Visit Vienna

I highly recommend you visit Vienna – it ended up being one of my favorite cities during my last trip to Europe. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but the architecture is beautiful, there are a lot of good restaurants and so many things to do. After taking the Big Bus tour in Budapest we knew it was probably the easiest way to get a feel of the city. In Vienna there are two lines – the main city and landmarks that are further out like the Schönbrunn Palace and the Beldevere Palace.

St. Charles Church

Opera House

St. Stephen’s Cathedral

The Hofburg Palace and Museum

The Klimpt exhibition at the Beldevere Palace is a must do when you visit Vienna. The main draw is to see the famous painting The Kiss, however there are so many beautiful Klimpts and other nice works as well. After seeing the detail Klimpt put into his works in person, he has become one of my favorite artists.

Beldevere Palace

The Beldevere Palace itself is stunning. You can spend so much time just walking the grounds and relaxing in the magnificent gardens. We spent a few hours browsing the art collection inside and ended up with perfect afternoon light for photographing the exterior.

While on the blue line of the Big Bus tour we passed an amusement park called the Wurstelprater. This theme park is adorable and looked really fun. If I had more time in Vienna I would have liked to check it out, along with the Arsenal and a hueriger tavern (vineyard serving the Vienna specialty of young wine).

I’d definitely like to return soon as there are so many other gorgeous places to visit in Austria in addition to Vienna.

Going to the Spanish Riding School was our big-ticket item. It’s been a dream since I was young as I grew up riding horses. Tickets were very pricey and we were seated way in the balcony. It is necessary to stand and peer over the edge in order to see the performance. It was very impressive to see the horses perform but I’m not sure it was worth the cost and slightly underwhelming. The stables and ring are gorgeous though and it was a neat experience to see how they have been practicing dressage for hundreds of years.

Spanish Riding School Lippizans performing

I enjoyed every meal while in Vienna and there are a lot of vegan options. I discovered the chain Swing Kitchen by checking the Happy Cow app. Swing Kitchen is a fast casual burger joint with salads and chicken-less nuggets too. Everything was delicious! I had both the namesake Swing Burger and the Vienna Burger and loved the latter, especially the crispy schnitzel they use for the patty. There are several locations throughout the city too.

We got lucky to be staying right down the street from the storied Griechenbeisl (dates back to 1447!). This place is beautiful and it is so pleasant to sit outside. There is a ton of history, so browse around inside and make sure to see the room with famous signatures. I had a vegan beetroot risotto with spinach that was so good I got it the very next night!

Griechenbeisl

Beet risotto from Griechenbeisl

Street leading to Griechenbeisl

After dinner we stumbled upon Veganista gelato – one of the highlights of my entire trip. It is rare for me to be able to have gelato and this was probably the best ice cream I’ve ever had. I got lavender blueberry and cookies ‘n’ cream. I nearly cried it was so delicious. Go there!