karlskirche is the crowning achievement of Austria's foremost Baroque architect, Fischer von Erlach. Built by order of Emperor Karl IV in thanks for deliverance from the plague of 1713, it is an aclectic jumble, with an oval dome perched more..

type:	Churches
World66 rating:	[rate it]
address:	Karlsplatz

Stephansdom

Stephansdom, Vienna
photo by: Hans-Peter Harmsen

The heart of the inner city. The 'Steffl', like some locals call it, dominates the Stephansplatz and the Vienna skyline with its Gothic bulk and the brightly coloured chevrons of its tiled roof. Inside, the high vaulted interior is studded with Baroque details. The highlight is an early 16th century carved stone pulpit with portraits of the four fathers of Christian church, sculpted by Anton Pilgram. The area beyond the transepts is roped off, so to get a good look at the Wiener Neustädter Altar, a masterpiece of late Gothic art.

Another feature of interest is the more..

type:	Churches
World66 rating:	[rate it]
address:	Stephansplatz
openinghours:	Mot - Sat 9am - noon and 1pm - 5pm, Sun 12.30-5pm, entrance free

Jesuitenkirche

Built in the 17th century this church is a valuable piece of early Baroque architecture, much of the sumptuous interior is a work of Andrea Pozzo, who was invited to Vienna by Leopold I to spearhead the city's artistic revival with an injection of Italian Jesuit style.

type:	Churches
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Museum der Stadt Wien

This museum includes three floors of medieval sculpture and paintings, arms and armour recalling the city's struggles against the Turks, a reconstruction of Adolf Loos's ascetic living quarters, several works by Klimt and Schiele, and a model of the city as it was before the Ring was built.

type:	Museums
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address:	Karlsplatz
openinghours:	Tue - Sun 9am - 4.30pm

Kunsthistorisches Museum

This late nineteenth-century museum (and its twin, the "Naturhistorisches Museum" on the opposite site of the court) has been designed to accomodate the vast imperial collections. It hosts one of the richest fine art collections in the world. Its ground floor is largely given over to decorative arts and the ancient world, with impressive Egyptian, Greek and Roman collections, while the fine arts section upstairs offers a fine perspective on the German Renaissance. Canvases of Danubian painters like Albrecht Altdorfer and two Lucas Cranachs providing a link between the medieval more..

type:	Museums
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address:	Maria-Theresien-Platz
openinghours:	Tue - Sun 10am - 6pm

Dom- und Diözesanmuseum

Next to Stephansdom. Here the church silver is outshone by a collection of marvellous 15th century devotional paintings.

type:	Museums
World66 rating:	[rate it]
address:	Stephansplatz 6
openinghours:	Tue, Wed, Fri and Sat 10am - 4pm, Thu 10am - 6pm, Sun 10am - 1pm

Burgtheater

The Burgtheater is the theatre where Thomas Bernhard became the top scandal playwright of the German speaking world in the 80's. They are still playing a lot of his stuff (don't miss Heldenplatz) and many other strange plays. Its certainly not the place to go, when you think theatre should be played like it was a hundred years ago, even though the Burgtheater is located in a marvellous 19th century building. Ask for student tickets here (50 ÖS = US$ 4.00).

See the Burgtheater programme

Schatzkammer des Deutschen Ordens

In the Treasury of the Order of Teutonic Knights you can view ceremonial regalia and domestic trinkets assembled by seven centuries of Grand Masters. Enjoy the almost pastorally peaceful courtyard to the rear.

Jüdisches Museum

Excellent temporary exhibitions on the first floor are mostly on contemporary Jewish life, while on the second floor, visitors are confronted with a series of free-standing glass panels imprinted with holograms of the city's once vast Jewish population.

Museum für Völkerkunde

A seperate entrance in the "Neue Burg" leads to this museum, which features the collections of Captain Cook, Aztek treasures and other ethnological exhibits.