A weekend in Vienna is the perfect amount of time to see the sights and eat many delicious things, from schnitzel to sacher torte. Schloss sightseeing and Lipizzaner stunners, it was 48 hours of fun in this beautiful city!
Awestruck by Lipizzaners
Lipizzaner Spanish Riding School
You’ve probably seen the incredible dancing Lipizzaner horses, performing their beautiful dressage in perfect timing. If you try to book to see them in their famous home in Vienna, you’ll have to do it well in advance and it’ll set you back quite a few euros. Pro tip: if you’re not a dressage fanatic, check out their morning training sessions instead! They might not do all the leaps and twirls, but you can get the tickets just by queuing up on the day, and you’ll still get to see them prancing across the arena. We thought it was fantastic!
Walking the Ring
Vienna’s Ring Road circles the historic old town, tracing where the medieval fortifications once lay. Just strolling along the road we passed some beautiful sights, from the stunning Natural History Museum to the Mozart monument. We also loved spotting Vienna’s quirky traffic lights supporting Pride.
Although it was February, Vienna apparently didn’t want to let go of their Christmas market – the stalls and ice-rink were still going strong in front of the City Hall!
Sweet Treats and Delicious Eats
We found some seriously good food in Vienna – the first highlights, at least of the non-cake variety, were these epic brunch meals and cocktails at Ulrich, a hipster joint that I nominate as one of my best brunches of 2017.
Of course, Vienna is better known for its cakes, and we made sure to test a few out! I was very happy to discover a dairy-free version of the sacher torte that the city is so famous for at Cafe Mozart, while Anna’s apple strudel went down very nicely with a glass of bubbles.
Of course, two days in a city calls for at least two cake stops, so we also tested out the beautiful Cafe Central‘s strudel – I think the vote went to Mozart for taste but Central for presentation!
Another of the city’s famous eats – schnitzel! We had a fabulous night at Glacis Beisl, a beautiful restaurant twinkling with fairy lights and overflowing with beautiful plants. But it wasn’t just the atmosphere that was special – the food was also delicious. I particularly enjoyed the fish starters – and of course the schnitzel the size of my head!
Now, you might associate open-topped sandwiches more with the Scandi region, but if you’re in Vienna, please try Trzeniewski! The small size of the sandwiches encourages trying lots of different toppings – which you’re going to want to do as they’re all so tasty! From egg to tuna to tomato to ham, I only wished we had a branch in London so I could try all the flavours. Our love for the place may also have had a little to do with their adorably sized steins of beer!
Climbing St Stephen’s Cathedral
I promise we did do lots of walking to balance all that eating – including the climb up the South Tower of St Stephen’s Cathedral. The intricate roof and arches naturally draw the eye, and once we’d climbed the 300+ steps, we admired them from the top as well!
Schlossing About
Street Art on our walk to Schloss Belvedere
Vienna is also famed for its beautiful palaces, known as Schloss. Schönbrunn is the most famous of these, but as it’s a little way out of town, we opted instead to visit Schloss Belvedere. I’m sure it’s equally stunning in summer when the gardens are blooming, but I loved its clean lines and perfect reflections – and the commanding position on the hill.
Have you visited Vienna? Do you think you’d manage to fit in as much eating as we did in a single weekend?!
Linking up for #WanderfulWednesday with Marcella, Lauren, Van and Isabel – check out their travel link-up and their fantastic blogs using the links!
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