Destination: VIENNA, AUSTRIA

UNDERSTAND VIENNA

THINGS TO SEE IN VIENNA

• Belvedere - Austrian Gallery was commissioned from architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt by military leader Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), known as one of the best military strategists of his time. It was intended as a summer residence, and was located outside the city walls. Art historians know the Belvedere as on of the finest Baroque structures in the world. Its two palace segments, the Upper and Lower Belvedere, later became the permanent home of the Austrian Gallery. The Oberes Belvedere (Upper) contains recent Austrian and international art from the past two centuries.
  
  Viennese art from the early twentieth century is well-represented in the permanent collection "Vienna around 1900 and the Art of the Classical Modern." Gustav Klimt, master of a particularly Viennese form of Art Nouveau called Jugendstil, or sometimes Viennese Secession, has several world-renowned paintings in the Belvedere, of which "Judith" and "The Kiss" are his best-known. Covered in gilt, broken up into hundreds of small color panels (almost Impressionistic, in a way), the tall, thin figures in Klimt's paintings are uniquely his own. Egon Schiele, another Viennese artist working at the same time as Klimt, would utilize such singularly thin and ultimately recognizable figures in his own work. The days of strict realism were over, and fantasy was afoot. Schiele is well-represented in the Belvedere as well.
  
  
• The New Palace (Neue Hofburg). The New Palace is the newest and largest section of the Imperial Palace. It contains the Ethnological Museum and three branches of the Museum of Fine Arts. The Ephesus Museum contains classical art from Asia Minor, the Collection of Historical Musical Instruments is self-explanatory, but the jewel of the New Palace is the Collection of Arms. This collection, second largest in the world, houses an immense and exhaustive representation of weaponry from past centuries.
  
  
• Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury). Located in the Neue Hofburg, the Schatzkammer (also known as the Secular and Ecclesiastical Treasures) is the best part of the Hofburg, and an absolute must on any tour of Vienna. Second only to a tour of the Kunsthistorisches Museum itself, of which the Schatzkammer is officially a part, there are 20 rooms of priceless treasures that give a fairly accurate feel for Habsburg court life over the centuries.
  
  
• Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts), One of the world's great art museums, in a palace that's a work of art itself. Like the Louvre, serious art fans may wish to devote more than a day to its treasures. The mother of all Austrian museums - there is no other word to describe the Kunsthistorisches other than mind boggling. It's at the very least a full day's worth of sightseeing, if you intend to go through it thoroughly and attempt ponder the importance of each major work. The better approach here is to break up sections of the museum and visit them over a series of days, or if that's not an option, pick one section and concentrate on it alone. The Picture Gallery is kept open until 9 pm on Thursdays. Beginning with another section of the museum, it's possible to have a lunch or light dinner in the cafe and then continue through the Picture Gallery until closing time. The Museum has an excellent collection of ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art. The coin & medals collection is also exhaustive in its scope. The Museum cafe is a bit pricy, but good, and in a beautiful setting.
  
  
• The Imperial Furniture Collection - Vienna Furniture Museum. The museum is wheelchair-accessible. The museum with the largest furniture collection worldwide is considered as an insider's tip and is located just off bustling Mariahilfer Strasse. So you can go shopping and to the museum. Take the orange underground line U3 (alight at Zieglergasse, take the Andreasgasse exit). The items on display include used furniture by all the Austrian emperors since Charles VI (the father of Maria Theresa), furniture by the Thonet Brothers to Jugendstil, the Viennese Modernist movement and contemporary Austrian architects and designers such as E.A. Plischke, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Luigi Blau and Franz West. Besides the permanent furniture collection the museum also hosts two to three temporary special exhibitions on furniture design and photography each year. Information on the current special exhibitions can be found at www.hofmobiliendepot.at (exhibitions). You can purchase a single ticket or a combined ticket "Sisi Ticket" which in addition to the museum allows you to visit Schonbrunn Palace, the Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum and the Imperial Silver Collection in the Hofburg.
  
