Where to stay and go in Vienna?
I love Hop on - Hop off buses, generally, because this "guided" ride gives you a rough overview and basic feeling of the city orientation. I have never been to one in Vienna, but in Madrid, Shanghai, Budapest... it was great!
In Vienna they have a regular tram called "D". It takes you to many "must-see" spots like: Belvedere Palace, National Opera, the Ring, Natur & Kunsthistorisches Musemu, Hofburg Palace, Rathaus; and the best thing is I have recently found a place to stay just in front of the starting station of tram "D".
Hotel Schani is a combination of Viennese and modern design, with a stylish co-working space and a great breakfast buffet, for a fair price.
What to see in Vienna?
Well, depending on how many times you have been to Vienna before, your to-do or to-visit list will look like. We have been to Vienna many times, so we skipped all the beautiful historical Monuments, Museums and similar Sights. We actually came to see the Star Wars Identities Exhibition (it was great!), some Bicycle shops and some new and really cool Cafes.
If you are going to Vienna for the first time, you definitely should:
VISIT:
Belvedere Palace (and the Gustav Klimt Exhibition), Schönbrunn Palace and its Gardens (there is also a Zoo, but I don´t really like it) and the Hofburg Palace (there are also the Spanish Riding School and several minor exhibitions inside).
WALK AROUND:
the Graben - luxury shopping area and traditional Viennese Coffee Houses (Demel, Hawelka, Julius Meinl), the Stephansplatz (and go inside the Stephansdome) and Kärntnerstraße (walk to Hotel Sacher and eat a Sacher cake there).
ENJOY:
the sun and nature at the Stadpark Garden (in winter they have an ice skating place, in summer a beach club all covered in sand), a long bicycle ride at the Donauinsel (have a picnic there or you can visit the Donauturm - they have a turning Cafe, so you can see the whole city) and a Concert, Opera or Ballet in the National Opera, Volksoper, Konzerthaus or several other places.
What to eat in Vienna?
This is definitely my favorite part! There are so many great restaurants, bistros, cafes and street food, there is no way to try them all!
Some recommendations are:
BREAKFAST:
Motto am Fluss, beautiful location on the Danube river, great and beautiful looking food
Le Bol, french style breakfast and snack cafe, with a big shared table in the middle
bakery Anker, simple bakery on every corner of Vienna, some offer really good and
cheap breakfast, if you don't care about the interior design and
comfort, its great
COFFEE BREAK:
Cafe Central, a must go, because of the traditional old but beautiful interior, its said it has the true Viennese atmosphere
Palmenhaus, beautiful and special, bug get ready to catch the true Vienna vibe - waiters are always in a rush and not really friendly
Radlager, Cafe in front, Shop in the middle and Bicycle workshop in the back
LUNCH:
Ulrich, hipster style Cafe, with the friendliest waiters I have ever met, totally "in trend" right now
Cafe Francais, great interior, great food, fair price, totally "in trend" right now as well
Naschmarkt, Food market with lots of little snack bars and restaurants, totally "in trend" since ever :)
SNACK:
Cafe Leopold, with a great view over Museums Quartier, where you can visit lots of interesting exhibitions, shows and shops (breakfast is great as well)
Demel, a must go, the original Sacher Cake was made here, still in old furniture with traditional Viennese waiters, behind a glass wall you can see how they are baking and creating their masterpieces
Simply raw bakery, something quite new and trendy
DINNER:
Vapiano, my all time favorite, pizza Crudo and Strawberrz Pannacotta
Figlmüller, a must go, even though its full of Tourists, they have the best Vienna Schnitzel and Erdäpfel Vogerl Salad (I like the the one in Bäckerstrasse)
I Ragazzi, the best pizza in Vienna, its where we had one of our first dates, six years ago...
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