Even though I live in Vienna, I’m often on the lookout for new things to do and see or new places to eat. I’ve got several websites on Vienna bookmarked that I look at for new ideas, but after exploring some of them this morning I thought I’d share one of my favorites: ViennaDirect.com.  Vienna Direct is organized into Seeing, Doing, Sleeping, Eating, and Moving, has excellent information, and is very easy to navigate. It’s written by an Austrian resident rather than a tour company, so the information and writing style is more interesting (not so promotional) compared to what you find on the majority of Vienna tourism sites. I also particularly like that the site highlights many “more out of the way” sights, which you’re not likely to find in guidebooks or mainstream sites. So if you’re thinking of coming to Vienna for vacation, or even if you live here and are looking for new ideas, I think you’ll find Vienna Direct to be a valuable site.

Punschkrapfen

Vienna is known for pastries, all of which are delicious.  But perhaps my favorite is the bite sized (ok, a few bites) Punschkrapfen.  So it was with great excitement that I received an email from a local Viennese pointing me to a place I can order Punschkrapfen for family and friends outside of Vienna.  The site is WienerPunschkrapfen.com. I think I’m going to have to run down the street and grab one!

Kurkonditorei Oberlaa

If you want the best coffee and cake in Vienna and perhaps anywhere in the world, skip the more well known Demel (too much sugar) and Cafe Sacher (cakes are too dry), and make your way into Kurkonditorei Oberlaa (perfectly delicious!).  You can find their various locations throughout the city here.  If you love chocolate, you need to try their incredible Schoko-Mousse Torte:

Schoko Mousse Torte

If you don’t like chocolate (how could anyone not!), they’ve got plenty of alternatives:

Oberlaa Cakes

Their windows are always beautifully decorated with seasonal specialties…and if you happen to be in Vienna around Christmas, their Christmas truffles are nothing short of heaven in a little round ball:

Christmas Truffles

You can find a review of Oberlaa’s pumpkin soup here, and more comparisons of Oberlaa to Demel and other cafes here.  Enjoy!

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

If you’re bored with golfing in the usual European golf hot spots, why not go for something different and try Vienna. It is a superb choice for golfing: its mild climate, beautiful scenery and excellent infrastructure contribute to an enjoyable holiday for the passionate golfer.

We particularly like The FONTANA GOLF CLUB in Oberwaltersdorf, Lower Austria, 18 miles South of Vienna which hosts the annual European Tour’s BA-CA Open. It is ranked as Austria’s second best course, and will be the highlight of a golf escape in the Vienna area.

The course lies at the heart of an exclusive private residential community, and opened for play in 1996 following design by Doug Carrick and Hans Erhardt.

At the clubhouse you’ll find a top restaurant operated by Toni Mörwald, one of Austria’s most talented chefs, a well-assorted Pro-Shop, and a gym and wellness area, which in the summer also includes our vast lake and its sandy beach.

You’ll have the time of your life, great golf, great choice, friendly people, stunning scenery, clean mountain air, and a warm Austrian welcome.

Wiener Schokoladekönig

If you like chocolate and fancy old shops, you definitely need to visit the Wiener Schokoladekönig!  It’s a new business in a famous old location that used to specialize in buttons for clothing.  They still have a collection of old buttons lining the top of the shop, along with a selection of delicious chocolate buttons.

Chocolate Fondue

You can make your own chocolate fondue, or choose from a huge variety of incredible chocolates, most of which come in fun boxes and wrapping and make great gifts.

Box of Chocolates

Inner Wrapping

Even if you don’t like chocolate, the store is worth checking out just for the great atmosphere.

Wiener Schokoladekönig

It’s easy to miss if you don’t know where to look…  When walking down the Graben, turn and walk to the Peterskirche.  Walk around the right side of the Peterskiche to where you dead end on the back street, and take a right.  Wiener Schokoladekönig will be at the next corner on your right.  Here’s a map:

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!

Tichy

Every stay in Vienna must include visits to numerous cafes and Konditorei.  Vienna is the capital of coffee and pastry, and rightly so.  But if you visit in summer it would be a travesty to miss out on what just might be the best ice cream in the world…of course I’m talking about Tichy, a real Viennese institution.

Tichy

Tourists are likely to see advertisements for Tichy on streets and in subway stations, but since it’s not located in the city center very few tourists make it to this incredible ice cream salon.  Unlike most ice cream shops and stands, Tichy ice cream is made from real ingredients.  The fruit flavors are made from real fruit, hazelnut ice cream (possibly the best in the Universe) is made with real hazelnuts, etc.

Schneeball

In addition to the delicious, pure ice cream, Tichy also has a number of fantastic concoctions.  The Schneeball (snowball) for instance is a ball of ice cream with passion fruit in the middle, covered with meringue and sitting in a warm chocolate sauce.  And of course everything they serve in the salon arrives in classic Viennese style…on a silver platter!

So how do you get there?  It’s very easy.  From Stephansplatz, jump on the U1 line to Reumannplatz, get off at Reumannplatz, and walk across the street to Tichy.

You can then enjoy the best ice cream in the world sitting inside the salon, or exploring the interesting surroundings where mostly Turkish and eastern European immigrants walk down the pedestrian only shopping street, Favoritenstrasse.  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.