  
• MAK - Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art. MAK Design Shop. Permanent Collection. Study Collection. Exhibitions of contemporary art, design, architecture. How to go there? Subway U3, Tram 1, 2, bus 1A, 74A to Stubentor, and U4 to Landstrasser Hauptstrasse, City Airport Train from the airport to Bahnhof Wien Mitte. Also part of the MAK is the Depot of Contemporary Art (Gefechtsturm Arenbergpark) 3rd district Dannebergplatz/Barmherzigengasse, how to go there: bus 74A to Hintzerstrasse or U3 to Rochusgasse opening times in 2006: Mai 7-November 26 every Sunday 11 am-4 pm. If you like modern art and are short of time, the Leopold and MUMAK in the Museums Quartier have far larger and better collections than MAK. A lovely addition to a visit to MAK is popping over the road for a coffee at the 100-year old Cafe Pruekel.
  
  
• KunstHausWien. To get there, take the street tram O from Landstrasse and get down at Radetzkyplatz. Even an avowed hater of modern art can appreciate the KunstHausWien, Hundertwasser's (born Friedrich Stowasser in 1928) major contribution to the Viennese art world. In a time when artists often try to shock the public or merely impress other members of the rarefied gallery subculture, Hundertwasser's manifesto rings out as an utterly reasonable plea: The architecture of KunstHausWien would be a bastion against the dictatorship of the straight line, the ruler and T-square, a bridgehead against the grid system and the chaos of the absurd. Starting with the façade of the building, adapted from its prior life as a furniture factory, there is a Gaudi-in-Barcelona feel to the place. Windows peek out like eyes from curvy, rounded plaster and colorful paint. It's a Disneyland for grownups! Do not miss the Hundertwasserhaus and the shopping village situated about 300m from KunstHausWien.
  
  
• Hundertwasserhaus
  
  
• Museums Quartier (MQ) is the new cultural district of Vienna since 2001. Though a lot of museums and cultural institutions are situated there, it is not only a place for art. It is also an urban living space and people go there to spend some time, sitting in one of the cafes or perhaps playing boccia. The Leopold Museum and the MUMOK are situated there. If you are interested in visiting a couple of these museums, combination tickets available at the MQ entrance will be cheaper than buying them individually at museum entrances. Note that MUMOK and Leopold has a strict policy of not allowing big bags inside the museum. Even your cameras (unless they can be tucked inside a small carry bag) will have to be deposited outside. MUMOK has a self service locker, which you might want to use when visiting Leopold since Leopold charge €1 per person for the "cloak room" service. Within MQ you can use the free wireless LAN provided by Quintessenz.
  
  
• Pathologisch-anatomisches Bundesmuseum Wien Wednesday 3pm-6pm, Thursday 8am-11am. On top of restricted hours, the Narrenturm can be hard to find; the web site has a handy map. Housed in a squat tower which once was an insane asylum (the "Narrenturm" ("Fool's Tower"), this museum contains some of the dustier corners of the annals of medicine. You'll find preserved hydrocephalic infants, wax castings of tertiary syphilis, antique medical devices and even a laryngeal tuberculous ulcer. The gift shop sells postcards depicting the best of these.

• Karlskirche, baroque church at the Karlsplatz, 1st District. Largest Baroque cathedral north of the Alps, designed by the famous architect Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Frescos done by Michael Rottmayr and paintings from the Italian Baroque painters Sebastiano Ricci and Guiseppe Antonio Pellegrini, and the Austrian painter Daniel Gran.
  
  
• Augustinian Friars' Church (Augustinerkirche), Josefsplatz 1. Facing the sculpture in the center of the square, the entrance is small and easy to miss – it's on the left hand wall of the square. Yet another example of the gruesome divide-and-conquer burial strategy of the Habsburg dynasty. It's said that other dynasties waged countless wars to acquire new lands, but "you, happy Austria, marry." Even in death the Habsburgs placated three different churches with the honor of caring for their remains. The best known, the Kapuzinergruft, contain their actual bodies. St Stephens holds their innards (intestines and other parts taken out during the preservation process). But the Augustinerkirche holds, in the Herzgruft (Heart Crypt), all the Habsburgs' hearts. Tours of the Herzgruft are available Monday through Friday at 11am and 3pm. It was renovated 1996-99 and just reopened. The tradition began in 1627 with Emperor Ferdinand IV, who wanted to "lay his heart at the feet of the Mother of God" - literally. His heart, and those of his descendants, are preserved in silver jars which are carefully cared for by the Augustinian friars who run the church. When the renovation was underway it was found that the preservative in some of the caskets had evaporated over the years, leaving nothing but a dried-out, mummified heart.
  
