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I confess, Vienna wasn’t on my original travel itinerary. (Actually, nothing was beyond Innsbruck, Munich and Liechtenstein!) But after adding on time in Seefeld and Salzburg with the help of Tourism Austria, I had two days to kill in between events in Salzburg — and I couldn’t bear to spend so much time in Austria without visiting its capital!
So I took a whirlwind trip to Vienna — and spent those two days just walking around the city and exploring.
It turns out that walking around the city was one of the best things I could do — because Vienna is drenched in incredible architecture.
My first impression of Vienna was that it reminded me of a combination of New York and Paris. New York, surely, for the modern shopping areas that seemed to sneak into every neighborhood of the city.
But Vienna reminded me so much of Paris. Not for its glamour — I find Paris’s glamour inimitable — but for the jaw-dropping buildings that seem to dot the streets, springing up from everywhere. Vienna was a great way to see incredible buildings without booking flights to Paris.
Buildings like these.
Other buildings reminded me of specific sights within Paris. The building below, in Museumsplatz, seemed to evoke Paris’s Musee d’Orsay, a former train station:
But for me, the biggest treat was seeing Vienna’s buildings at night.
I just loved how everything was lit beautifully.
The University of Vienna, seen just before the sky went from royal blue to black, was one of my favorites:
Before coming to Vienna, I had no idea that it was such a great architecture city! If you’re a fan of architecture in the slightest, Vienna needs to be on your list of great cities in Europe. As many great cities as there are, I’d even put Vienna in the top three with Paris and Rome.
Go to Vienna; take pictures. You won’t regret it.
I’m certainly no architecture expert, but I love visiting cities with beautiful architecture… it’s like free art that everyone can enjoy. These pictures of Vienna are gorgeous. I can see what you mean when you say it’s a combination of New York and Paris.
I think I was in Vienna the same week you were! Great pictures! I agree, Vienna isn’t like your usual European towns, it’s a little sleepy in terms of “must-see attractions” and historical sights. But I thought it was charming. If you want to see my pictures here are my posts: http://kelocity.com/2011/09/15/eating-your-way-through-vienna/ and http://kelocity.com/2011/09/15/vienna-schnitzel-and-strudel/
I love your blog! That conference looked really fun!
Kate,
your pictures are wonderful, I love the Palmenhaus and the night pics.
I know exactly what you mean with Paris being similar to Vienna. I try to explain this similarity to my (Portuguese) husband whenever we travel to Paris. I am originally from Vienna but live in London. Every time we go to Paris I feel much closer to home!
Barbara
Hello Kate,
Great post and photos about Vienna, one of my favourite cities – thanks! Although my main focus is Barcelona, I do have a few photos of things I have seen in the streets of Vienna. Take a look if you have time: http://www.streets-of-barcelona.com/nggallery/page-1199/
Thanks! Catherine.
I agree wholeheartedly! We did a very brief tour of Vienna a few years back and were blown away by the beauty, architecture, history and how cosmopolitan it was. Definitely worth the trip. Next time we’ll spend more time there.
Vienna is certainly a spectacular city, especially in the evening.
I went to an art gallery and heck, even a ballet, just to enjoy the architecture!
I recommend the Habsburg triplet of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague to compare and contrast the architecture found in these three lovely cities.
Great photos, Kate, and I’m happy to read that you enjoyed the architecture in Vienna! 🙂
Thanks! I did visit Prague and Budapest as well — seven years ago! Glad to complete the trifecta.
I’d never really thought about Vienna until friends went to live there. Now I see pictures of them just hanging out around town, and all the backgrounds look like this (by which I mean just stunning), and I want to go visit!
In June 1966, a year after our high school graduation, my friend and I left from Munich to Vienna on the midnight train. We had no prior planning or knowledge of what we could find, so we wandered everywhere on foot for two days (knowing that we would become terminally lost on streetcars). Our last night was on stage (cheap seats) in the concert hall listening to Willi Boskovsky conduct the Philharmonic in Strauss’ music. We waltzed all the way from there to the Ostbahnhof and got on the train for home. One of the best trips of my life. Thanks for your sharing and reminding of that weekend after all these years.
I will be there for a few days in August! Can’t wait!
Kate,
just stumbled across your post while preparing to go back to my hometown Vienna in a couple of weeks time. Seeing your pics of the Ringstrasse buildings I just decided to rent a bike for a tour along the boulevard, center and a few neighbourhoods where I lived before. It’s a fab way to see more architecture in less time!
Great idea, Barbara! I was just there and we took the #1 tram instead. 🙂
After my travel to Vienna and Paris, I felt exactly same as you! The thing is I went to Paris after Vienna so it was like wow it so much reminds me of Wien. But honestly, you called it inimitable glamour, I agree however Paris has this shabby and dangerous, dirty area while Vienna is so clean and “elegant”. Anyway it was so nice to read your post as I came across here by “Vienna-Paris-similar” haha. Enjoy!
Vienna has great architecture, but is way more than that. I like the fact that old classical buildings are used for modern expositions/parties/… Museumsquarier is one of my favorite places, where you can relax in loungers in the summer with DJs around you, all between museums!
I also think it is way cleaner than Paris.. and less dangerous 😀
Vienna is indeed great for architecture lovers like myself. I am always amazed by the modern buildings on the way from the airport. I use http://wientransfer.com/, what is your experience, what would you recommend?