Austria Trip

For my next trip to Austria I want to see and try a few things, some new and some familiar sites I want to revisit.

Getting there: Take the City Airport Train (CAT) to Vienna city centre. Note that that train is separate from the city app metro pass. You must buy the ticket from the machine at the airport or at the train terminal. Cost €14.90 one-way or €24.90 return in 2025. The trip takes 16 minutes. CAT schedule (every 30 minutes): From airport - first 06:08, last 23:38 From city centre - first 05:37, last 23:07

VIENNA

SITES

Must visit The Third Man museum that Nina of the Rick Steves tour told me about. Open Saturdays only 14:00-18:00. Located at Pressgasse 25, Vienna near the Naschmarkt (Ubahn stop Kettenbruckengasse, U4 line). Check if the tour of the sewers is still being done. There is a Third Man tour that runs from Thursday to Sunday, May to October. English tours start at 15:00 only. The meeting point is Karlsplatz-Girardipark (opposite the Café Museum), and the metro stop is Karlsplatz on U1, U2 & U4 lines. The Visiting Vienna website shows the various locations from the movie that can be visited like the Westbahnhof and Harry Lime’s apartment (actually the Palais Pallavicini in Josephsplatz Square). I have already been to the Weiner Riesenrad – Ferris wheel. You can even take a tour of the sewers, entering through the entrance that Harry uses in the movie.

Get the Vienna City Card to save on transportation and entrance to over 100 attractions (discounts vary). Available for 24/48/72 hour or 7 days.

Take a Danube River cruise; here is one listed on GYG. Also try an historic city walk or food tour, see Tripadvisor or Get Your Guide.

Palais Pallavicini

FOOD & DRINK

Demel, Kohlmarkt 14, is my favorite café – great apple strudel and Sachertorte, but next time try their Kaiserschmarrn - it looked very good. See the article on the many cafés to visit in Vienna. Café Central, Herrengasse 14, is famous for the great pastries, but I have never been there because the lines are always too long.

Stop into Haas & Haas Wien & Feinkost to get a bottle of Die Apfelkönig von Maximilian Preiss. Located at the corner of Kramergasse & Ertlgasse near Stephansplatz. 

Of course, I must again stop at Buffet Trześniewski, Dorotheergasse 1, Vienna (Stephansplatz) for lunch to have their delicious open face sandwiches. Or at one of their other 13 locations in the city and one at the airport.

I could try another winery tour. City & Wine offers countryside tours near Vienna that include dinner - 5 hours for €140. They also offer tours near Budapest.

I have business card from Ofenloch, a restaurant that serves classic Austrian food. Location: Kurrentgasse 8, about a 6 minute walk from Stephansplatz. Ph: 01/5338844

The Naschmarkt for multiple market stalls selling many varieties of food and drink. See my page here.

I may go back to the Julius Meinl store for more coffee and coffee cups.

A few of heurigers I didn't get to last time:

• Mayer am Nussberg, Kahlenberger Staße 213 (Take D line to Sickenberggasse stop). Noted for its Vineyards
• Zum Martin Sepp Heuriger, Cobenzlgasse 34 (Take U4 toward Heilingenstat to Heilingenstat, then 38A bus toward Kahlenberg to Oberer Reisenbergweg). Noted for its beauty
• Weingut Göbel, Stammersdorfer Kellergasse 131. Noted for its innovative cuisine and high quality white and red wines.

See my 2023 Food & Drink notes of eating places I have tried.

City & Wine Vienna

City & Wine Budapest

ACCOMMODATIONS

I need to find a good boutique hotel near a tram stop or close to the Opera area.

Hotel Post Wien, is okay, but there is no mini bar frig and no coffee or tea making setup in the rooms. Try Boutique Hotel Donauwalzer.

Weiner Riesenrad – Ferris wheel (The Third Man)

Vienna Restaurants & Cafés

Besides the coffee houses and heurigers for which Vienna is noted, they have many other excellent eating places. The Naschmarkt is one place to go as I note here.

Ofenloch Restaurant, Kurrentgasse 8, looks interesting. I don't remember eating there but I have their business card.

Had a very nice meal at Entler, Schlüsselgasse 2. Starter was a ravioli with nettles and a light, smooth cheese sauce. Main was a pork loin with white asparagus and hollandaise.

Haas & Haas, Ertigasse 4, for excellent Austrian sparkling ciders.

Royal Caviar Vienna, Tiefer Graben 10 (about 2 blocks from Café Central).

Buffet Trześniewski -  for a large variety (29) of cheap and tasty sandwiches. A must visit for lunch in Vienna. There are three locations: Dorotheergasse 1 ; Mariahilfer Str. 95 & at the Westbahnhof. The Dorotheergasse location (where I usually go) is near Stephansplatz. (See menu here)

Trzesniewski display case

Trześniewski menu card

Had a good lunch of fried calamari at a small restaurant called Joyce Café & Restaurant, Wipplingerstasse 11, Vienna.

From Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, he visits some of the best restaurants and pubs that locals favour.

Here are a few he tried and enjoyed:

Urbanek, Naschmarkt 46, sells the best ham in Austria – "Mangalitsa ham is a whole, boneless, dry-cured ham that offers layers of clean, light and fatty tastes. It is made from the Mangalitsa (aka Mangalica) hog, a breed of Hungarian domestic pig.... Mangalitsa ham is often enjoyed with cheese and wine in Vienna."

Mangalitsa ham

Herta Gruber, Naschmarkt 47, sells their specialite: Schnitzel cordon bleu,a dish made of pounded meat (veal or pork) layered with ham and cheese. The whole thing is then breaded and fried.

Schnitzel cordon bleu

Weingut & Heuriger Zahel, Maurer Hauptplatz 9, make a dish of roast pork made from boneless pork shoulder (or “butt”). It is often called Schopfbraten. Perhaps the most popular form is the Wiener Kümmel-Schopfbraten, or old Viennese-style caraway roast pork. Weingut & Heuriger Zahel have their own version of Schopfbraten, which they call Krampus. See their menu here.

Schopfbraten

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I have visited Café Tirolerhof and Demel, two well known cafés in Vienna. Two other well known cafés are Café Sacher Wien and Café Central, but there are number of high quality cafés to consider.

Visiting Vienna has a good selection of cafés in Vienna: Café Hawelka, Café Sperl, Café Goldegg, Café Prückel, Café Schwarzenberg, Café Mozart, Café Ritter, Café Jelinek, Café Schopenhauer, Café Landtmann, Café Korb, Café Museum, Café Frauenhuber, Café Diglas Wollzeile, Café Diglas im Schottenstift, Café Diglas am Fleischmarkt, Kaffee Alt Wien, and Café Westend.

Naschmarkt, Vienna

Not to be missed when visiting Vienna is the Naschmarkt which, as the name suggests, is a large market with lots of stalls selling tasty treats.

From their website:
"Naschmarkt in Vienna is always a treat to visit with the rows of open stalls selling food to take away, snacks to eat, and full sit-down meals. All under the roofs of the small stalls that have been in this place for over a 100 years."

The area also becomes a flea market on weekends. More information on the Naschmarkt here.