Vienna

Acid_Violet

I'm going to Vienna late November-early December for five days with my youth chamber choir. Any suggestions of anything I could do, any fun or must-see places, anything at all?

cailinoBAC

I spent about 6 months in Vienna and I never ran out of things to do. Have you ever been there before? Seeing as you're into music, you'll love it.
First of all, there are the Christmas markets, which should have opened up at that stage. There are many of them in Vienna. The biggest is at the Rathaus, but some people prefer the smaller ones dotted around the city. The atmosphere at them is great.
For music
-You can get standing tickets at the opera/ballet for as little as 2 euro. Highly recommended. Ok, so you don't have a seat, but you are seeing some of the best opera in the world and other people are paying hundreds for the same show. Many concert halls have similar deals. I went to a concert in the Musikverein (where they have the famous New Year's Concerts) and it cost me only 6 euro. Ok, so that was 5 years ago, but the opera tickets were 2 euro five years ago and still the same in December. You can go to the mass of the Vienna Boy's Choir for free, also standing. But you won't actually see them as they are up on a balcony.

Also there is music everywhere. Somebody practising an organ in a church, a choir checking out the acoustics in the entrance to the palace, a band playing on Graben

Before you go, watch the film 'Before Sunrise'. That will give you a real flavour of the city.

Visit some of the old cafes and, order a melange and while away the hours. Read up on them in the Lonely Planet or the like. It's strange to go to a cafe and realise that Hitler used to go there. Or Freud. Many of the famous cafes are quite old and the waiters are all blacktie. Try the sachertorte even if you think it's overrated. There could well be a quartet playing music in the corner. Stay away from Starbucks!!

Go see The Third Man in the Burgkino. It's strange to be watching the film and then see the cinema itself on screen.You can do the Third Man tour too, but I've never done it, so can't comment

Go the the graveyard - mainly the Zentralfriedhof, but also the one where Mozart is buried, can't remember the name. In the Zentralfriedhof you'll find the graves of many composers, writers and also it's quite sad to walk through the jewish section as there are so few people to keep it up.

Go the the Naschmarkt and sample as much food as you can.

If you're into art, visit the Kunsthistorische Museum, especially for Flemish Art. There are usually good exhibitions around in various galleries. In October there was one of Picasso and in December I visited one of Chagall.

I really could go on. Just take tram no 1 or 2 around the Ringstrasse and marvel at the beautiful buildings, get lost in the mostly pedestrian 1. Bezirk. Take the U4 and visit the palace of Schönbrunn. (public transport is great - you'll start getting annoyed if you have to wait a whole 3 minutes for a UBahn)

Go to one of the bars in the Bermuda Dreieck

Ok, I'll leave it at that for the moment, will probably think of more later.

Acid_Violet

Thanks very much for that, that's fantastic information! I probably won't be able to do most of that because I'll be with a group but I'll most definitely try!

Acid_Violet

Here comes Mr. Bump....

Manic Moran

Myself and the wife spent hours at the Technical Museum, which is right opposite the Schonnbrun palace. You can spend more than a day at those two. Consider also daytrips to Bratislava and Budapest, there are cheap and frequent trains between the two. (I'd recommend Budapest over Bratislava)

NTM

Fifilefleure

Hey all. Just read the post. I'm wondering if the same info applies in Mid-October as I will be heading there for a long weekend??

LadyMayBelle

I just booked myself in for three days in Vienna start of Dec, mainly because Ive heard so much about the Christmas markets, and the Art museums....any more advice for that time of year? is it pretty easy to get around?

cailinoBAC

Very, you can walk everywhere in the 1. Bezirk. If you're staying for a weekend get a 72 hour ticket, covers all transport. The Ubahn is great, trains leaving every 2,3 minutes.
Apart from the Christmas markets everything still applies around October too.

LadyMayBelle

Thanks cailinoBAC, Im booked for the second week in dec and looking forward to it!

The Summer palace in Vienna is also worth a look!
Its only ten minutes on a tram from the Westbahnhof!