  
• Austrian National Library - Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. Card catalogs may be an anachronism in today's digitized world, but the Austrian National Library had the first one in existence, invented by the Habsburg court librarian. Unlike the printed library catalogs of the past, bound into book form, the card catalog could be rapidly updated and the library kept up-to-date. This well-ordered reader's paradise has a collection that outshines many museums, thanks to its long association with the Habsburg imperial family. It gained an impressive collection when Emperor Josef II dissolved all the empire's monasteries – 300 manuscripts, 3000 printed books and 5000 diplomata. Today, the main collections consist of the Department of Broadsheets, Posters and Exlibris (including a giant collection of Austrian and international film posters), the Department of Manuscripts, Autographs and Closed Collections, the International Esperanto Museum and Department of Artificial Languages, the Department of Maps and Globe Museum, the Austrian Literary Archives, the Department of Papyri and Papyrus Museum, the Department of Incunabula, Old and Rare Books and the Austrian Folk Song Institute, among other sections and rotating exhibits. The library's collection is approximately six million items strong and is the largest in Austria.
  
  
• Hofburg Palace. This immense palace complex grew into a large, unwieldy series of buildings over the years, and was the imperial residence of the Habsburg emperors until 1918. What began as a medieval castle (whose chapel is the only original element of that building to survive) was expanded, redecorated and redone as the Habsburgs' power increased correspondingly. The Palace Stables and Amalia's Wing were added in the sixteenth century, the Imperial Chancery Wing, Court Library and Spanish Riding School in the eighteenth. In the last century St Michael's Wing was tacked on, and then around 1900 the New Palace was completed. Such a conglomeration of buildings cannot help but have stylistic differences, but the exterior is of no concern. The contents of each separate building contain so many treasures that the time spent moving from one to another is like opening box after box of fabulous jewels – it's difficult to know when to stop, and tempting to rush through them all at once.
  
  The Imperial Palace itself now houses the offices of the Austrian President, a convention center, the Spanish Riding School with its Lipizzaner stallions, and of course several museums which are open to the public, such as the "Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum and Imperial Silver Collection" (Kaiserappartements, Sisi Museum, Silberkammer) where you can visit 22 state rooms (open daily from 9 am to 5 pm; July and August: 9 am to 5.30 pm. The museums are wheelchair-accessible. . These are the residential and state apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph I. and Empress Elisabeth (popularly known as Sisi) and show 19th-century imperial life. The Imperial Silver Collection displays unique items of the glittering world of imperial dining. You can purchase a single ticket for all three museums or purchase the "Sisi Ticket", which entitles you to a visit to Schonbrunn Palace, Hofburg with Audio Guide (Imp. Apartments, Sisi Museum, Imp. Silver Collection) and Imperial Furniture Museum • Vienna Furniture Museum).
  
  
• Chapel of the Imperial Palace (Burgkapelle). The original chapel of the Palace, built in Gothic style 1447-1449, was made over in Baroque style. On Sundays and Catholic holidays (of which the Austrians celebrate many), the Court Musicians perform here. This group is made up of members from the Vienna Boys Choir, as well as performers from the orchestra and choir of the Vienna State Opera.
  
  
• Hotel Sacher. Situated next to the Opera House, this hotel is best known as the place where Sachertorte (cake) was invented. This delicious dessert is composed of several thin layers of dry, slightly bitter chocolate cake with apricot jam in between, and is best served with a rich, milky cup of Viennese coffee (perhaps a Melange or Sacher Kaffee, the most popular variants). The elegant drawing room is a popular place to gather after a performance at the Opera. The food is quite pricy, but definitely worth the money.
  
  
• Parliament. €6 entrance fee. Tours in German and English languages. Open only when not in use by Parliament.
  
