✈️ TLV to Vienna (VIE)
Austria
Vienna
CityVIE
IATA2362.2 km
Distance3h 23m
Flight TimeCoordinates: 48.1103, 16.5697
Airlines:
About Vienna
Weather in Vienna
Climate
Spring starts sometime in late March, normally it is very brief and summer-like weather sets in before the trees have had time to grow back their leaves. Summer in Vienna is usually warm. Weather in June is moderate and sunny with a light summer windy breeze. In July and August, there are some hot and humid days where it reaches 35°C (95°F), but overall, summer in Vienna is pleasant. Autumn starts around September, although an "Indian Summer" with warm and sunny days often occurs that month and it gets colder as it approaches November. A main disadvantage of the Viennese climate is that it is rather windy and usually overcast during these months. Winter in Vienna can be just above 0°C (32°F) and drizzling for days on end, or just below with dustings of snow that manage to melt again quickly. There is the occasional cold snap where it will stay below freezing for a week or two at a time. Due to Vienna's relative easterly position in the Central European Time Zone its daylight hours (if it's not too gray outside entirely) are relatively early during the winter.
Get around
Several stations have more than one name. Get the idea the city and the railways have a tense history? Wien Mitte – Landstraße Wien Nord – Praterstern
Talk
Most Viennese speak a range and mix of Viennese German and Standard German ("Hochdeutsch") as their mother tongue, unlike in most other parts of Austria where the local dialect is still more prevalent. The Viennese German is counted amongst the Austria-Bavarian dialects. It used to be specifically split by districts. It also had many Yiddish influences ("Hawara", "Beisl"). However, nowadays, basically everyone speaks Standard German as well, though the Austrian variety of German does differ in accent and somewhat in vocabulary (e.g. plastic bag is "Plastiksackerl", not "Plastiktüte") from Standard German as used in Germany . These differences are small enough that knowing Standard German is enough to get by. Should someone be so proud as to continue speaking in dialect and you don't understand, just ask the person to speak "Hochdeutsch" (standard German, literally "high German") and he/she generally will. Standard German is the sole official language and thus the main recognized written language. People in jobs dealing with foreign visitors are usually fluent in English, though English is not as universally spoken as in northern European countries, and signs (including descriptive signs in museums) don't as often include English translations as in some other European countries, so those who don't speak German may find a traveler's phrase book or bilingual dictionary useful in some situations. Apart from German and Austro-Bavarian, there are sizeable minorities in Vienna, such as Serbian, Croatian, Turkish and Romanian, who use their own languages amongst themselves and might be helpful if you speak any of their languages and come across a person of that origin.
See
Vienna has a rich history as the capital city of the monarchy, and thus, there is an abundance of historical buildings and museums. Most of these, including Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) and the three most well-known museums, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts), Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History) and Albertina , are located in the Innere Stadt. The Ring Road (German: Ringstraße ) is a circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna and is one of its main sights. Its architecture is typical of the eclectic, historicist style called Ringstraßenstil (Ring Road Style) of the 1860s to 1890s. Built in the style of the Renaissance according to plans by Heinrich von Ferstel, the MAK- Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art is the first museum building on the Ringstraße . The Schloss Schönbrunn palace, a part of the UNESCO World heritage list, is located in the Outer West area. Probably the best (and cheapest) way to get an overview of the city is on a tip-based "free tour": Good Vienna Tours offers daily two-hour walking tours in English, meeting at 10:00 and 14:00 in front of the Albertina.
Do
Ball Season : One thing you should not miss when you visit Vienna during the carnival season is to attend one of the many glamorous balls in the city, some of them in wonderful elegant locations like the Vienna Hofburg or the City Hall (Rathaus). The most widely known and elegant balls are the Opera Ball in the State Opera or the ball of the Wiener Philharmoniker . Many professional guilds have their own ball, e.g. the Kaffeesiederball by the Vienna Coffee house owners. A different twist is the famous Life Ball, an AIDS/HIV benefit which features celebrities and other attendees wearing outrageous costumes. The ball calendar can be found on the pages of the Vienna City Council River and Canal tours — The canal tours are horrible. All you see are trees and industrial buildings. It's a waste of money and time. There are also a lot of other open-air-film festivals in summer, e.g. at Karlsplatz, the Vienna Turf Krieau, the Prater, the Arena, the rooftop of City Library on Urban-Loritz-Platz and Schloss Neugebäude. In the summer, there is also the ImPulsTanz Festival for contemporary dance & performance. They are also good if you are interested in dance workshops. Football: international soccer matches are played at Ernst Happel Stadium on the riverbank in the Inner East district. The city has two club teams playing in the Austrian Bundesliga, the country's top tier: SK Rapid Wien play at Allianz Stadium in the Outer West , and FK Austria Wien play at Generali (or Viola) Arena in the Outer South .
