explore it yourself:
The journey and accomModations:
We arrived by train from Prague on the late morning of June 21st and stayed until the morning of June 24th. We arrived in and departed from Wien Westbahnhof train station.
Below is what AI recommended for accommodations:
1. MEININGER Hotel Vienna Downtown Franz
2. a&o Wien Hauptbahnhof
3. Hotel Mocca
4. Pension Wienderland
5. JO&JOE Vienna
We ended up selecting an JO&JOE Vienna, the location was unbeatable as the hostel is located on the 5th and 6th floors of an IKEA building that stands just steps from the train station making it very convenient for us to minimize the amount of walking with our heavy backpacks. This hostel is certainly one of the most unique places we have ever stayed given the fact you can literally walk from the main staircase straight down into the 4th floor showcases of IKEA and start shopping if you feel the urge.
Unfortunately, our experience with the sleeping situation in the 10-12 bed dorm rooms was miserable. The rooms were so hot and humid that everything from your pillow case to your comforter immediately felt damp. In our room, other guests frequently came into and out of the room at all hours of the night while making plenty of noise along the way. During our final night in Vienna, a large group of our bunk-mates came into the room around 2:00AM and after making lots of noise, two people began having sex in the bed next to ours. The front desk was eventually alerted and after roughly 30 minutes the pair was broken up but in the end, we had no luck trying to get a good night’s rest here.
This was not our first hostel experience so we understand the potential issues that may arise while rooming with 10 other individuals but if you are trying to prioritize your sleep, we would recommend looking for other hostels with better arrangements.
Note: * our additions to ai itinerary and exclusions are crossed out, also see our summary at the bottom.
Day 1: Hidden Corners
- Upon arrival we got a cheese pizza from Pizzeria Ossi & Hannes*.
- We had 3 nearly 100 degree days, so we skipped the museums that were recommended below and opted for Schönbrunnerbad Pool*. We purchased the tickets there and they were 17 EUR per adult. It was very busy, but the grounds were large so we had no problem finding a spot to put our stuff and swim in the pool.
- Below is what AI recommended for this half of the day which we skipped entirely. We were able to squeeze Spittelberg in at the end of our 3rd day.
Museums Quartier & Art (Skipped and did the above instead)
- Leopold Museum – Home to works by Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt.
- MUMOK – Museum of Modern Art.
- Bonus Hidden Spot: Walk through the Spittelberg area nearby — cobblestone lanes, quaint boutiques, and hidden bars.
- Lunch at Glacis Beisl – Shaded courtyard dining near Museums Quartier.
Offbeat Vienna
- Hundertwasserhaus – Colorful, quirky apartment block by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
- We also walked through the Hunderwasserhaus village (small shopping area across the street) which had some history about the artist that was interesting to read
Belvedere Palace– Home of Klimt’s The Kiss; visit both Upper and Lower palaces. We skipped this because it is 32 euros per person for both the upper and lower palaces.- Prater Park – Ride the historic
Riesenrad(giant Ferris wheel) or relax in the park.- We strolled through several streets which lead to the amusement park within Prater Park and enjoyed watching the rides. Prater Park is massive so there are plenty of spots to sit and relax in the shade!
Dinnerat- Steirereck im Stadtpark – One of Vienna’s top fine-dining restaurants (book early),
- OR Meierei for a more casual option.
- We skipped dinner and just picked up a few groceries.
Day 2: IMPERIAL VIENNA & CITY CENTER
Old Town & Historic Core
- St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom) – Climb the south tower for panoramic views.
- Absolutely stunning cathedral! We walked around the outside and took plenty of photos but did not end up paying to climb the tower inside.
- Graben & Kohlmarkt – Elegant shopping streets with historic charm.
- Peterskirche (St. Peter’s Church) – A lesser-known baroque gem nearby.
- Don’t be fooled by the relatively mundane exterior architecture, the interior of this church was amazing and it is free to enter and explore!
Café Central– Permanently closed- Catch Coffee* – We found this on TikTok and they were the best iced lattes we have had so far on our trip.
- We recommend the Caramelized Banana Latte and the Biscoff Cookie Latte!
- Walk past the below buildings and through the parks:
- Vienna City Hall*
- Rathausplatz*
- Burgtheater*
- Austrian Parliament*
- Volksgarten*
- All of the above are relatively close to each other within a few city blocks. The Volksgarten ended up being one of our favorite spots in the city! We learned that The Volksgarten has approximately 3,000 rose bushes, which include around 400 different varieties of roses. Many of them bear personal dedications.
Hofburg Complex
- Hofburg Palace – Visit the Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, and Silver Collection.
- We walked around the grounds here, didn’t go in any of the buildings because they required tickets.
- Heldenplatz* – Green space in front of the palace.
- Austrian National Library – The State Hall is stunning and often overlooked. We just viewed the exterior.
- Schmetterlinghaus* – Butterfly gardens, cheap tickets.
- Brasserie Palmenhaus Wien* – Next door to the butterfly gardens, a greenhouse restaurant.