  
• Haus des Meeres Aquarium Zoo is a marvellous zoo, with a rainforest glasshouse, tiny apes, aquariums, even with sharks, and terrariums with reptiles and venomous snakes, situated into one of the leftover second world war air raid shelter, a so called "Flakturm". The building carried formerly one of the first radar equipments and is designed to stand a direct bombhit, an earthquake and wind speeds up to an overpressure of ten bar.
  
  
• Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Pavilion. This city tram stop, designed by Otto Wagner, is located near the Secession Building and Naschmarkt. It is a good example of functional turn of the century architecture – ornate, yet useful. Wagner was one of the most influoential architects in Vienna and his style was widely copied.
  
  
• Flea market at the Naschmarkt. Flea market each Saturday 6am-4pm, all over the year. Need used lederhosen? How about a doner kebab at the Naschmarkt, or an Austrian war bond from the first World War? This is the place to go. It is primarily a flea market, though some stalls sell new items such as handwoven wicker baskets or food. Pick through the detritus of an imperial society - you never know what you'll find hidden under that stack of terrible fuzzy sweaters. Couture gowns, Communist medals from all the former Eastern Bloc countries, tobacco pipes, broken pocketwatches: the flea market at the Naschmarkt is worth at least a full afternoon of your time. Flea markets are the best possible blend of high and low culture, and a way to truly get to know a city. Walk all the way from the flea market end of the Naschmarkt through the food stall end to arrive at the Secession building, located on the left close to the Karlsplatz metro stop.
  
  
• Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper) - probably the most-beloved symbol of Viennese arts, and one of the first buildings to be rebuilt in the postwar era, as a show of pride, the Opera has had a fascinating history. It was built 1861-1869 under the direction of architects were Eduard van der Nüll and August von Siccardsburg for then-emperor Franz Josef I. The first performance, 25 May 1869, was Austrian native Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. Though now as well-loved as any member of the family, the architecture of the Opera was barely tolerated by the picky Viennese when it opened. Van der Nüll did not take these criticisms of his work lightly – he committed suicide. A few weeks later, von Siccardsburg died of a heart attack.
  
  Doubly cursed, the Opera building succumbed to bombs less than 100 years later, during WWII. After ten years of Allied control after the end of the war, many cultural institutions reopened to celebrate the birth of the new Austrian state. This time the Opera opened with an adopted son of Vienna's work: Beethoven's Fidelio. The lush curtains, the elegance of even the nosebleed seats (so steeply pitched and close to the ceiling a nosebleed becomes a distinct possibility) contribute to the overall atmosphere of the Opera. Post-performance, have some torte at the nearby Sacher Hotel (see entry).
  
  
• Paternoster elevator at the University of Vienna. If you happen to go to the university mensa (cafeteria) on the top floor, make a point to find this particular elevator! It's almost as hair-raising as an amusement park ride, and a true rarity (most other paternoster elevators have long since been replaced). Paternoster (Latin for 'Our Father," or what's likely to issue from passengers' mouths -- although in reality named because one can go around and around like on a rosary) elevators consist of several elevator cars which have two open doors on each floor. The cars travel up on left side and down on the right. Even though it's forbidden, the daring have been known to ride it up and over the top (no, they won't return upside down). There're no buttons to push – just jump in and out at the appropriate floor. Note that you won't find this in the main university building on Ringstrasse. You are instead looking for the Neues Institutsgebaeude behind the main university, Universitaetsstrasse 7. There is a second Paternoster elevator in Vienna in the building of the Industriellenvereinigung, the powerful lobby of austrian economical and industrial forces, at Schwarzenbergplatz. But this one isn't publically accessible.
  
  
• Prater (Park) including the Giant Ferris Wheel. Others of the same era, built for world exhibitions and other parks in Chicago, London, Paris etc. have long since been torn down. The Riesenrad has become a well-known symbol of Vienna, featured in many movies (Before Sunrise, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy's Eurolove-drama, is the most recent) and picture postcards. It has 15 gondolas, some of which are incredibly ornate and large enough to host an extended family inside, offering a spectacular panorama of the city. The Prater Park began its life, as so many European parks did, as a carriage-riding area for the nobility. It is still a popular place to spend a weekend afternoon with family.
  
