24 hours in Vienna

This summer we spent 1 day in Vienna, in between our trip to Bratislava and Slovenia. You can do and see a lot in Vienna when you only have 24 hours. In this blog post I’m sharing my tips for Vienna so that you can make the most out of your trip to the Austrian capital city.
We rented bikes from City Bikes. I love exploring a city by bike. You see a lot of the city and you feel like a local. In Vienna you can easily rent bikes from City Bikes, they have many pick-up points throughout the city. All you need is one credit card per bike.

We stayed at Hotel KUNSThof where you can find several pieces of art in the lobby. It has a great location as it’s right around the corner of Prater. This amusement park in Vienna has no entrance fee and the attractions are open from 10am to 1am. The park is open 24 hours a day. The Wiener Prater the second oldest amusement park in the world, it has been open to the public since 1766. There are many great rides in Prater and you just pay for the rides you go on. The most famous attraction is the ferris wheel.

One of the highest swing rides in the world can also be found at the Wiener Prater in Vienna. This ‘Praterturm’ is 117 meters high. A ticket costs 5euros and you can also buy souvenir picture of you in the ride. I loved this attraction, it was such a great feeling and provided wonderful views over Vienna.

Prater is located on the North-East side of the old city center of Vienna. You can rent bikes near the entrance to cycle to the city center or walk via the Praterstraße in about 15 minutes to the center. On the way you can have lunch at Supersense. I had this summer salat there with goat cheese, peach and hummus.

After a good lunch, it’s time to explore Vienna some more! One of the most beautiful buildings in Vienna is the Karlskirche, pictured here. It’s right around the corner of the Opera building, so you can find two beautiful buildings right next to each other. Other nice sights in Vienna include the Belvedere Palace and the Maria-Theresien Platz with the Museum of Natural History and the Historical Art Museum.

The Sachertorte is a cake originating in Vienna. The Austrian Franz Sacher invented the cake in 1832. It’s a chocolate sponge cake with a apricot jam and a chocolate icing. You can have the Original Sacher Torte at Hotel Sacher’s Cafe Sacher, where they’ve been selling it for years. But you can also go to the Demel Bakery, where Sacher’s son Eduard was working when he completed his own Sachertorte recipe, for the ‘Eduard Sacher Torte’.

If you’ve got more time to spend in Austria, you can also visit the city Graz.

Another classic from Vienna is the Wiener Schnitzel. The restaurants in Vienna that are known to have the best Wiener Schnitzel are Figlmüller and Lugeck. As I’m a vegetarian I didn’t have the Wiener Schnitzel but at Lugeck they also have a few great vegetarian dishes on the menu. I had this goat cheese salad with quinoa patties.
The perfect end of our 24 hours in Vienna!