48 hours in Vienna: what to do and expect

Sharing is caring!

The majority of people typically associate Austria with The Sound of Music, skiing, and rolling verdant landscapes. The nation has all of this, but it also has a whole lot more!

It serves as Mozart’s birthplace for music lovers. It is famous for its Wienerschnitzel among foodies. Outdoor enthusiasts can go paragliding, rafting, and hiking in any part of this beautiful country. Whatever you’re in love with, Austria probably has something special for you.

The country’s cute villages will catch you off guard the moment you arrive and make you feel as though you’ve stepped into a Disney dream. It is seriously perfect!

What to expect?

Vienna is a very clean city, and with a royal feel. When I spoke about being a Disney dream, indeed this happens through the streets of the capital even in the suburbs of the city.

In Austria, the official language is Austrian-German, in my opinion/experience it’s completely differnt than German.

Currency: The Euro (EUR) is Austria’s official unit of exchange. A pound is worth 1.16 euros.

Credit Cards & ATMs: It’s a good idea to use your credit card whenever possible in Austria to get the best conversion rate. They are widely recognised nationwide and typically don’t charge a service fee. In Austria, especially in the smaller towns, ATMs are widely available if you need some euros. They most likely connect to your home bank as well, so you shouldn’t encounter any problems.

Coming from the UK: Ever since Brexit, the majority of UK Networks do not provide you “free-roaming” when you are in Europe, consider using a VPN, or upgrading your package before getting to Europe now. See here the best networks from the UK and solutions to travel around the world with data throughout your trip.

Plugs: Mega important if you are a traveller who does everything on the phone or has a lot of gear. The standard voltage and frequency in Austria are 230 V and 50 Hz, respectively. The plugs are European classical type F. I recommend getting a universal converter for your laptop charger, hair dryer and so on.

Safety: You won’t encounter any issues throughout your vacation if you use prudence and common sense. I felt pretty safe in this city, and I stayed partying until 7 am!

Getting to and from the airport

I landed in Vienna at 10 am on Saturday and to get to the city was very easy. I pre-booked a return ticket from the airport beforehand, as I was told it was cheaper. I then noticed that I could have bought this at the airport for the same price. Although, I was very pleased to have done it online as the queues were quite large. 

The quickest way to get to the city centre from the airport is by using the train called CAT. There is a service that you can take from the airport to the city centre that costs £24.90 return. Again, well worth it to get a return to save 10%. The service is a very sophisticated double-decker train with plugs to charge your phone if you are like me always without a battery! If you forgot your European plug, don’t worry they also have USB entries. 
See here the CAT tickets.

The CAT ticket does not include other transports in Vienna. So when arriving from the Airport to the train station – Landstrabe you’ll need to either buy single tickets or get a city card. I recommend getting a 24/48/72h city card where you can enjoy all your travel on trains, trams, buses and underground. I used the link below to book it, and it was pretty simple. They will then email you a PDF with the ticket. 

In Vienna, you don’t have to validate pass tickets like in the majority of the capital cities. It is pretty wild. If you pass you can go through as there aren’t any gates. 

There aren’t many ticket controllers, at least I only got one person checking my CAT ticket, however, my friend got a heavy fine for not having a ticket. So, unless you don’t care about spending money, I would suggest you do not risk it and buy a pass ticket when you are in Vienna. 

What to do in Vienna for a weekend

For locals Vienna is not that big, and genuinely you can easily do a 3 hours walking tour around the city centre all the main monuments and learn huge amounts about this unique emperor capital city – yes! Vienna was once ruled by an Emperor and Empress – I had no idea! Isn’t this cool?

I visited Vienna during the Pride weekend, but I still got to see some of Vienna that I had planned before. Make sure you do a walking tour if you are only staying for 1 day or 2.

There are walking tours starting at Stephan’s Platz 3 to 4 times a day. The nearest metro station is Stephansplatz (U1, U3).  

Visit Stephan’s Cathedral

The Cathedral is enormous from the inside and outside. The outside architecture is very gothic and brought me hints between the clock tower in Prague and Milano Cathedral. I assume they all were built around the same decade, what I noticed is that the roof is designed to be very colourful, I am not sure if this was added after the Gothic nuances of most of the building. Inside, is fantastically well preserved, and the arches are perfectly symmetric. There is an option to climb up the roof from the outside and view Stephan’s Platz from the roof’s perspective. This is unmissable. Check prices for this here.

On both sides of Stephan’s Platz is Vienna’s open-air shopping area too. Almost everything can be purchased at Graben and just 5 seconds from it you have the famous Peter’s Church, incredibly distinguished by its blue dome and gold ornament, it is a stunning monument. You can visit Peter’s Church too, see the here prices.

Visit the boutique shops in Tuchlauben that are walking minutes from Stephans Platz and it is also home to all the traditional bars. 

Visit the Hofburg and attend a classical concert

The Hofburg Palace is unquestionably one of the top attractions in Vienna because your ticket grants you entry to all three sections of this fascinating museum. You can assist to Opera, and concerts and get the audioguide that provides insightful insights into the history of Imperial Austria. It is unmissable! 
Check prices here.

Visit the Schonbrunn Palace with a skip-the-line entry, this is a must. the queue can be quite long, especially on Saturdays. Inside the palace gardens, you will see the biggest zoo in Vienna. could not recommend visiting this place enough! See ticket prices here. 

I like to walk around the small streets of cities or check hidden corners in villages, however, I do understand that not always it is convenient, so I found that Vienna city also has an Open Top Bus which can be a great way to cover the top things quickly, and there is also Open Top Bus plus the CAT ticket from the airport which seems a great deal! Alternatively, if you are keen on exploring at your pace, Vienna has an app made to guide you around the city and collect information in certain places.

I am very happy that I got to experience Vienna and fell in love with the city. I am planning my trips back next year 😊!

Safe Travels x 

M

 

European Travel Advise

Beginning in November 2023, US citizens between the ages of 18 and 70 who wish to visit European nations that are part of the Schengen Area will have to submit an ETIAS visa-waiver form in advance of their journey and pay a €7 ($7.25) entry fee. It’s a brief form, and you’ll probably get permission right away, but it’s crucial to prepare and submit early.

 

Sharing is caring!