- Burggarten – Relax in the garden; snap a photo of the Mozart statue.
rooftop Drinks
- Burgers at SmashBox*
- Jo&Joe/IKEA Rooftop* – This was a great option for us as it is located in our building. The rooftop often has events and lots of young people socailizing. We watched one of the World Cup games here and it was an incredible atmosphere. Skyline view in the below right photo.
Drinks at Das LOFT– Rooftop bar with incredible city views at sunset.
Day 3: Palaces & Parks
Schönbrunn Palace
- Coffee at The Truth* – This was a few blocks from our hostel and also had really good lattes.
- Schönbrunn Palace – Take the Grand Tour inside. A majority of the palace grounds and gardens are free to enter.
- We found there are several tiers of tickets to purchase here that all grant different levels of access to the palace and grounds. We opted for the cheapest level ticket at 16 EUR per person it granted access to the Crown Prince Garden, the Orangery, and the Irrgarten which contained several hedge mazes within.
- The palace grounds are so large that we spent several hours wandering around and still saw less than half of the available places. The additional access we had with our tickets was nice to see but you can certainly enjoy the palace grounds without making any purchases!
- We found there are several tiers of tickets to purchase here that all grant different levels of access to the palace and grounds. We opted for the cheapest level ticket at 16 EUR per person it granted access to the Crown Prince Garden, the Orangery, and the Irrgarten which contained several hedge mazes within.
- Gardens & Gloriette – Walk up to the Gloriette for sweeping views. Rooftop viewing for additional ticket.
- We hiked up the hill to the Gloriette which is a beautiful structure in itself, but the views you get of the city when you reach the top are unmatched.
Tiergarten Schönbrunn– Oldest zoo in the worldCafé Residenz– In the palace grounds; famous for their apple strudel show. Also permanently closed.
Naschmarkt & Karlskirche
- Naschmarkt – Vienna’s bustling open-air market with food from around the world.
- This was a nice market with a wide range of food options for all kinds of tastebud preferences.
- Karlskirche (St. Charles Church) – A baroque masterpiece with a unique elevator to the dome.
- Another beautiful structure with immaculate designs on the main columns,
- We went to Spittelberg after since we missed it on Day 1.
- Dinner at
Gasthaus Pöschl– A cozy, traditional restaurant with authentic Viennese dishes.- OR Figlmüller – Famous for the original (and massive) Wiener Schnitzel.
- The Schnitzel really lived up to the hype! We both really enjoyed it and given its size it was perfect to share.
Optional evening Entertainment
- Attend a classical concert – Venues like the
Wiener MusikvereinorVienna State Operaoffer affordable tickets (standing or rear gallery).- We skipped this and opted for an early night in as we had a 5:30AM train to catch the next morning.
final thoughts:
Overall Rating: 9/10
Would I go again? Yes, a lot of the city felt like the scene of a princess movie.
Favorite moment:
Bailey’s favorite: Volksgarten – I loved walking through this rose garden. We had fun reading the different names of the roses, what year it was planted, and who they were donated from or dedicated to. I have never seen so many different colored roses!
Parker’s favorite: Schönbrunnerbad Pool – Admittedly, this ranked higher to me given the fact we had just arrived in Vienna and the temperature was reaching almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The pool grounds were large so despite the fact there were hundreds of other people there escaping the heat, we had no issue finding a nice spot on the grass to lay out. The pool itself is very large so we were able to swim without feeling like others were on top of us too. There is a beach club bar on the premises that serves drinks and snacks which was a nice addition.
Favorite meal:
Bailey’s favorite: I enjoyed the pizza and Coke Zero from Pizzeria Ossi & Hannes.
Parker’s favorite: Caramelized Banana Latte at Catch Coffee. I know this is technically not a ‘meal’ but this was one of the best lattes I have ever had so it deserves a shout out!
Any surprises? How big the parks are that are near the city. They have great attractions within too, which is convenient.
Anything we missed? Nothing in particular.
Food spots AI recommended, but we didn’t have a chance to go: Glacis Beisl, Steirereck im Stadtpark, Meierei, Das LOFT, and Gasthaus Pöschl.
Average step count per day: 18,200 steps
How did ai do?
Nailed it: We enjoyed the emphasis AI placed on dedicating time to the Schönbrunn Palace and gardens. By leaving the recommendations on day 3 to center around this area, we were able to spend several hours enjoying the beautiful grounds and admiring the scenery. We would definitely suggest other travelers do the same, you could easily spend a whole day here!
Needs work: The first obvious issue was that AI recommended 2 spots that we showed up to and learned they had been permanently closed for some time. In addition, AI did not indicate prices associated with several places on the itinerary so we arrived at a few and learned there was a fee. Ensure if you are on a budget you are asking AI to give you the prices of each place so you can better prepare. Much like we found in Berlin, most of our favorite moments in Vienna were not things AI had recommended so without doing additional research, we would have missed out.