Think of Vienna and one thing should come to mind. Not music, although we will come to that later. Not the Boys Choir. Not waltzing. Not wiener schnitzel (invented here), not sacher torte (also invented here), nor filtered coffee (invented here and drunk by the tankerloads). Not even Lipizzaner Stallions. The one thing that epitomizes Vienna is: schlag. Schlag, shortened from Schlagobers, is whipped cream. Desserts are traditionally served with it. Viennese coffee is light espresso topped with it. The white poufy dresses at the annual New Year's Eve Ball, Austria's waltzing extravaganza, look like they are made of it. The Baroque and Rococo architecture is decadent and looks like it's embellished with it. Even the most famous Emperor, Franz Josef, sported a sweeping moustache and muttonchop sideburns that gave him the appearance of having dipped his face in it. This is a pristine city, precise and orderly, softened by the excess that a good dollop of whipped cream (literal and figurative) adds.
Start your culturally caloric tour within the Ring Road, or Ringstrasse. Each section of the ring has a different name ending in 96 ring. This is helpful in orienting yourself and keeps you from going around in endless circles trying to find an address. Inside the ring is the historical centre of Vienna and most prominently placed is the Hofburg, or Imperial Palace, home to so many museums and cultural venues that it's difficult to count. Most cities would be happy to have half of these venues, much less all of them in one grand location. This is the seat of the Habsburg dynasty, one of the largest and most powerful ruling families of Europe (Marie-Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI and Queen of France was a Habsburg 96 she must have said 'let them eat cake, mit schlag!').
Started in the 1200's, the original castle was enlarged, expanded and elaborated on for the next 700 years. Had WWI not ended the Austrian monarchy, the Habsburgs would probably still be working on the palace today. Here you'll find the Imperial Apartments where Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Empress Elizabeth (nicknamed Sisi) spent their unhappy marriage; the Lipizzaner Stallions prance and parade in the ring at the Spanish Riding School in the centre of the palace; and the Austrian National Library, an ornate repository of knowledge. The Wiener S'e4ngerknaben, or Vienna Boys Choir, perform Sunday Mass at the medieval chapel within the Hofburgh. There are plenty of other sites and activities in the city: walks along the Prater, the museums surrounding Marie Theresien Platz, the gardens of the Rathaus Park, St Stephan 92's Cathedral, Karlskirche, the Belvedere Palaces-upper and lower, the Demel 96 cafe 9 extraodinaire, the Sigmund Freud House and the Clown Museum.
All of these sites can be easily found on our STREETWISE eg; Map Vienna and are listed in the complete index along with streets, hotels, metro stations, places of worship, places of interest, parks and plazas, and other museums and cultural sites. A separate Vienna metro map is included to speed travel within the city or enable you to visit outlying areas of town. The pocket size map of Vienna is laminated for durability and accordion folding for effortless use. To enhance your trip to Vienna, pick up a Michelin Green Guide Austria, which details key attractions and sites using a star-rating system so you can prioritise your visit based on your time and interest. In addition, for the best hotels and restaurants in Vienna, check out the MICHELIN Guide Main Cities of Europe. For driving or to plan your trip to and from Vienna, use the Michelin Austria Road and Tourist Map No. 730.
Coverage includes:
Main Vienna Map 1:23,000
Central Vienna Map 1:11,000
Vienna Metro Map
