Four Of The Top Things To Do In Vienna That Won’t Break The Bank

Me and Luke headed to Vienna for a long weekend at the start of November and for the first thing I didn’t really make a plan of places to visit in Vienna. Which is quite unlike me. We had a few ideas but no itinerary planned, again quite unlike me. We were there more to relax and soak in the city than run around and do every activity the city had to offer. We’ve already made a plan to re-visit in the summer as we did enjoy the city immensely. And we didn’t find it too expensive like others have said.

But without further ado here are some of the best things to do in Vienna

Top things to do in Vienna: Check out the city from a hop on, hop off bus

I’ve mentioned my love for hop on, hop off bus tours a lot on this blog. So adding one into my list of the best things to do in Vienna isn’t a surprise. I love using Big Bus Tours if the city has one, and Vienna certainly does. For just 27 euro in advance you can get a day of unlimited travel across the network. In Vienna there are two lines  which cover opposite ends of the city. The Blue Tour lasts about 1 hour 30 minutes and goes along to the Schönbrunn Palace. While the Red route takes about 1 hour 45 minutes and goes the opposite direction over the cities part of thre Danube River.

The tour is great for a starter day to give you an overview of the city. I really find it helps me get my bearings when I am some place new. And it means you can sit back and hear all about the city through their recorded commentary which is always fascinating.

Best things to do in Vienna: Take an audio tour of Schönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn Palace was the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers in Vienna. The palace itself is huge with 1,441 rooms full of amazing archiecture and lots of the Vienna culture. Since the mid-1950’s the palace was opened up and has become a major tourist attraction. It’s actually the most visited attraction in Vienna which is why it had to be on my list of the top things to do in Vienna.

You can get two different tours of the palace, the grand tour which is slightly shorter. Or the imperial tour which allows you to see a bit more of the palace. And you can choose to just buy a ticket for the palace or you can get a combination ticket alongside the zoo which is in the palace’s immense gardens. If you don’t wan to pay to see inside the palace, you can explore the gardens free of charge. And there’s plenty to see there.

Top places to visit in Vienna: Explore the zoo and take in sights of the city

Vienna’s Schönbrunn Zoo is actually the oldest continuously running zoo in the whole world. And it started life as an imperial menagerie in 1752, housing some of the royals animals  before expanding out into a full blown zoo. I’m a huge fan of visiting zoo’s whenever I am away and this one had a really nice feel about it. The enclosures for the animals were pretty huge which is always a plus. And as we visited when it was quite chilly it was nice to see lots of the animals had large indoor areas to keep warm.

We actually spent about 4 or so hours here, and could have easily been here longer. So we definitely found value for money here. There are loads of feeding times for the animals so plenty to keep the kids (and adults amused). We watched the whole sea lion feeding and it was amazing.

Foodie must tries: Eat a bratwurst and schnitzel

Of course no list of the best things to do in Vienna would be complete without some foodie bits. You’ll find bratwurst and hot dog stands all around the city so make sure you pick one up. This makes for a very cheap lunch time snack. And the version I had was wrapped in a sort of pastry with cheese and garlic on top. Truly dreamy!

And schnitzel is another Austrian delicacy which is thin veal or pork wrapped in breadcrumbs and fried. It’s absolutely delicious and a great meal which you can get at a lot of cafes and restaurants.

Have you ever been to Vienna?

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