First things first, I had a great time exploring Vienna, but I kind of expected that this visit of Vienna in February would not match my last experience. The last time I have been in Vienna was about 4 years ago in summer. There we were extremely lucky that we happened to be there during the Donauinselfest. It’s a huge outdoor music festival with lots of free concerts. We were also blessed with great weather and impressed by all the amazing buildings and museums we discovered in the city. However, Vienna is just as charming in winter, as it is in summer!

Vienna by walking

Again, I was lucky with the weather and, therefore started exploring the city on foot. We arrived by night train at Vienna Main Station, so I started with the Belvedere Castle. The premises are very nice to wander around and enjoy the view of the castle. To make up for the lousy winter without snow, they had built a snowman out of rock, that everybody had fun taking pictures with.
Then I made my way to the Naschmarkt, where it’s impossible not to end up eating something. From there, you find a different sightseeing point at basically every other street corner. It would have been a pity to take the subway and miss some of the sights, hence, I just marched on, although my feet were pretty tired by then. Right next to Café Sacher is the tourism information, with lots of good flyers, free wifi and places to sit down.
With newly charged batteries (my own and that of my phone) I eventually ended up at the other side of the city center on the Donaukanal.

Vienna by bike

On this sunny day, lots of people were strolling or relaxing along the water. There I saw a group with bikes that looked like these rental bikes I used in Melbourne. I kept my eyes open and soon after that, I found a station with Vienna City bikes. I was even happier to find out that they are “free”! I just had to sign up with my credit card for 1 Euro and then I was good to go. It was much more comfortable cruising through the city on the bike paths, than to keep on walking. I wished that I had discovered that sooner but somehow my eyes were blind to the many stations.

The best way to explore Vienna is by the “free” city bike!

I felt almost like a local that was out enjoying the nice weather in one of the many parks (for example in and around the Prater).
At the end, I drove once around the Ringstrasse. These are the streets that mark the outline of the inner city and along which you find most important buildings. When I got to City Hall, I couldn’t believe my eyes. They had a huge ice rink (not only a rink, there also were skating paths through the park) and a Christmas market. That definitely brought a nice wintery atmosphere into the city.

Option for a bad weather day: Hop on and hop off bus and the subway

In case you don’t feel like moving that much, there always is the option of a Hop on and Hop off bus, or take the subway from one point of interest to the next. For example Schloss Schönbrunn, which is a bit outside the city, is very easy to get to by subway. So is the zoo that is right next to it. 4 years ago, we didn’t have time to go to the zoo, this time, I extra planned a whole day for it. I was not disappointed. They had every animal you can dream of! And beautiful buildings and outdoor cages to keep them in. Also, the animals were quite active and, therefore they were easy to spot. It’s a huge zoo and I was glad I could take the time and just sit down and observe before heading onto the next continent or into the next tropical area. I rounded my visit up with another delicious Viennese coffee (they really got that down here!!!).

Where did you drink the best coffee in your life? What can’t you wait to visit in Vienna? Please let me know in a comment.

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