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 The Schonbrunn summer palace, with its lovely garden is just one of the many grand structures worth a visit in Bienna, Austria. -- Photos courtesy Austrian National Tourist Office |
Vienna, capital of Austria, has been described as an imperial city that lost its empire. But you don't have to be an heir to the Hapsburgs to enjoy its concerts, atmospheric coffeehouses, decadent pastries, fabulous art, architecture and palaces. Here's how to get the most for your Euros. All prices approximated in Canadian dollars.
THE "YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE" SPLURGE LIST
CLIP CLOP
Start your tour in style with a horse-drawn carriage ride around the heart of town. About $70 for 30 minutes.
MIT SCHLAG
You simply must try Vienna's famous Sachertorte, a rich chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam in the middle topped with a huge dollop of whipped cream (schlag) at the Sacher Hotel across from the Opera. A slice costs about $6, or you can buy a whole torte as a souvenir to share with your sweet-toothed friends back home (sacher.com).
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THE ROYAL TREATMENT
When in Vienna, Sting, David Bowie, Michael Jackson and royalty call the Imperial Hotel home. Palatial rooms start at about $300. If you can't afford the royal suite, treat yourself to dinner in the Imperial Dining Room, then a schnapps nightcap in the jewel box Maria Theresia Bar, its silk-covered walls hung with portraits of the Hapsburgs (luxurycollection.com/ imperial).
ARTSY EVENING
On Thursday nights you can munch, mingle and visit the works by Bruegel, Rembrandt and more masters in the galleries at the Museum of Fine Arts. Admission and a lavish buffet in the grand cupola costs about $50 (www.khm.at).
HORSING AROUND
For four centuries the white Lipizzaner stallions have pranced to classical music under the crystal chandeliers in the Baroque hall of Vienna's famed Spanish Riding School. Tickets for the regular performances must be ordered in advance and can cost more than $150 but attend the morning "dress rehearsals" and you'll pay less than $20 (www.srs.at).
THE "CHEAP THRILLS" SCRIMP LIST
KEY TO VIENNA
In 1857 Emperor Franz Joseph ordered Vienna's medieval walls to be torn down and announced an international architectural competition. The result is a smorgasbord of styles from the classical Greek Parliament Buildings to the Gothic Town Hall to the Renaissance Opera. Take tram one or two around the Ringstrasse in the evening when the buildings and gardens are theatrically illuminated. For about $25 the Vienna Card gets you onto tram, bus and underground for 72 hours, plus it offers discounts at shops, restaurants and attractions. Buy it from your hotel, tourist offices or transportation lines.
DEFINITELY THE OPERA
Standing-room tickets for a performance cost about the same as a cup of coffee. Wear comfortable shoes and arrive two hours before the performance (www.bundestheater.at).
SO MANY PALACES, SO LITTLE TIME
Those Hapsburgs really knew how to live. The Hofburg, their winter palace contains more than 2,600 rooms of which about two dozen are open to the public. The more modest 1,441-room Schonbrunn summer palace, just a tram-ride away, has lovely formal gardens and a maze where kids can get lost. Admission to each is about $15, cheaper with your Vienna Card.
MASS APPEAL
Every Sunday at 11 a.m. live orchestras and choirs perform at high mass in the Augustinerkirche, built in the 14th century as the church of the Hofburg court. It's said to have the best acoustics in town. With luck you might hear the Vienna Boys Choir.
INTO THE VIENNA WOODS
Take tram 38 to Grinzing, a nearby village crammed with Heurigen (rustic wine taverns). Sample the new wines and inexpensive buffet fare, including schnitzel, salads and sausages.
PAPRIKA REIGNS
At the Gulaschmuseum (which is actually a restaurant) choose from 20 kinds of goulash (from $10) including horse, pork with sauerkraut, chicken liver, venison, even a vegetarian version (512-1017).
DORM DEAL
July through September, student dorm rooms become the Academia Hotel where $100 per night buys you a double room, private bath and breakfast. They even take credit cards (academia-hotels.co.at).
For more information visit aboutvienna.org