  
• Schonbrunn Palace Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996, it is not far from the city centre and easy to get to by public transport: Underground: U4 (green line), alight at Schonbrunn; tram: 10, 58, alight at Schonbrunn; bus: 10A, alight at Schonbrunn. The former summer palace of the Habsburg family, Schonbrunn is the ultimate palace experience in Vienna. Its gardens and zoo (the oldest in the world, built for Maria Theresa's husband in 1752) alone are worth a lengthy visit, not to mention the palace, which has seen its fair share of excitement over the years, including a meeting between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khruschchev at the height of the Cold War. The Palace Park offers a lot of attractions, such as the Privy Garden, a Maze and Labyrinth and the Gloriette with Panorama Terrace. There are two possible tours available without a guide (though guides are available), one including 22 rooms (the Imperial Tour) and one including 40 (the Grand Tour). The price of admission includes an audio guide. The shorter tour of Schonbrunn Palace takes you into the west wing of the palace including the apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) as well as the imposing state rooms in the central wing. With the Grand Tour you can visit in addition to those rooms included on the Imperial Tour the 18th-century rooms from the time of Maria Theresa. No photos, video taping or backpacks allowed inside. The palace is wheelchair-accessible and is open all year round:
  
  
• Secession Building. Architect Josef Maria Olbrich built this Jugendstil (German-style Art Nouveau) building 1897-98 as a display space for artists working in the new Secession artistic movement. It is topped by a giant, frothy golden ball, lovingly called "Krauthappel" by the Viennese, but the building was definitely not loved when it first opened. Notice a reactionary Viennese pattern here? The Opera building too was hated at first, but at least it wasn't called a "temple for bullfrogs" or "a bastard begot of temple and warehouse" as the Secession building was. The entryway features the motto of the Secessionist movement: Der Zeit ihre Kunst, der Kunst ihre Freiheit (To the time, its art, to the art, its freedom). Olbrich's mentor Otto Wagner, and also Gustav Klimt, whose astounding Beethoven Frieze is partially preserved in the basement, inspired the building's design. The ceremonial front entrance is separate from the functional glass and steel exhibit hall in back.
  
  
• Spanish Riding School - Spanische Hofreitschule was first mentioned in a document dated 1572, and is the only equestrian institute in the world which follows a Renaissance model of classical schooling. Eleves, or students, begin their training immediately after completion of Austrian primary education (age 15 or 16), and are expected to be both sporty and clever. The school takes its name from a Spanish breed of horse first mentioned in Roman writings. In 1562 Emperor Maximilian II brought some of these Spanish horses to Austria to found a royal stud farm in Kladrub (Bohemia), housing them for a time in the "Stallburg" (oldest section of the Imperial Palace). The present school location was built in 1572. In 1580, Maximilian's brother, Archduke Karl, founded the stud farm in Lipizza near Trieste (now Slovenia). Interest in elegant riding had been growing for about fifty years at that point. During Renaissance times, powerful gentlemen who had already conquered the worlds of finance and politics looked to the writings of antiquity for new learning and an educated lifestyle to which they could aspire. Horsemanship which followed the ancient models described by Socrates and others became the fashion. Xenophon (430 – 354 BC) wrote "Men who understand the art of horsemanship, in truth, look magnificent." Who wouldn't want that? In the new Winter Riding School (built 1729-35), tournaments, masked balls and other entertainment was held, but this would soon draw to a close – the royal stud farms at Lipizza were threatened by Napoleon several times and twice the precious stud horses were evacuated to Hungary. No photos or video taping allowed.
  
