A Long Weekend in Vienna

Vienna is a magical city, filled with history, art, culture and beauty. Similar to how Paris is layed out in arrondissements, the city of Vienna is layed out in districts, radiating outward like a snail.

Located in Hietzing (13th district) is Hostel Ruthensteiner. It's the perfect spot for solo travel. While slightly out of the city center, it is only about a 30 minute walk to the center. This hostel has a little cafe where they serve coffee and breakfast. Vienna is a bustling city so it's a nice place to come back to for some peace and quiet and the end of a full day of walking and sightseeing.

It is conveniently located near the Schonbrunn Palace.

Cafe Dommayer is a traditional cafe nearby. Have a seat at one of the corner tables with red velvet couches for an afternoon coffee. You can also order Viennese pastries and sandwiches to go, such as a smoked samon with cream cheese.

Hop on the train at Heitzing station until you get to Karlsplatz. This is the 1st district, known as the Inner Stadt. Start your sightseeing at Buurgarten, the city center's park.

This park is just a stone's throw away from The Albertina and the Hofburg Palace. Vienna is a city of museums, so the trick is to pick and choose.

Landstraße is Vienna's 3rd district, and it is home to the famous Belvedere Palace.

With 24 Gustav Klimt paintings, The Belvedere has the largest and most significant collection of Klimt in the world. You can see some of his earliest work, all the way to his more famous painting in his later years, including The Kiss and Judith.

When I was in Vienna in February 2024, the artwork Adele Bloch-Bauer II (1912–13) was back in Vienna to undergo scientific analysis and restoration in the Belvedere’s workshops. I had the chance to see this outstanding privately owned late work by Gustav Klimt in its original form and gain insight into the artist’s painting technique, thanks to current research findings.

On my way out, I walked through the Belvedere’s garden. The garden is one of Europe’s most significant historical gardens in French and late Baroque garden design. I particularly enjoyed my evening stroll through the gardens as the sun started to set.

I walked along Vienna's Ringstrasse, the world’s most beautiful boulevard, passing by buildings constructed in the style of Historicism. The boulevard is a melting pot for design, where you can see the stylistic influences of Renaissance, baroque and Gothic.

Vienna is a magical city and there are countless beautiful courtyards hidden away behind many of the opulent facades of Vienna’s town houses and palaces. Vienna's 1st district is home to some of the city's most beautiful courtyards with hidden gems. The courtyard at Weihburggasse 16 is home to Vermischte Warenhandlung, a small shop with an adorable collection of original gift ideas and souvenirs.

If you're like me, you romanticize cities, especially European ones. If you want to have Before Sunrise moment, stop at Kleines Cafe for a drink. This is where the fortune teller scene is filmed.

For a traditional meal, stop at Zum Schwarzen Kameel. This popular restaurant is open all day for lunch and dinner. For lunch, take a seat at one of the high-tops inside and order several Viennese open-faced sandwiches, topped with smoked salmon, pickled herring, anchovies, tiny shrimp, and roast beef with artichokes.

For dinner, they offer heartier dishes, including Viennese classic like wiener schnitzel, lightly breaded and tender. Inside the restaurant, most of the bar is open, with drinkers and diners sharing high counters. The restaurant has a very Art Nouveau feel to it.

For dessert, stop at Cafe Central. Enjoy a warm piece of applestudel under the marbled vaulted ceilings.

Neubau is Vienna's 7th district, and filled with local designers, galleries and hip eateries. This is definitely an edgier part of the city, in contrast to the historic and traditional parts of the city center.

This trendy quarter is also home to some of the best museums in the city, including the MuseumQuarter. Vienna has such a rich history of art, so forgive me if I go on a bit of a tangent in this next section and provide some academic reading... all related to design of course!

The Leopold Museum is part of Museum Quarter, and well worth a visit. The current exhibit was The Birth of Modernism, focused on Vienna around 1900 as the source of Modernism. The exhibit opened with a definition of the german word Gesamtkunstwerk, the concept that after the 1848 revolution, art was allowed to permeate all areas of life. Previous to the revolution, art served as purely a decorative function. This exhibit present works of art that serve both an aesthetic and practical function, including works by designer Josef Hoffman.

Josef Hoffman was part of the group of artists who founded the Vienna Seccession, an art movement that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists including Gustav Klimt. Another example of Gesamtkunstwerk was developed in the Art Nouveau period, with architects imposing harmonious and unifying elements on their designs, thinking of everything from fittings to furnishings.

The exhibit also featured works by architects Koloman Moser, Otto Wagner, and Adolf Loos.

Adolf Loos was a famous Austrian architect and designer known for numerous projects including for Cafe Museum and iconic American Bar in Vienna.

Take a break from the museums by checking out some of Vienna's design stores. Lichterloh has a small and refined selection of antique lighting and contemporary/mid-centrury design.

Right around the corner from the Leopold is the antique store Keller Matschnigs. This tiny store is filled with table lamps, accesories, table linens, silverwear, and porcelain. Enter into the vaulted ceilings of this tiny hole in the wall.

Stop at Amerlingbeisl for lunch. This cozy spot serves hearty dishes including goulash and lentil soup. Burggasse 24 is a multi-level vintage boutique, but the real gem here is the cafe next door.

Wiener Messing Manufaktur is another antique store in the area, speacializing in antique lighting.

Mobelmuseum Wein is Vienna's design museum. The collection includes everything from Imperial furniture, through a variety of furnishing styles such as Baroque, Rococo, to contemporary. You see how furniture design has changed through the ages, as well as the stories of the people who lived and used them.

The exhibition also gives background to where and how iconic designs emerged, including the Thonet Chair.

Lange Gasse is a small street with boutiques, design galeries, and cafes including Café Namenlos.

Maria-Treu Gasse is one of the prettiest, small streets in Vienna with a beautiful view of the Maria Treu church.

Stop at Cafe Kandl for casual dining and natural wine in Neubau.

Visit the Bridge Club by Adolf Loos, an upper-class apartment of the 1900s. I was really looking forward to this tour, which was unfortunately all in German. Luckily, I met a tall Belgium friend studying architecture who translated for me. Loos was controversial at the time because he reinvented the was interiors were used. For instance, he used sober, yet expensive materials in his designs, such as marble walls and mirrors to convey richness and grandiosity.

Spend the afternoon is Mariahilf, Vienna's 6th district. Set among some of the most beautiful architecture in Vienna, the 6th is full of independent boutiques, trendy vintage stores and quirky cafés.

The are is also home to Naschmarket, the Saturday flea market. This sprawling flea market has everything from antiques, clothing, old books, to fruit, vegetables and various delicacies.

Visit the Secession Building where artist Gustav Klimt led the separatist movement and where some of his major works are displayed.

Other restaurants:

• Ulrich Cafe

• Collection of Produce