Travel Vienna

S

Sam Wright

Location
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Dear all,

My wife and I will be heading to Vienna at the end of next month for a four-night stay. It will be our first child-free holiday for about five years, so we are keen to take full advantage. There's more than enough art and history (I'm a sucker for anything Habsburg-related) to keep us busy during the day, but I'd be very grateful for advice on restaurants and bars to visit in the evenings. We'd be happiest eating traditional food, and would particularly appreciate tips on where to find good Schnitzel, Tafelspitz and Kaiserschmarrn.

Thanks in advance,

Sam
 
Last edited:
Hi Sam, indeed, I have been living in Vienna for much of the last 25 years.
For the best Viennese cuisine, you really need to have both Wiener Schnitzel and Tafelspitz, although preferably not on the same day.
Tafelspitz (a posh Boiled beef and carrots) is best has at Plachutta on Wollzeile.
For Wiener Schnitzel, avoid the queues of Italians at Figlmuller, good as it is, and pre-book a table at Meissl und Schadn.
A good way to combine Hapsburging with Kaiserschmarren is Landtmann’s Jausenstation at Schloß Schönbrunn.
A propos Landtman, they are one of the best Cafe’s in Vienna, on the ring road, not quite as much pomp (nor queues) as Cafe Central.
For an authentic Viennese breakfast, order Zwei Ei im Glas at Café Korb to go with the small Vienna breakfast. Literally 2 peeled soft boiled eggs in a glass dish.
For wine, the various branches of Wein&Co are usually rammed with locals having after work wines, any of the wines from the shop can be served at your table. For a more esoteric choice go to Pub Klemo, but book first. My local wine bar is Heunisch und Erben, only locals or expats, but very close to the Central Train Statio. Serves great food, including a tasting menu, but they are fine if you just want a glass of wine and a jug of tap water. The tap water in Vienna is amazing by the way.
Enjoy
 
There are some nice concerts and opera in Vienna in Oct. I will be there for Die Frau ohne Schatten and Il Trittico, but that's the beginning of Oct.
 
I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned the "Heurigen" in the villages/suburbs on the north side of the city. Attractive and atmospheric places to sample the local (modest) wine. I went to one near Beethoven's house and museum in Heiligenstadt. It was probably Mayer am Pfarrplatz, another of the many places LvB lived in Vienna. In fact there are several heurigen around there. Easy to get to by tram.
 
Last edited:
This thread is sparking my interest. I've never been to Vienna but it is on my bucket list.

Is it easy to get from Vienna to wineries for a visit?
 
David, there are wineries in Vienna (quite good ones, actually) that can be easily reached via public transport.
If you have a car there is a plethora of possibilities within an hour's drive.
This includes the wine growing areas of Weinviertel, Wachau, Wagram, Thermenregion, Carnuntum - a bit of a longer drive will take to Neusiedlersee.
The area of Thermenregion is south of Vienna and also easily accessible via public transport. Super interesting wines and also great Heurigen.
 
You can take the train up to the monastery at Melk and then catch a boat back to Vienna. IIRC there's a "train" ticket specifically for this option. We also did a trip where we took the train to Krems followed by a cycle along the Danube visiting a couple of wineries (nowhere posh). That was a while ago though, and I can't remember who we went with. It might be possible to just organize cycle hire yourself (and then go to better wineries!).
 
David Mansfield said:
Reading this with interest as we are about to do a 5 night trip. Any suggestions for day trips to,idyllic towns etc ?
Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Wachau and Bratislava are good suggestions. You can also easily reach the small villages in the south of Vienna like Gumpoldskirchen (short train ride and a lot of good and interesting wine growers). Don't plan too much. Vienna should keep you busy for a couple of days :-D.

Not sure about your interests but in the south there is also a lot of good hiking (Schneeberg with a summit of a bit above 2000m is a serious mountain and 1h 20min away by car). You need a car for that. If you need more ideas get in touch. At that time of the year weather obviously needs to be considered.
 
David Pope said:
This thread is sparking my interest. I've never been to Vienna but it is on my bucket list.

Is it easy to get from Vienna to wineries for a visit?
Click to expand...
If you like German opera (I believe you do), you should really visit the Staatsoper. I was there watching Adriane auf Naxos, the range of colour and dynamic coming from that small (30ish) orchestra members in the pit was quite amazing. Not to mention Die Frau ohne Schatten...
 
Currently in Vienna enjoying this wonderful city.
Staying in the Sacher Hotel . Can’t recommend it enough. Recently renovated to an incredible standard, fantastic
location.
Wein & Co was a good stop for a refreshing Riesling after a 10 mile walk and Museums.
klemo was fantastic , great wines , great service and attititude, so much so we are going back tonight.

The only slight disappointment, Gastwirtsschaft Stamen, run out of goose, the schnitzel was a tad disappointing and the onion soup was a fail. Had a knoll riesling which was very reasonably priced , but old school style.

The Christmas markets aren’t really my sort of thing, but not hugely busy yet.
 
We went to Gasthaus Stern in Simmering last night and had a lovely evening eating traditional Viennese food. We drank by the glass and variously Dönnhoff Riesling Tonschiefer, a Wiener Gemischter Satz from Kroiss and an admittedly rather rustic Blaufränkisch. For me the Gemischter Satz was the best of our choices. The wine list there is very good by the way, but no one wanted to drink just one wine from a full bottle.

Breakfast at Cafe Schwarzenberg was also lovely - the coffee was outstanding as was the food.
 
Last edited:
Richard Zambuni said:
We went to Gasthaus Stern in Simmering last night and had a lovely evening eating traditional Viennese food. We drank by the glass and variously Dönnhoff Riesling Tonschiefer, a Wiener Gemischter Satz from Kroiss and an admittedly rather rustic Blaufränkisch. For me the Gemischter Satz was the best of our choices. The wine list there is very good by the way, but no one wanted to drink just one wine from a full bottle.

Breakfast at Cafe Schwarzenberg was also lovely - the coffee was outstanding as was the food.
Click to expand...
Love Kroiss. When we lived in Vienna we looked out over the Hackenberg vineyard where he grows his Riesling and often visited his ultra trad heuriger in Sievering (open only in alternate months!). He grows his red wines in Illmitz by Lake Neusiedl (close to Kracher)
 
Hi
Just high jacked this thread for any upto date information
We’re in Vienna next week
Staying in an Airbnb right in the centre near Jewish memorial.
Tips for the best tourist visits would be great, as well as restaurants and cafe.
Seems far to much for just three days so need to pick and choose.
Thanks in advance.
 
Sam Wright said:
Dear all,

My wife and I will be heading to Vienna at the end of next month for a four-night stay. It will be our first child-free holiday for about five years, so we are keen to take full advantage. There's more than enough art and history (I'm a sucker for anything Habsburg-related) to keep us busy during the day, but I'd be very grateful for advice on restaurants and bars to visit in the evenings. We'd be happiest eating traditional food, and would particularly appreciate tips on where to find good Schnitzel, Tafelspitz and Kaiserschmarrn.

Thanks in advance,

Sam
Click to expand...
Figlmueller for Wienerschnitzel; Landtmann for the cafe and cake experience. There is a splendid wine bar behind the Stefansdom - small but with a wide selection of Austrian wine and simple but good food. I have forgotten its name! Gute Reise!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top