🇦🇹 AUSTRIA

A few days ago I got back from Austria and I really wanted to write this post while it was still fresh in my memory. I want to share with you the reasons why I fell in love with this magnificent country. Needless to say, as soon as we set foot in Austria, I immediately had an immense coup de coeur! Austria is beautiful in October!

We were in Austria for a total of five days and we visited three different cities. Vienna (Wien in Dutch), Gmunden and Hallstatt. In this blog, I will share all the logistics details and describe all the different activities we partook in. So follow me in this amazing journey!

FLIGHT ✈︎

We flew from Ottawa (YOW) to Vienna (VIE) with Air Canada and came back from Copenhagen (Denmark) for a total of $946 CAD each. (Flights booked on Expedia).

The details about my trip to Copenhagen are here!

ACCOMMODATION ?

During our whole sojourn in Austria, we stayed in Vienna at the Courtyard by Marriott Vienna Prater/Messe. We loved this hotel! The nearest metro station Krieau (pronounced Kreow) was right across the street. For us, it was a perfect location. Our room was spacious with a king bed and it had a great gym.

* Tip alert! I did not spend a penny to stay at this hotel! How?! I got a new AMEX Marriott Bonvoy credit card last summer and I had already accumulated enough points to have a 4-night stay in Vienna for free…how great is that?! 

For the ones wondering, the average rate per night at this hotel is $140 CAD (total of $560 CAD for four nights)

HOW TO GET AROUND IN VIENNA? Ⓜ️

Vienna has one of the best public transport systems I’ve ever seen! Not only was it simple, but it was effective! Upon our arrival at Vienna’s airport, we purchased a CAT (City Airport Train) ticket with a 72h metro (U-Bahn) access for the price of €38 each. ($55 CAD) The CAT is located directly at the airport and is connected to two metro lines (U3 and U4). You can catch the CAT every 30 minutes and it takes non-stop 16 minutes to get from the airport to the City Center. Your return ticket is valid for 30 days. Note that you can buy a reduced-price online ticket in advance on their website.

The metro network has 5 lines and 104 stations. Our ticket also included the train back to the airport. We knew we were spending one day in Hallstatt and Gmunden so we took a 24h metro ticket for our last day. It was €8 each. ($12 CAD) So to recap, it cost us $67 CAD each for the CAT train from and to the airport and for a 96h access to the metro. Pretty decent!

GMUNDEN & HALLSTATT

On day 2 of our trip, I booked us an Hallstatt day trip from Vienna with Vienna Sightseeing Tours. I booked it via Expedia for the sum of $176 CAD each. We were picked up in the morning at hour hotel by the complimentary shuttle. We then met with the rest of our group at the State Opera where we embarked on a comfy bus and made our way to Hallstatt (pronounced Hallshtatt). We left our hotel at around 06h30 and came back in Vienna at 20h00.

It was a long drive to Hallstatt but the scenery was beautiful!  Our bus journey took us into the Austrian Alps! On our way there, we stopped for breakfast and then at the town of Gmunden in the middle of the Traunsee where we visited the ancient fortress of Schloss Ort.

We arrived in Hallstatt (UNESCO World Heritage Site of Salzkammergut) at approximately 12h30 and we had a few activities included with our tour.

• A ride on the Salzbergbahn Hallstatt funicular to get incredible panoramic views from the skywalk.
• Visit of the Parish Church and the entry to the ossuary.
• A boat ride on the Hallstätter.

We had lunch in Hallstatt and even got to feed the swans! We left Hallstatt at around 16h00 and made our way back to Vienna. We stopped for dinner on the way.

Interesting fact: Hallstatt is famous for its salt mining since prehistoric times and is the starting point of the world’s oldest and still working industrial pipeline for brine (salt water).

There is a high chance that Hallstatt is probably the most beautiful place I’ve seen on earth during all of my travels! You have to go to Hallstatt is you plan on visiting Austria, it will simply take your breath way!

VIENNA

We were pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of Wien! In the morning we could see city employees cleaning the streets to the point where they would scrape the gums from the sidewalks! 

The architecture was also majestic, the city has so much history and everywhere you look you can see its beauty!

Fun facts : Vienna is Austria’s capital. It is located East of the Danube River. Some of its most famous residents include Mozart, Beethoven, Gustav Klimt and Sigmund Freud. It is the World’s Capital of Music. Don’t be surprised if you see plenty of people with musical instruments in the metro. The snow globe was invented in Vienna in 1900 by Erwin Perzy. The official language is German (Dutch) and the currency is the Euro.

Activities

1 – Prater Amusement Park

While in Vienna, listen to your inner child and visit Prater Amusement Park located in Leopoldstadt. The entrance to the park is totally free! You can have a stroll around and individually pay for the rides you want to do. My goal was to ride the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel. It was built in 1897 and is one of the oldest operating Ferris Wheels in the world! An adult ticket goes for €12. ($17.50 CAD). The 360° panoramic city view from the top of the wheel is worth the money alone! You can also have a candle-light dinner or a cocktail and coffee break in a private cabin on the wheel! The opening hours vary depending on the time of the year, but they range from 09h00 to midnight. Madame Tussauds Wax Museum is also located in Prater. We had lots of fun with the pizza vending machine!

