It’s pretty easy to fall in love with Vienna, that magical ‘City of Dreams’ in Austria. And it’s not because of the vast amount of things to do in Vienna—the palaces, gardens, or world-class food. It’s about the harmony of the city. The symphonic undercurrent of Vienna captivates locals and tourists alike. There are so many things to do in Vienna that have been written about time and again. Here are five highlights that had me falling for Austria’s enchanting capital city.
I’ve come to Vienna for one thing—to see my daughter, Ella. She’s been abroad for four months and this is the longest I’ve gone without seeing her. We decide to meet in Vienna. Because why not Vienna? If Billy Joel says it’s waiting for me, who am I to disagree?
Ella and I create a shared Google doc. Hahahahaha. Ella creates a shared Google doc. That way we can add ideas to our week-long itinerary from opposite sides of the Atlantic. I add restaurants and she adds bars. I add palaces and she adds pastry shops. By the time we are face to face, we have enough things to do in Vienna to please us both.
Don’t tell Ella, but I could care less about the sights, restaurants, or pastry shops. I’ve come to Vienna for just one thing.
Click here for my Free Vienna Hot Sheet
Things to do in Vienna
Yet, we need to eat. No one wants to travel with a hangry teenager. In my food research, I noticed a Viennese ‘must-eat’ appears time and again: the Sacher Torte. I don’t know what a Sacher Torte is. Does everyone else know? Surely Billy Joel does.
We also need to fill our days. Nothing says mother/daughter meltdown like too much idle time. I buy a Lonely Planet guidebook (yes, guidebooks still exist) and start reading. I’m not sure I know what I’m looking for, but I’ll know it when I see it.
It turns out Vienna is a goldmine of a European city. Gustav Klimt notwithstanding, the city is practically paved in gold. Clean, wide streets, stately architecture, ornate cathedrals, and vibrant gardens abound. Finding things to fill our days (and our stomachs) won’t be an issue.
Having been responsible for Ella’s travel upbringing, our travel styles are similar. We like a slow morning fueled by caffeine followed by some sort of activity. Strolling an artsy neighborhood, touring a palace, or sampling cheese at an outdoor market. ‘Activity’ is a decidedly loose term. Then we like to eat lunch, have more caffeine, and head back to the hotel for downtime before our evening activity—a kick-ass dinner.
Knowing Ella’s travel style makes our reunion much easier, and much more fun. Ella and I go deep and wide in Vienna, covering lots of ground in a week. What follows are five highlights.
5 / Things to do in Vienna: Go underground
Speaking of going deep, both figuratively and literally, we stumble upon St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Stephansdom, as it’s also called, is a church with a haunting past. Above ground, the cathedral is a visual masterpiece that soars high above Vienna in all of its Gothic grandeur. With 230,000 multi-colored glazed tiles decorating its remarkable roof, it’s likely the most iconic piece of architecture in the city.
Yet, below ground is a different world. A ghostly one. Beneath the cathedral lies a mass grave for the thousands of Austrians who succumbed to the Bubonic plague in the 1700s. Outdoor cemeteries were closed due to the illness and the only place for the dead to be buried was underground.
St. Stephen’s Catacombs, if you love ancient history
We tour the catacombs, sinking deeper into the church and thus into Austrian history. Then we walk beside the weathered stone sarcophagi of emperors, dukes, and archdiocese, their wives, and children. Deeper into the catacombs, we peer into cavities of ancient walls and see piles upon piles of bones. Tall urns filled with the organs of the Habsburgs family are on prominent display. Being dismembered and dispersed was considered a post-life privilege. I would’ve opted out of that royal perk.
Ella and I love the dark, eerie, catacombs. The air is thick with antiquity and the effect is like a passing storm on our senses. We soon hear the church bells toll above us and are transported back to real-time. We resurface, exit the cathedral, and shield our eyes from the sun overhead. It’s noon—time for cake.
Click here for my Free Vienna Hot Sheet
4 / Things to do in Vienna: Eat cake
I may have never heard of a Sacher Torte, but I’m going to become its BFF by the week’s end. If there’s anything that binds me and Ella together, it’s butter, flour, and sugar. I schedule my next dental cleaning and begin researching the best places to have one.
