Travel to Vienna

Vienna is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine "States of Austria". With a population of about 1.7 million, Vienna is the largest city in Austria as well as its cultural, economic and political centre. The city lies in the south-eastern corner of Central Europe and is close to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Vienna International Airport is located in the southest part of the city. Vienna airport offers the variety of conections with all the major European cities.

Cultural Life in Vienna

Art and culture have a long tradition in Vienna, including theatre, opera, classical music and fine arts. The Burgtheater is considered one of the best theatres in the German-speaking world. The Volkstheater Wien and the Theater in der Josefstadt also enjoy good reputations.

Vienna is also home to a number of opera houses, including the Staatsoper and the Volksoper. Classical concerts are performed at well known venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Wiener Konzerthaus. Many concert venues offer concerts aimed at tourists, featuring popular highlights of Viennese music (particularly the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss).

Major tourist attractions include the imperial palaces of the Hofburg and Schönbrunn (also home to the world's oldest zoo, Tiergarten Schönbrunn) and the Riesenrad in the Prater. The Hofburg is the location of the Schatzkammer (treasury), holding the imperial jewels of the Hapsburg dynasty. The Sisi Museum (a museum devoted to Queen Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie of Austria) allows visitors to view the Imperial apartments as well as the silver cabinet. Directly opposite the Hofburg are the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Naturhistorisches Museum, which houses many paintings by old masters and ancient and classical artefacts.

A number of museums are located the Museumsquartier. It houses the Museum of Modern Art and the Leopold Museum (focussing on works of the Viennese Secession, Viennese Modernism and Austrian Expressionism), additional halls with feature exhibitions and the Tanzquartier. The Liechtenstein Palace contains one of the world's largest private art collections.

There are also a number of art galleries, such as the Albertina, Belvedere, Museumsquartier, KunstHausWien and BA-CA Kunstforum. Vienna's many churches also draw large crowds, the most famous of which are St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Deutschordenskirche, the Jesuitenkirche, the Karlskirche, the Peterskirche, Maria am Gestade, the Minoritenkirche, the Ruprechtskirche, the Schottenkirche and the Votivkirche. Modern attractions include the Hundertwasserhaus, the United Nations headquarters and the view from the Donauturm.

And when visiting Vienna do not forget to visit one of Viennese cafés which have an extremely long and distinguished history.