Buy
Store hours are generally M-F 08:00 or 09:00 to 18:00 or 19:00, and Sa 09:00 to 18:00, closed Sunday. There are slightly longer hours at some malls. Credit cards are normally accepted at large and at high-end stores. All chains that you can find in the malls also have stores on the city's shopping streets, which tend to be more accessible and tourist friendly. Flea markets are usually can be found on Sundays, where one can buy items at very reasonable prices.
Outdoor markets
There are 21 markets with stands and small characteristically Viennese hut-like shops that are open daily (except Sunday). Additionally many of these have true farmers' markets, often on Saturday mornings. There is a large variety of sellers and markets, from the upscale to the dirt cheap. Each has several shops of different kinds (butcher, bakery, produce, coffee, etc.) There is another handful of weekly farmers markets around the city and seasonal markets like the Christmas Markets . Open from November 15 or 20 to December 23 or 24, most Viennese Christmas Markets ("Christkindlmarkt", "Adventmarkt" or simply "Weihnachtsmarkt") are not so much for shopping as for eating and drinking. From midday until the late hours of the night, people gather at Christmas markets to drink mulled wine, punch, and chat to one another and the occasional stranger. Entry to all of these markets is free. While Vienna can be a delightful place to visit during the Christmas season, on December 25 and 26 the city is largely shut down. Rathaus . More of a fairground than a Christmas market, this is Vienna's largest and busiest incarnation. Located on the large town square between Rathaus and Burgtheater, the Wiener Christkindlmarkt is by far the largest and probably best known Christmas market in Vienna. Large Christmas tree in front of the townhall, skating possibility, adorned trees in the park, often crowded! Spittelberg . Probably the most delightful, though often quite packed Christmas market in Vienna, the Spittelberg market is scattered over a series of lanes lined with picturesque early 19th century Biedermeier houses (many of them former brothels, which is the reason the area was spared early 20th century urban renewal). Some of the stalls are extensions of the shops and bars of this normally rather sleepy area. [dead link] Maria-Theresien-Platz . A relatively new market between the two museums and en route to/from the MuseumsQuartier (MQ). It is easy to maneuver than some and the quality of the goods is better than most. Schönbrunn . One of the better markets with higher quality goods and a more festive atmosphere in front of Schönbrunn palace. It is easier to spread out here and the specialties are food, handmade soaps, and candles. [dead link] Belvedere . Another addition to the city's Christmas markets, the market in front of the Belvedere palace is spacious and emphasizes the homespun. Resselpark/Karlsplatz - A small, alternative and more rambunctious Christmas market in front of Karlskirche. Freyung . A fine market in the First District frequented by locals and professionals on their lunch break and downtown shoppers. Focus on handicrafts and original gifts such as hand-made Christmas decorations, mangers or objects made of natural materials. Christmas cakes and biscuits as well as hot punch and Glühwein. There are usually fewer tourists. Further afield a famous and overly bustling Christmas market may be found at Grafenegg castle . Entry is €7, children under the age of 12 are free.
