Austria
A guide to its main attractions
Selected by piero scaruffi
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This page provides a list of the main things to see in Austria. "++"
identifies the top attractions.
TM, ®, Copyright © 1998 Piero Scaruffi
Wien/Vienna
- Secession Gallery by Joseph Maria Olbricht (1899) with ++Klimt's Beethoven Fries
- Moore sculpture ("Hill Arches") in Karlsplatz's pond
- Ring
- Hofburg (Michaelerplatz)
- Opera (Staatsopera on the Ring)
- +Stephandom (cathedral)
- Peterskirche +interior (St Peter)
- Graben street
- Freyung square
- ++Kunsthistorische Museum (subway station Volkstheater)
- Naturhistorisches Museum for the Willendorf statuette
- Parliament
- Burgtheater (1888)
- Rathaus
- Heinrich von Ferstel's Votivkirche (1879)
- Friedrich von Schmidt's Funfhaus Parish Church (1875) or, better, Maria vom Siege Rudolfsheim-Funfhaus Kirchen
- Joze Plecnik's Church of the Holy Spirit/ Heilig-Geist-Kirche (1913) across from 67 Herbsfstrasse
- +Otto Wagner's golden-dome church for the Steinhof Asylum (take bus 48a to Steinhof)
- Schonbrunn castle (bus 10a or 12a)
- ++Belvedere Museum (southeast of Karlsplatz, suway line U1 station Taubstummeng)
- Monte Laa Towers (near A22 highway, subway line U1 to the end and then bus)
- Leopold Museum (Schiele, Klimt, Kokoschka, etc)
- Albertina Modern
- Prater amusement park with the 126-year-old Riesenrad Ferris wheel
- Hundertwasserhaus by Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Kegelgasse 36-38)
- Kunst Haus Wien by Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Untere Weißgerberstraße 13)
- The tallest building in Austria is in the Dongustadt island (UNO City)
-
Walking tour of Vienna: start from the Opera House/ Staatsoper (subway station Karlsplatz, exit Oper); walk to Operngasse past the Albertina Palace, the Albrechtsbrunnen fountain and the Monument against Fascism; walk down Augustinerstrasse to Augustinerkirche and to Josefsplatz with Palais Pallavicini; walk through the Hercules statues and archways into the Hofburg, namely Michaelerplatz Square and the Innere Burghof; walk out the Hofburg to the Heldenplatz with the Natural History Museum and the Museum of Art History; turn right into the Ring to the Parliament, the Rathaus and the Burgtheater; turn right into Schreyvogelgasse and Schottengasse to the Freyung square; walk to Am Hof square and to the Graben with a view of St Peter’s Church/ Peterskirche; turn left into the Graben to the end to reach Stephansdom. Then take a tram to Hundertwasser House (Kegelgasse 36-38). Then Schoenbrunn Palace and Upper Belvedere Palace and Museum.
Salzburg
- Hohensalzburg (castle)
- Peterskirche (St Peter)
- Petersfriedhof (cemetery behind St Peter)
- Residenzplatz (square)
- Hellbrun castle (4 kms away)
Hellbrunn mechanical theater (near Salzburg)
+Hallstatt (medieval bourg southeast of Salzburg)
Ruette: 110m-high 403m-long Highline179 pedestrian suspension bridge
Carinthia (northeast of Villach): Hochosterwitz castle (1586)
Melk: abbey (2.5 hours from Salzburg, 1 hour from Vienna)
Graz: +Peter Cook and Colin Fournier's "Kunsthaus Graz" (2002)
Heiligenbrunn (medieval bourg)
Notes (2024):
- Airport to Vienna: express CAT (City Airport Train) to Wien Mitte station
- Melk can be reached from Vienna: train Wien-St Polten-Melk and walk 10 minutes from the Melk train station. Luggage lockers near the tourist information office.
- Scam alert: Melk's ticket costs 16 euros but it's only valid to see an inferior museum and an inferior church. The best views of the abbey and of the complex are from the streets.
- Bratislava can be reached easily from Vienna by train