Next Destination Vienna

Aggstein

If you’re visiting Vienna with children and looking for a short break from the city, Aggstein may be the perfect choice.  You can get there easily by car or by taking a tour.  Kids will enjoy exploring old castle ruins with spectacular views of mountains and the Danube valley down below.  You can get ice cream and souvenirs at the entrance, and there is a restaurant inside the ruins in case anyone gets hungry.

Outdoor Seating

There are plenty of little paths, small doors, and hidden rooms to explore:

Aggstein

Fortunately, Aggstein isn’t only interesting for kids.  There are also small exhibits with interesting information about this 800 year old castle:

Aggstein Exhibit

If you’re taking a tour from Vienna, you’ll be taken directly to the castle parking lot.  If you’re driving there yourself, you might consider parking in the town of Maria Langegg and taking a 1 hour walk through the woods to arrive at Aggstein.  The path is very well signed and easy to walk.

Path to Aggstein

During summer, you’ll be able to pick raspberries and blackberries, and kids will enjoy playing on the rocks that line parts of the trail:

Rocks on Path

On your way back to Vienna, driving along the Danube through the Wachau is highly recommended!

Wachau

Rathaus Film Festival

For two months each year Vienna throws a free party, the Rathaus (town hall) Film Festival.  This year it’s from June 27th to August 30th.  Every day for these two months, from 11AM until midnight, the area in front of the Rathaus is full of people enjoying the free music, international food, and nightly performances on a massive screen.

The Screen

This year the festival is being held in honor of the anniversaries of three celebrated musicians: Joseph Haydn (200th anniversary of his death), Georg Friedrich Händel (250th anniversary of his death) and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (200th anniversary of his birth).  The nightly performances feature a wide range of music from Haydn to Wynton Marsalis.  You can find the schedule here.

Since this is Vienna, the food is as important as the performances!  Here are a few examples of the 22 international food stalls:

Greek

Japanese

Mexican

So if you’re in Vienna now, or you’re planning a trip during summer, be sure not to miss the Rathaus Film Festival!

Brunnenmarkt

Most tourists in Vienna make it a point to visit the Naschmarkt, and rightly so!  The Naschmarkt is definitely something that shouldn’t be missed.  But what about the Brunnenmarkt, Vienna’s second biggest market?  The Brunnenmarkt sees very few tourists, is less expensive than the Naschmarkt, and more “ethnic”, with most shoppers being immigrants from Turkey and the Balkans.

Brunnenmarkt Goodies

The Brunnenmarkt, or Fountain Market, came into being in 1786 in what used to be a suburb of Vienna.  It’s fairly easy to get to by subway.  From Stephansplatz, take the U3 to Westbahnhof, then jump on the U6 to Josefstaedter Strasse, walk a couple of blocks down Gaullachergasse and you’ll run right into the Brunnenmarkt.

Cheese at Brunnenmarkt

If you like markets and have some extra time in Vienna, the Brunnenmarkt makes a great 2-4 hour excursion.  Enjoy!

Stephansdom

The “historic center of Vienna” is a UNESCO World Heritage Zone, and the area of the city that most visitors focus on.  The Stephansdom lies in the center of this zone, on Stephansplatz, which has been the heart of Vienna for centuries.

Vienna World Heritage Zone

Vienna is an easy and fun city to explore, not only due to the preposterous number of incredible buildings, museums, restaurants, cafes, and shops, but also because of the layout of the city.  The historic center of Vienna is roughly surrounded by the Ringstrasse (Ring Street), which has replaced the old city walls built to keep out Turkish invaders.

Click on the paths and markers above for descriptions.

While it may appear on a map that the city center is within the Ringstrasse, it actually extends outward a couple of blocks.  If you only explore the inside of the ring, you’ll miss incredible buildings like the Karlskirche and the Belvedere.

Karlskirche

The Ringstrasse is a terrific street to slowly wander down, exploring the magnificent buildings on both sides…the Rathaus (Town Hall), Opera, Parliament, and Museum of Fine Arts just to name a few:

Rathaus at Christmas

Kunsthistorisches Museum

A great way to explore the center of Vienna is in concentric circles.  Start at the Stephansdom and surrounding areas, expand outward to the Ringstrasse, and then out again to the sites on the other side.  Knowing where you are in relation to the Ringstrasse is a great way to orient yourself in the center of the city.