Eat
Viennese restaurant menus offer a bewildering variety of terms for dishes, most of which the visitor will never have heard of and many of which aren't in the brief lists of menu terms included in phrase books. However restaurants that have any foreign patrons at all usually have an English menu, though you may have to ask for it: the phrase "English menu" usually will be understood even by wait staff who don't speak English. A small bilingual dictionary will be useful for trying to decipher menu listings: at least it will enable you usually to determine what sort of food (chicken, beef, potato, etc.) is concerned, even if you can't tell how it's prepared. Not only savoury but also sweet main dishes are common in Austria. Classic Viennese dishes to try are the famous Wiener schnitzel , a thin veal cutlet lightly breaded and fried, and the perhaps less well known Tafelspitz , where a beef roast is simmered in a broth with root vegetables and herbs. Schnitzel made from pork ("vom schwein", also called "schnitzel Wiener art") is also popular. By law, restaurant menus are supposed to clarify if anything sold as "Wiener schnitzel" is made from something other than veal. As is common in much of eastern and central Europe, mushrooms are very popular, and when they're in season, you'll find a plethora of varieties on restaurant menus and for sale in markets, often for surprisingly low prices, at least if you're from North America. Chanterelles for €10/kg, anyone? Viennese restaurant portions tend to be large. Many restaurants now include vegetarian options. Most restaurants have daily specials listed on a chalk board or sometimes on a printed insert in the regular menu. These are usually the best bet, though they may not be on the English menu, so you may have to ask to have them explained or try to translate them yourself. Bread in Viennese restaurants is usually charged as an extra; if there is a basket of it on the table, you'll usually be charged by the piece only if you take some. Hotel breakfasts vary, but typically consist mainly of a buffet with a variety of rolls, cold cuts, and cheese. Fruit, yogurt, muesli, and often other types of cold cereal are also typically available. Many places will cook some eggs if you ask, or sometimes, especially for guests that are American or British, will offer to do so, but that's mainly seen as something for foreigners, cooked breakfasts not being typically Viennese, and you're unlikely to find any cooked food besides eggs on offer. Still, while the overall style may be "continental," Viennese breakfasts are often considerably more substantial than many other parts of Europe. Vienna being a fairly cosmopolitan city, there is a wide variety of international cuisine available. Italian, Greek, and Japanese food are particularly popular, although any international food you can name is represented. Tipping customs are similar to those in Europe and America though tips are slightly smaller; ten percent is usually sufficient in restaurants. Traditionally the way to tip a waiter is to mention the amount of the bill plus tip when you pay; for instance, if the bill is €15.50 you could give the waiter a €20 note and say "siebzehn (seventeen)," meaning he is to take out €15.50 for the bill, €1.50 for the tip, and so give you only €3 change. In this situation English numbers will usually be understood. Sometimes in less formal restaurants you can alternatively drop the tip into the money pouch the waiter usually carries. Credit cards aren't quite as commonly used in restaurants in Vienna as in Northern European countries, so ask if it's important to know beforehand. Don't expect "service with a smile" at a Viennese restaurant or cafe. While some servers are friendlier than others, most practice a level of reserved formality that can strike foreigners from more outgoing cultures as austere or even rude. It isn't intended that way, it's mainly a cultural expectation that service should be unobtrusive. So don't be offended if a server doesn't volunteer to discuss the specials or if they don't come to check on you while you're eating - the general expectation is if you want something, you'll get their attention and ask for it, otherwise they should leave you alone.
Sleep
Vienna is a major tourist hotspot and offers a complete range of accommodation options. Prices are relatively higher than in neighboring countries, or even in the rest of Austria. Many of the Viennese hotels, hostels and pensions, especially its centre, are housed in historic buildings dating from before the Second World War, most from the 19th-century Gründerzeit . This means that many of them offer relatively small rooms with sometimes compromised views, and rooms within the same property can vary widely, even at the same price. You will probably find that Viennese hotels usually offer very traditional decor, bathrooms with bathtubs and, again, relatively space-limited quarters. There are very few "modern design" hotels, and those looking for American-style over 30m² rooms should do good research before booking and make sure their booked room matches the expectations. On balance, breakfasts in Vienna are usually relatively good, with a good variety of products, even at the less pricey establishments. Moreover, you can count on many local cafes to offer you breakfast should your booking not include one. A typical Viennese hotel breakfast is buffet-style and fairly substantial, and consists of bread and rolls (usually very good quality), a variety of cold cuts, and fruit, as well as muesli and other cold cereals, and juice and coffee. In choosing an accommodation it is important to know which part of the city you want to spend time in. Most accommodations claim to be centrally located, which for the Viennese would mean they should be in or next to the 1st District, few actually are. Many are even outside the core districts 2-9. Still, from the ones located within a 5-minute walk of an underground or at least a rail or tram station, you should be able to get to the center within 20 minutes or less on public transportation. Smoking rooms are relatively common. Non-smoking rooms are in limited supply, and hotels with non-smoking floors are less common. Sensitive non-smokers may be bothered that public areas of the hotel, including the hallways, are often heavy with tobacco smoke. During summer there can be several days where the temperature is over 30°C. There are very few hotels that have air conditioning. People who are used to sleeping in a cool environment should seek out hotels that have air conditioning or schedule their trips during those times of the year when the temperature will be cooler.
