36 Hours in the City of Dreams: A Vienna Itinerary
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Vienna holds a special place in my heart. It was the first city I visited in Europe, more than a decade ago, and more recently I’ve visited for both business and pleasure.
I never spend much time in Vienna, though you could easily spend half a week meandering through its world-class museums and taking in orchestral shows at some of Europe’s best music halls.
Since my trips to the city have all been quick one or one and a half day fever trips, I wanted to share a snapshot of my favorite Vienna attractions for those spending a day or a day and a half in the Austrian capital.
The Naschmarkt
On my first ever flight to Europe, we flew from Austrian Airlines from JFK airport direct to Vienna, arriving shortly before nine in the morning. Our first stop was the Naschmarkt, a large, open air market serving everything from spices and fresh produce to baked goods, coffee and wine.
Snacks and fruit for sale at the stalls of the Vienna Naschmarkt.
Walking through the Naschmarkt is a great jetlag buster. It felt so nice to stretch our legs and take in the crisp air as we browsed the stalls. Eventually, we settled on a breakfast of apple strudel, croissants, coffee, and Grüner Veltliner, Austria’s iconic crisp, white wine.
Schönbrunn Palace
For centuries, Vienna was home to the Habsburg ruling dynasty. Their fingerprints are all over Vienna, in its art and architecture, but perhaps no place serves as a better monument to the former royal family than Schönbrunn Palace.
The Schönbrunn Palace is one of the grandest in Europe, second only to Versailles, outside Paris.
The main palace is a showpiece of Baroque architecture, and both self-guided and private group tours are available to guide you through its rooms. The gardens, though, are the real treat, and if you are visiting on a nice day, it’s easy to spend two or three exploring its features, like the hedge maze, the Palmenhaus, and the hilltop Gloriette.
The palace complex is very large. They even have a zoo! Strategizing your visit is a must. While the Palace sits slightly outside of Vienna proper, easy access via the U-Bahn (subway) is available from the city center. It’s also a good idea to book a skip-the-line tour so that you can optimize your time there and have a dedicated tour guide to answer any questions and to point you in the right direction when it comes time to explore the gardens.
My Favorite Art Museums in Vienna
The art on display in Vienna is truly exceptional! I’ve twice now visited this city with a fellow art enthusiast, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. But I’ve also been spoiled to travel with my own art insider who has led me to the best museums, to see the most famous and awe-inspiring works of art.
Vienna boasts more than one hundred museums - one hundred! - so many that it would be easy to feel overwhelmed or awash in a sea of choices if you were visiting for the first time. The city’s MuseumsQuartier covers more than twenty-two acres in the 7th district, and is one of the largest contemporary art districts in the world.
To help you optimize your time in Vienna, here are my picks for the top three best art museums in Vienna:
Leopold Museum
Home to one of the largest collections of Austrian modern art, the Leopold Museum opened in 2001 with over 5,000 works collected by Austrian art collector Rudolf Leopold and his wife Elisabeth. The couple’s tastes were drawn to Austrian art of the first half of the 20th century.
Leopold eventually became a major patron of Egon Schiele, an Austrian expressionist painter. They also collected big names, like Austria’s most famous painter today, Gustav Klimt, and Viennese Expressionism painter Oskar Kokoschka.
Belvedere Museum Vienna
The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, more colloquially known as the Belvedere Museum Vienna, offers an insight into the history of Austria through artworks ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day.
The Belvedere Museum Vienna is housed in the Upper Belvedere Palace.
It includes the largest collection of Gustav Klimt works, including the native son’s most important works, The Kiss and Judith. It has also featured, since 1843, one of Jacques-Louis David’s five versions of Napoleon Crossing the Alps.
The Belvedere is a must-visit for any study of Austrian art, and one that mostly omits homages to the Habsburg dynasty. Those works are housed in the museum that the family established for their own art collection, at the fin de siècle.
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The largest art museum in Austria, the Kunsthistorisches Museum is a grand museum borne out of the vast art and relic collections of the Habsburg dynasty.
The grand exterior of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Its picture gallery includes everything from early Renaissance religious tableaus to Dutch masters and portraiture of the Spanish Habsburgs by Diego Velázquez.
The museum also houses the largest collection of paintings by Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Beyond paintings, the museum includes a collection of historical musical instruments and the most diverse collection of imperial armory in the western world.
Where to Eat in Vienna
The holy trinity of Viennese cuisine, at least in my opinion, is Wiener Schnitzel, Sachertorte, and the aforementioned Grüner Veltliner.
But there’s a long list of Austrian delights to enjoy beyond these three, from classic Äpfelstrudel (apple strudel) and the herbal, ginger ale-like Almdudler soft drink to Kaiserschmarrn, a shredded pancake topped with powdered sugar and raisins.
Viennese Coffee House Culture
The elegance of Vienna’s coffee houses is legendary. Its grand cafés, often upholstered in rich fabrics, with plenty of newspapers on offer and glass cases full of äpfelstrudel and Sachertorte, are a great spot to sit and read the news, or just people watch as the citizens of Vienna go about their day.
Café Central, opened in 1876, was a meeting place for famous late 19th century theorists like Sigmund Feud, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Loos.
Some of the capital's best coffee houses include Café Central, Café Goldegg, and Café Schwarzenberg. Try an Einspänner, two shots of espresso, a bit of milk, and cocoa-dusted whipped cream on top, or the local favorite Wiener Melange, a cappuccino-like beverage made with milder coffee rather than espresso.
Savor Vienna’s Tastes and Beauty, Even Briefly
Making the most of a day and a half in Vienna will take some planning and prioritization, but it’s a fantastic town to see in such a short amount of time.
If your itinerary is especially tight, the trip out to the Schönbrunn Palace might be the first attraction to sacrifice. (I say this from experience, it’s often been bumped on my own visits!)
Easy, spontaneous activities like visiting a classic Vienna coffee house and trying a bite of delicious Sachertorte, though, should not be missed. Soak up the imperial charm and Habsburg-constructed grandeur of Austria’s capital while exploring its art masterpieces on display.