The Sacher Torte is a Viennese cake conceived due to an unfortunate event. Unfortunately, that is, for the official court pastry chef of Prince Klemens von Metternich. In 1832, the pastry chef fell ill just as his services were sought to prepare a one-of-a-kind dessert for royal guests. Enter backup pastry chef, 16-year-old Franz Sacher. Tasked with creating a masterpiece in record time, Sacher whips up an extraordinary chocolate cake. Before you can say Weiner Schnitzel, the official pastry chef is out of a job.
As any baker knows, the key to confection perfection is using the highest quality ingredients. The original Sacher Torte’s ingredients are deceptively minimal: flour, sugar, eggs, chocolate, butter, and apricot jam.
After the cake is baked, it’s sliced in half and a thin coating of warm apricot jam is spread upon each layer. It’s then reassembled and topped with a chocolate glaze. Traditionally, the Sacher Torte is served with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream on the side.
Five Sacher Tortes, please
Ella and I have Sacher Tortes at five cafés in as many days, including the one named after the original—Café Sacher. We’re all about paying homage to Vienna’s famous cake. To say we make sacrifices is an epicurean understatement. One wedge contains 53g total carbs, 18g fat, and 398 calories. When I arrive home my jeans don’t fit, my dogs fat-shame me, and my dentist is categorically disappointed.
On a lighter note, Ella is easy to travel with and rarely gets annoyed. Unless she’s hungry, or too full. Or, if people are walking too slowly in front of us. Or, too fast behind us. If she hears bells gonging (which happens often). Or, if I don’t know where I’m going (which also happens often).
Other than that, she’s a total joy.
Demel, if you love fancy cafés
A café within walking distance to Stephansdom, Demel has been in the cake business since 1786. Demel Café is textbook fancy with its gold touches and monogrammed napkins. What better place to sample our final torte of the week? But, when we see the other baked goods on display, we get greedy and decide to go beyond the torte.
While we wait our turn to enter Demel, we notice another line forming to our left. Fancy Demel has a take-out window? We learn it’s a line for kaiserschmarrn, a savory dish I can best describe as scrambled pancakes. Think of your favorite parts of homemade pancakes—the drippy parts. Then lump them all on a plate with powdered sugar and serve with plum preserves. Now, it’s clear why kaiserschmarrn needs its own take-out lane.
Demel earns the distinction of serving us our favorite Sacher Torte. The wedge is so precisely cut that it looks like it’s been sliced by a surgeon. The balance of tangy apricot jam to rich chocolate is heavenly. The cake itself is dense, but not dry. While hard to crack, the bittersweet chocolate shell is offset by the whipped cream.
This is the moment I realize my daughter is a metaphor for the Sacher Torte. Dense, layered, tangy, and bittersweet with a shell that’s hard to crack. I don’t tell her this of course. And by the time she reads it, I’ll be thousands of miles away.
3 / Things to do in Vienna: Dine like royalty
The Sacher Torte may have been created by an angst-ridden teenager for kings and queens, but we didn’t need titles to dine at the world’s 12th-best restaurant. Steirereck is the first restaurant I’ve visited that boasts an ‘urban-rural’ setting. This riverside dining utopia lies in the heart of the city yet also in the heart of leafy Stadtpark. Originally built in 1904, a more recent mirror-clad addition makes the restaurant look like an apparition of nature.
The interior of Steirereck is minimal, with warm wooden tones and an abundance of space between the round white-linen-topped tables. In a brilliant design move, each table is set within a semi-curved wooden slatted wall which conveys the illusion of privacy. But, just a touch of privacy. We all like to people-watch while we eat, don’t we? The curved walls are separated by floor-to-ceiling windows so diners feel connected to the outdoors.
Steirereck, if you love destination dining
I make a reservation at Restaurant Steirereck the moment Ella agrees to meet in Vienna. Before I even book my flight. Before I even tell my husband I’m going to Vienna.
San Pellegrino describes the tasting menu as having ‘rare breeds, unfashionable fish species, and near-extinct fruits and vegetables’. Ummmm, is that little write-up supposed to be tempting? I shake off my reservation reservations and put my faith in Saint, I mean, San Pellegrino.
Ella and I enjoy every dish, Even the unfashionable catfish, which is served with beans and calamansi. I have no idea what calamansi is, but my guess is near-extinct fruit.
There was a time I couldn’t imagine taking Ella to a multi-course dining experience like this. Her first 17 years, to be precise. Until then, Ella swore she would never eat fish. Swore she would never eat sushi. At 19, she now eats everything from squiggly calamari to tuna tartare. I don’t dare say I told you so. But inside I’m smiling with the kind of satisfaction only the parent of a stubborn teenager can understand.