Stay safe
Vienna is potentially one of the safest cities in the world for its size. There are no slums or districts you should avoid. In general, you can visit any part of the city at any time of the day without taking many risks — just use your common sense. The Prater (fair grounds/amusement park area) is said by some locals to be less safe at night, though more in reference to pickpockets than anything else. The Praterstern railway station is a magnet for drunks, homeless people and drug addicts, but they generally do not bother passers-by. As a general rule of thumb, it's best to avoid train stations, parks (especially Reumannplatz) and some larger subway stations at night, but even then, nothing bad should happen to you. As in any major city, watch out for pickpockets who grab and run when boarding the U-Bahn. Petty crimes (like jackets 'going missing') are more common and normally go unreported and won't get much sympathy. There have been a very few racist assaults in Vienna (even some by the police themselves). One runs the risk of being pickpocketed. Schwedenplatz, along the Ring, is sleazy in the evenings, but basically harmless; the Stadtpark, along the Ring, to the East, is a bit deserted at night and therefore best avoided. Prostitution is legal, even on the street, and is common around the area of the Prater. Ironically, some of the areas are a stone's thrown from the UNODC Headquarters (the UN agency responsible for combating human trafficking) and are human trafficking hubs for all of Europe. Many of these prostitutes are not registered and a high number are known to be trafficked, so take care if seeking their services. It is safer for everyone involved to visit a brothel. Women dressed in a certain manner walking around these areas alone at night might feel uncomfortable being checked-out in a certain way but there is no real danger. (There is no male street-prostitution to speak of in Vienna.) There have been some reports of fraud around Karlsplatz and the Ring. The usual scenario is that someone will stop you and ask for directions. A couple of other guys show up claiming to be police, showing a badge (must be fake). They ask if you were getting drugs from the other guy and then will ask for your passport and wallet for verification. When you are busy trying to convince them that your passport is valid, one of them sneaks out some money from your wallet. Best to tell them that you want to go to the police station — there is one at Karlsplatz U-Bahnstation. It's a minor annoyance, but it's better to be careful. In a different case of fraud they try to convince you that your money is counterfeit money and that they have to inspect it. As always use common sense: police are taught to approach you in a very distinctive way (you will notice if they do so), the badge must have Polizei ([ˌpɔlɪˈʦaɪ̯] police) and the Austrian coat of arms and/or the Austrian flag located somewhere on it, and they will be willing to bring you to the police station or a properly uniformed officer. Viennese police officers are virtually always honest and polite, and will do their best to assist you if you need them, although many of them, mostly older officers, have limited to non-existent English skills. If you need to report a serious crime and don't speak German, they will usually manage to round up an English-speaking officer. Do not walk on the bike lanes and cross them like you would cross any other road. Some bike lanes are hard to recognize (e.g. on the "Ring" in Vienna) and some cyclists bike rather fast. Walking on bike lines is not only considered impolite but it is illegal and you run the danger of getting hit. Pay attention to the tram tracks in Vienna. Unlike other cities, Viennese trams move very fast and can easily kill you if they hit you. The modern Viennese trams are hard to hear as well. If you encounter tram tracks and you must cross the road, make sure to look both ways before crossing. If you park near tram tracks and you have to get off on the same side as the street, make sure to look both ways as well. If you see people gambling on the streets (usually in popular tourists' destinations like Stephansplatz or Mariahilfer Straße), stay away! The modus operandi usually involves a guy playing the classic game of "hiding the ball". This involves covering the ball (or small trinket) with either a bottle cap or a match box and swirling it around with two other bottle caps asking people to guess the position of the ball. The game is set in a way that you can easily see the ball's position. This is done to lure the unsuspecting person into placing a wager. There are usually two main players and, between them, they will lose and win money back and forth to give the appearance that it is a fair game - do not be tricked! They are from the same gang. Once you get greedy and get lured in, you will surely lose your money! The person in control of the bottle caps will remove the ball from their position through sleight of hand and you will never see your money back. Besides the two or three other players involved, there are usually at least two lookouts - one on each side of 'stage'. Vienna has plenty of legal casinos if you care to try your luck. In crowded areas such as train stations or the city center, it is not uncommon be approached by beggars. Some sell " Augustin ", a homeless' magazine for critical journalism and social work. If they wear a badge, they are reputable: They received training and are obligated to follow social norms; they do not try to trick you, and can be fun to talk to. However, if they do not have a badge or insist on handing you something (such as a rose or a magazine), dismiss them by walking away and/or shaking your head and saying "Nein danke" ([naɪ̯n ˈdaŋkə] no thank you). Their typical ruse is to give you something and then demand payment for it. Similarly, it is best to ignore people asking for money for train tickets or the like. They can be obtrusive, but never violent.