9 Things To Do in Vienna Austria (Wien) - Travel Guide 2020

Good morning! How are you doing today? Hope you're having a beautiful day. Now, today we are in Vienna and I'm going to take you to show you the center of Vienna, the inner city. This area used to be ringed by a wall that protected the city from attack from invaders. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not so successfully. But that, the wall, became unnecessary and redundant as the years went on and it was taken down and replaced by a big wide boulevard that is now called the Ringstrasse. And a lot of Vienna's beautiful buildings are built around that. But today I'm going to focus on the things that you can see inside Ringstrasse, in the inner city. And none is more famous than St. Stephen's Cathedral. St. Stephen's Plaza and is Vienna's most iconic building. What we see today is a result of hundreds of years of constructions by generations of rulers. And it is undoubtedly the most important religious building in the whole of Austria. The unique roof is covered with over 230,000 glazed tiles. It is amazing. Which on one side display the double-headed eagle, the symbol of the Habsburg family, one of the major rulers of Austria. And on the other side is the coat of arms for Austria and for the city of Vienna. And when you go inside, wow, it is amazing. There are 18 altars, small chapels. Just let me show you. Head at the top of St. Stephen's Cathedral tower. It's 262 steps up, 5 euros. It's a steep, twirly, dark staircase. But when you get to the top, you are rewarded with breathtaking views over the city of Vienna. Now close by to St. Stephen's Cathedral, just off Stephen's Platz, you will find St. Peter's Church. It doesn't dominate the skyline in the same way that the cathedral does, but it blends in with the beautiful surrounded buildings. Today's church was built in the 18th century and is modeled after its namesake, St. Peter's, in Rome. Hence the big dome at the top. It is free to enter. They do ask for a donation for the often concerts and organ recitals that are... One moment. Okay, so it's free to enter, but they do ask for donations, which are voluntarily given, to support the musicians who often do concerts and organ recitals in the church. If you get there when there is one of those going on, it really does add to the atmosphere. You can hear the beautiful noise of the organ going on and admire the walls and the ceiling as you look around. But do be respectful. It is still an active place of worship. So careful how you dress. Dress modestly. Gentlemen remove hats and things and be respectful when you're in there. But go in, enjoy and admire. Now for centuries, Austria was ruled by a monarchy of emperors right up until 1918. And the Hofburg was where they ruled from. Now it's been a seat of power since medieval times and it's been extended and extended extensively by each ruler that comes along. But now it occupies over 240,000 square meters of space. It has 18 wings, 19 courtyards and 2,600 rooms. That's a lot of working space. It still houses the office of the president of Austria and his staff here. So it's still basically the seat of power for Austria. But much of the vast complex is now actually a museum where you can go in, wander around. It rambles in all directions. There's various museums. But you can get a glimpse of what it was like to be a ruler of the Austrian empire. And I have found my first Christmas market in Vienna. It is beautiful. I have no idea what it's called. I just wandered down randomly a street and there's all these huts. The smells are delicious and the stuff is for sale here. I tell you, if you're short of ideas for Christmas gifts, this is the type of place to come. Most of the stuff, there's no manufactured, made in China stuff. It is all handmade, unique items, homemade food. I have already tried some of the food and it is really nice. It's not a huge market, but there is plenty here. Oh, beautiful. Even on a day like this, parks, trees and gardens are great in any city. They break up from all the buildings and shops and traffic that you get. And this is the Volksgarten, part of the Hofburg Palace, which is just over there, part of their gardens. It was created in 1821 on top of an old fortification that good old Napoleon had flattened when he came to visit Vienna in 1809. It was the first public garden in the city and is a beautiful place. There are some fountains, there are some memorials, a few buildings, a beautiful rose garden, which of course isn't flowering at this time of year. But it's a great place to come and chill for a little bit. Over there I can see the Hofburg Palace, over there is the Vienna City Hall, Maria Theresenplatz is just over there. But it's a bit cold to sit around today, even in my warm clothes, so let's go and get something to eat. This is Vienna's most famous market, the Naschmarkt, and has been a place of trading since the 16th century, when farmers who produced things outside the city used to come into the city and do their trade here to sell their wares. Now it still serves as a market where the locals can buy fresh food and fish. There's some really good options with fresh meat, cheese, fish, spices, there is lots and lots to sell here. A lot of the market on that side is also dedicated to restaurants and places to eat, so you can pick up your fresh food, nibble it on the way, or take it home to make a nice supper, or sit here and have something to eat. There you go. Now this building is a former train station, there's actually two identical buildings, one either end. This used to be a train station, is now an entrance to Karlplatz underground. That one over there, mirror image of this, is a cafe restaurant now. They were designed by Otto Wagner, who is one of Vienna's best Art Nouveau architects, who in the late 19th century saw the need for more practical designs without losing any of the grandeur and artistry in his buildings. His vision was to design useful buildings fulfilling a practical need, but in a beautiful way. I would say that's very Viennese. And was to pop in here to a famous cafe to get Vienna's most famous chocolate cake dish, the Sachertorte. But I might have to delay it a little bit, because there's a queue to get into the cafe. That's how popular it is. Apparently the cake is very delicious. This is a specific type of chocolate cake that was invented by Franz Sacher in 1832. Now while the exact recipe is a very closely guarded secret, it's a rich chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot coated in dark chocolate icing. Oh yummy! And what better place to try it than the very place was invented, Cafe Sacher. In 1712 a great plague swept through Europe, killing hundreds of thousands of people. And this led to Charles VI deciding to build a church dedicated to the patron saint Charles Borromeo, who was revered as a healer for plague sufferers. So in 1716 construction began of the Karlskirche, and finally it was completed in 1737. It is a beautiful baroque style church, but inside has lots of influences from Greek and Roman architecture. And here it is.