Some general remarks, the list below is a collection of suggestions where to go/what to do when visiting Vienna. Consider this list to be incomplete!
Money: Make sure to bring some cash with you. Vienna is increasingly more cash-free but it is still far away from that.
Safety: Vienna is generally safe. However, there are regular cases of pickpocketing in the city center, so be aware. Some districts further outside the city can be unsafe at night (e.g., Favoriten and Floridsdorf).
Commute: If you commute for a couple of days, make sure to check "Wiener Linien" for their options on tickets. The cheapest option for a longer stay is the "8-days climate ticket" (8-Tage-Klimakarte) which is essentially a collection of 8 independent one-day tickets that you can validate as you like, e.g., share with others or reuse during a second visit.
Vienna has lots of old-style traditional coffee places and lots of modern barista-style places.
The following almost always applies:
- traditional coffee place: great atmosphere, good cake, unfriendly staff, bad/okish coffee
- modern barista place: decent atmosphere, little to no cake, friendly staff, decent/good coffee
Depending on what you like, here are suggestion for both categories in no particular order:
City Center
- Café Schwarzenberg (Typical traditional Viennese coffee house, excellent cake)
- Kleines Café (Tiny coffee place with a lot of atmosphere, friendly staff)
- Café Korb (Where the locals go, good breakfast)
Outside of the City Center
- Cafe Goldegg (Off the beaten tracks, excellent cake)
- Café Jelinek (Where the locals go)
City Center
- Jonas Reindl Coffee Roasters (Student hipster place)
- Die Cafetiere (Insider place with mix of traditional and modern)
- Kaffein Zeitgeist (Fancy hipster place)
- Caffe Couture (Fancy hipster place)
Outside of the City Center
- Kaffeefabrik (Student hipster place)
- The Good Coffee Society (Off the beaten tracks)
Vienna has lots of places for getting a drink, many of them are outside the inner city. Some of the places are coffee houses during the day. Here are some suggestions but there are plenty more to explore:
- Schikaneder (low-key beer place)
- Strandbar Herrmann (drinks at an artificial beach in the city, expensive)
- Hammond Bar (cocktails)
- WerkzeugH (unconventional bar/restaurant)
- Brendl (Where the locals go)
- Schweizerhaus (Beer garden, typical Viennese dishes)
- Weinhof Zimmermann (Perfect place for wine)
There are plenty of decent to good options for food. The restaurants in the city center tend to be overpriced and if you look for typical Viennese Schnitzel, then don't go to Figlmüller, it's a tourist trap. There are plenty of alternatives that are at least as good as Figlmüller.
Here some suggests for food:
- Pizza Mari (if you need pizza, you go here)
- Czaak (traditional Viennese dishes, e.g., Schnitzel)
- Skopik & Lohn (traditional Austrian dishes)
- Ludwig & Adele (traditional Austrian dishes)
- Jin's Ramen (best ramen in town)
Here are some typical addresses to check out:
- Grelle Forelle
- Flex
- Flucc
- Chelsea (and other bars nearby)
In general, check https://www.falter.at/events for ongoing events and so.
Again, a lot to see. Here are some that I personally like but many museums in Vienna are pretty good.
- Various museums at the museums quarter
- Vienna museum (just recently reopened)
- MAK
- Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (if you like military stuff)
Vienna is a big ass tourist attraction, meaning, you have plenty of historical buildings to visit (Stephansdom, Schoenbrunn, ...). I will not list all of these here, as they are somewhat obvious.
Instead, here are some places to visit if you have seen it all and have extra time.
- A hike in the Lainzer Tiergarten to the Rohrhaus with a view over the city.
- Chill & grill at the Donauinsel.
- Visit Stiftskirche Klosterneuburg and have a wine afterwards, e.g., from Heuriger Redinger.
- Travel by train to Duernstein by Krems, go for a hike, and have some amazing wine (day-trip)