2 – Have a Sachertorte at the Sacher Hotel

The Sachertorte is a cake invented by Franz Sacher in 1832 for Prince Metternich. It is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties. The torte is made of chocolate and puréed apricot jam. The best place to enjoy the original torte is at Sacher Hotel located next to the Opera House.

3 – Belvedere Palace

The Baroque Belvedere Palace was built between 1712 and 1718 as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. The Palace has now been turned into an Art Museum. The park and the two palace buildings are a UNESCO World Heritage site. The great thing is that you can visit the outside and the gardens for free!

4 – Walk around Vienna

The city is so beautiful that there is no need to go in a museum. All the buildings in Vienna are incredible to look at! Let me tell you about my favorites:

→ Stephansdom Church

→ Pestsäule Statue

→ Opera State House

5 – Hofburg Palace

The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty rulers and today serves as the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria. It was built in the 13th century. It also served as the winter residence, as Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence. At the Hofburg you can visit the Sisi Museum. We personally decided to visit the National State Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek). It is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items. It’s located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg. The library is gorgeous, it looks like it is just straight out of The Beauty and the Beast! The entrance fee for the library is €8 ($12 CAD) and you’re allowed to take as many pictures as you want!

6 – Naschmarkt

The foodie in me loves to visit food markets whenever I’m travelling. Since the 16th century, Naschmarkt is the most famous food and produce market in Vienna. You will find ready to eat dishes as well as fresh ingredients to purchase in the market. That’s where we had our first typical meal on the day of our arrival in Vienna: the Schnitzel! A schnitzel is crumb coated meat, usually pork or chicken, that is then fried.

7 – Schönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn Palace used to be the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers. It’s now considered as one of the most important monuments in Austria. It is partly famous because that’s where resided Empress Sisi, aka Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. I loved the Schönbrunn, there were so many interesting and fun things to do. Here’s what we did:

We toured the inside of the Palace, not all of it of course…there are 1441 rooms! We chose the Grand Tour which allowed us to visit 40 rooms including the Millions Room made of precious rosewood panelling, the imperial rooms, the Great Gallery, Emperor Franz Joseph’s and Sisi’s private suite and more. The entrance fee was €20 each. ($29 CAD) It took us about 1h-1h30 to do the self-guided tour. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take pictures during the tour. But trust me, it was beautiful!

We then assisted to the Strudelshow at the Café Residenz located on the left side of the Palace! You’ve read correctly, we had a masterclass on how to bake the renowned Apple Strudel and the best part was that we got to eat some! Yum! If you want a big piece of the apple strudel, a hot beverage and the Strudelshow, I suggest you choose the premium package that goes for €12. ($17.50 CAD) You can also decide to take a small piece of strudel with the show for €6.50 ($9.50 CAD). The show is from 11h00 to 16h00, every 30 minutes.

At night, we booked a three-course dinner & concert at the Palace Orangery where Mozart himself performed in 1786. The concert was a selection of pieces by Mozart and Strauss. The orchestra was accompanied by two opera singers and by two ballet-dancers. It was a lovely evening! I got our tickets on Expedia for $118 CAD each.

8 – Have a posh meal at the iconic Gerstner K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker

The establishment was founded nearly 170 years ago and Gerstner used to provide the imperial court with its products. Nowadays, you can enjoy a brunch, a meal or a delicious pastry and tea in an incredibly chic decor. Good news, there is boutique on the first floor where you can purchase some baked goods and chocolates. It is located in a key location, across the Opera State House. I had the Klimt torte (walnut biscuit with chocolate cream, coated in marzipan and decorated with gold flakes) named after the renowned painter Gustav Klimt and it was delicious!

MY GOURMET ADDRESS BOOK

→ Breakfast at WIRR.

Located in Neubau, WIRR serves breakfast and local specialties. The ambience is cozy and the staff is very friendly. I had a traditional Austrian breakfast meal that consists of : Semmeln (a type of bread roll) butter and jam, cold cuts, a boiled egg, a pastry (croissant) and some cheese. It was very satisfying and the croissant as good as the ones I’ve had in France.

→ Have drinks at the 25Hours Hotel rooftop bar

Located in the museums quartier, the Dachboden is located on the 8th floor of the 25Hours Hotel and has a great view and a fun atmosphere. I had a delicious whisky drink: the Smoky Balis! Fun fact, you can also get a haircut from a professional while you wait for your drink. 

→ Have a traditional meal at Centimeter

Centimeter is a tavern and gastropub and serves local beers. We had two typical meals: Schaufel Mischmasch & Zartes Rindsgulasch. I highly recommend the gulasch.

→ Eat Italian at Vapiano

Vapiano is a great concept and you can find restaurants around the world. Pasta, pizzas, antipasti and salads are ordered directly from the chefs at the individual stations in the middle of the Vapiano. I had an amazing mushroom risotto!

Gute Reise!

XX

Mlle Wanderlust

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