  
• St Stephen's Cathedral - Stephansdom. Yet another patchwork of architectural styles, but predominantly Gothic, St Stephen's begins its history in the twelfth century. None of that original construction remains – the oldest extant sections are the thirteenth century Giant Gate (Riesentor) and Towers of the Heathens (Heidentürme), both of which are Romanesque. The main two-aisled Gothic nave was established by Habsburg Duke Rudolf IV in 1359, and then quickly added onto. The 448-ft South Tower (Südturm), often known by its Viennese diminutive Steffl (also a nickname for the entire cathedral), was finished in 1433. This is where the Pummerin, a huge bell cast from melted-down Turkish cannons, hangs. Steffl's intended twin, the North Tower (Nordturm) was never finished. Gothic architecture was out of fashion, and in 1511 building in that particular style ceased. Almost a century later, in 1579, a Renaissance spire was added to the Nordturm to make it look less like the builders had stormed off the job. Here's a complete shock for the reader who has been faithfully reading through all the Central European sections of this book – during the eighteenth century the church decor was "Baroquified". The main altar has a Baroque panel showing St Stephen, Christianity's first martyr. The organized tour is worth it, since some of the finest works of art in the cathedral can only be seen with a guide, such as Emperor Frederick III's red marble sepulchre (painstakingly carved 1467-1513 by Niclas Gerhaert van Leyden), the pulpit by Anton Pilgram (1514-1515, signed with a carved portrait of the artist) and the immense Gothic carved Altar of Wiener Neustadt. The aborted North Tower has an observation deck with an amazing view of downtown Vienna. Nearby is the entrance to the catacombs, where legions of bishops and Habsburg body parts are buried (the intestines, specifically).
  
  The Kapuzinergruft across town contains other Habsburg bits in separate burial vaults, including Maria Theresa's immense pewter sarcophagus). Nearly 45% of the Cathedral was destroyed in a disastrous fire 11-12 April 1945 during the final days of World War II. Fortunately several irreplaceable treasures such as the cathedral pulpit were walled in at the beginning of the war, so they survived. The glass, however, did not. The fanciest glass is situated behind the altar and at the very tops of the windows lining the naves. St Stephen's gets darker as one walks toward the altar, almost as if one were walking into a cave. But the details make the difference here, and new vistas are always appearing to the viewer as they move in, out and around the cathedral. It is so large it cannot be taken in entirely from any angle, and even numerically it is planned down to the smallest detail. Numbers which represent God, the Trinity, the earthly number four (since things on earth like the season, elements and directions of the compass come in fours) and other significant figures can be manipulated to determine the dimensions of the cathedral. For more details on how these numbers work out, see page 16 of the English-language Cathedral guide.
  
  
• The Ring. The Ringstrasse, or Ring Street, circles the very heart of Vienna. Built on the location of the original city walls, its size is a good indication of how much the city has expanded since medieval times, but more importantly it is the most posh area of downtown. Elegant individuals stroll down the street (there really is no other way to move when walking along the Ring) and play the fashion-do/fashion don't game under their breath before pausing at one of the innumerable cafes lining the way. A traditional Jause (morning coffee break, around 10:00 a.m.) and then back to the business at hand, seeing and being seen: Vienna's favorite pastime.
  
  
• Vienna Boys Choir – Wiener Sängerknaben was founded at the pleasure of the Habsburgs. 20 July 1498 Emperor Maximilian I decided to hire six singing boys, the first permanent boys choir attached to the court. He also made arrangements for their education – fringe benefits that are difficult to get from a modern employer. The choir served the monarchy until its demise at the beginning of the first World War. The last Imperial Chaplain, Monsignor Josef Schnitt reestablished the Boys Choir as the "Vienna Boys Choir" in 1924 as a private institution. To earn money, the Choir began to perform outside the Imperial Chapel. Even though they are a not-for-profit organization, the rising costs of educating the choristers from a very young age as well as providing music and all the other variables required made establishing the Verein Wiener Sängerknaben necessary
  
  
• Gasometer. If you are interested in the combination of new modern with old historic architecture take a trip to the gasometers, that had been revitalised from gas-tanks to new multifunctional buildings. The gasometers are four former gas tanks, built as part of the Vienna municipal gas works Gaswerk Simmering in 1896-1899. They are located in the 11th district called Simmering. They were used from 1899 to 1984 as gas storage tanks. After the changeover from town gas to natural gas they were no longer used and were shut down. In the time between 1984 and 1997 the gasometers were used as film location (James Bond: The Living Daylights) and as the location for raves known as Gazometer-Raves. They were revitalised from 1999 to 2001 by the architects Jean Nouvel, Coop Himmelblau, Manfred Wehdorn, and Wilhelm Holzbauer. Each gasometer was divided into several zones for living, shopping and entertainment. The historic outside wall was conserved. Several other facilities including a music hall, cinema, student accommodation, municipal archive, etc. are located inside of the Gasometers. There are special guided tours with experts available for visitors.
  