Other highlights of our 7-course, wine-paired dinner are seasonal asparagus with poppy seed, apricot, and lamb’s lettuce. Piglet’s tail with Swiss chard, shiso, and black currant. We learn that Viennese cuisine is the only one in the world named after a city. Bravo, Vienna, for the well-deserved culinary accolade.
Click here for my Free Vienna Hot Sheet
2 / Things to do in Vienna: Go Baroque
Bravo, indeed. There appears to be no end to Vienna’s allure. An inherently walkable city, our step counters reach never-before-seen numbers by the end of each day. However, if there’s one Vienna sight that’s worth walking over 20,000 steps for, it’s Schönbrunn Palace.
The former summer palace of the Habsburg monarchs, Schloss Schönbrunn corners the market on empirical decadence and luxury. Built in the 17th century and named a UNESCO world heritage sight in 1996, there is perhaps no better example of Baroque architecture in all of Europe than Schönbrunn Palace.
Schönbrunn Palace, if you love imperial life
What was originally built as an imperial hunting lodge for Crown Prince Josef in the 7th century later became the glittering focus of court life when it was replaced with a chateau for Dowager Empress Eleonora Gonzaga. Today, visitors can take a tour of buttery yellow Schönbrunn Palace, its opulent staterooms, and lavish fountain-filled gardens.
We get much more than we expect at Schönbrunn Palace. I expect to be wowed by the private apartments of Franz Josef and his wife Sisi with their elaborately decorated walls, intricate parquet floors, and extensive art collections. I expect to drool over the well-kept gardens. What I don’t expect is the sheer size of the grounds, the added architectural marvel, The Gloriette, the children’s zoo, the rosarium, or the enclosed botanical gardens and desert gardens.
Ella and I returned to the Orangerie the next evening for a classical music performance. If there’s one top ten sight to craft an entire day’s itinerary around, it’s Schloss Schönbrunn.
1 / Things to do in Vienna: Uncover Clandestine Cocktails
I can always count on Ella for being on the pulse of what’s trending and TikTokking. No matter how hard I try, I’ll never have access to her adolescent algorithms. My Instagram feed is populated with accounts called @tillytheblacklab, @mytherapistsays, and @momsbehavingbadly. Her social platforms are filled with hidden bars and clubs around the world. She tells me about one such place, a speakeasy called The Chapel Bar, and asks if I want to try to find it.
The Chapel Bar, if you love absolving your sins in alcohol
The Chapel Bar is a highlight of our trip. Part of me doesn’t want to spoil the hunt for those who may end up in search of this hidden spot. The other part wants to spill all the details. The Chapel Bar makes you work for your cocktail. Suspend your disbelief. It’s worth finding.
A touch of biblical theater adorns the cocktail menu at The Chapel Bar. Think sins, plagues, and 80s Top 40 hits with drinks like ‘A Snake in Paradise—Adam Always Blames Eve’ which combines Bacardi Anejo Cuatro Rum, cloudy apple juice, lime, and Old Judge Falernum. And the ‘Phil Collins—I can feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh Lord’ concoction made with Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin, elderflower liqueur, pink grapefruit, and club soda.
The artistry of the drinks lives up to the wild descriptions. Ella’s drink is enclosed within a mini-birdcage and we see someone sipping from what looks like a red Christian Louboutin stiletto. Although it was pretty dark, it could’ve been a Jimmy Choo. Whoever is responsible for creating these clandestine cocktails, I need to meet you. You are my creative god.
Falling for Vienna
Vienna is a city that inspires harmony. Whether it’s the delicate balance of apricot and chocolate in a celebrated cake or nymphs floating above in a magnificent palace mural. An under-the-radar cocktail bar or the combination of unfashionable ingredients served at a world-class restaurant.
It may have taken me half a century to get to Vienna, but as Mr. Joel promised, it was waiting for me. Vienna is waiting for you, too. Just don’t forget to sample a Sacher Torte or two while there. Your dentist will forgive you.
Click here for my Free Vienna Hot Sheet (including shhhhhh, The Chapel Bar)
Interactive Vienna Map with All Of My Favorite Spots
This makes me want to go back so bad! Love Vienna! And LOVE the Sacher Torte : Ella metaphor. Hilarious! Great article, Jamie!