  
• Haus der Musik. This fascinating museum offers a myriad of 'sound exhibits' where the visitor can manipulate sound waves, view electronic displays of 'brain operas' that you create yourself, and even virtually conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
  
  
• Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery). Graves of honor of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Strauss, Schonberg and others. Nov-Feb 8 am-5 pm, March, April, Sept, Oct 7 am-6 pm, May-Aug 7 am-7 pm. Tram 71, 72 : Zentralfriedhof (there's even a Viennese expression "taking the #71 tram" as a euphemism for death). Mozart, Beethoven and other luminaries of the musical world (Schubert, Brahms, Strauss) are buried, or at least memorialized here. Mozart's body is in a mass grave (as required by the law at that time) in another cemetery – but his memorial is located here with the others. The cemetery has served as a giant park for weekend ramblings since its creation. There are immense monuments shaped like 10-feet-tall iron canopy beds (within eyeshot of the musicians memorial) and other unique shapes. Though it takes some time to get out to the Zentralfriedhof, it is worth the trip.

THINGS TO DO IN VIENNA

• Wiener Metropolis a beautiful little theatre in the heart of "Hernals", mostly frequented by Viennese themselves. In summer, quell your anxieties and jump from the Reichsbruecke.
  
  
• The Naschmarkt right at the U4 subway station "Kettenbrueckengasse" is the biggest of Vienna's 22 market places and provides a unique blend of typical Vienna contumely and orientalic flair. Stroll through the market and be part of the amazing ambiente. If you like to cook, you will find all spices you can possibly imagine at the Naschmarkt. The side of the Secession tends to be more touristy and thus expensive, than the side of the "Kettenbrueckengasse". Remember that it is illegal to export antiquities outside of Austria, even if you legally buy them at a market. A part of the Naschmarkt are the small nice restaurants with fresh Italien, Japanese, Greek and Turkish food, and in summer they have nice open-air gardens.
  
  
• River and Canal tours. In the summer it's just wonderful to hang out in Museumsquartier in the evenings. The big yard is filled with large fiberglass sofas you can use for free. Optionally you can buy drinks at the open air bars there. Just ask for a glass you can take away so you can use the sofas. During the day a visit to Burggarten is highly recommended if you are looking for a more alternative young crowd. Buy something to eat and drink at a supermarket and join the others on the grass.
  
  In July and August there's an opera film festival on the Rathausplatz. Each day - weather permitting - you can watch an opera on a huge open-air screen. On another part of the Square there are plenty of food stalls (maybe a little overpriced) who offer Viennese as well as international food. On pleasant summer evenings the atmosphere can be quite relaxing.
  
  There are also a lot of other open-air-filmfestivals in summer, e.g. at the Augarten, the Vienna Turf Krieau, the Prater and Schloss Neugebäude.
  
  Also in the summer there is the ImPulsTanz Festival for contemporary dance & performance. But if you are interested in dance workshops they also are the right choice for you. There are many parks to visit an enjoy throughout the city. The Wiener Tiergarten (not the Lainzer Tiergarten at Schonbrunn) has several 2-10 km hiking trails, as well as a variety of wildlife. You can see the animals get fed at 2:00 pm every day. Ask any park attendant where the location is.

CHRISTMAS MARKETS OF VIENNA

• Rathaus - Vienna's largest and noisiest Christmas market. More a fairground than a Christmas market
  
  
• Spittelberg - Probably the most funky Christmas market in Vienna. It is set in two attractive medieval alleys. Some of the stalls are extensions of shops and the bars of this popular going-out area.
  
  
• Schoenbrunn - Not the most lively Christmas market, but set in one of Vienna's most picturesque spots, in front of Schoenbrunn castle. Specialises on food.
  
  
• Resselpark - A small, alternative Christmas market in front of Karlskirche.
  
  
• Freyung - Very small market in the 1st district frequented by professionals in their lunchbreak and shoppers. Few tourists.