Orientation
INNER CITY
Vienna’s Inner Stadt is the city’s heart and soul, and if you are only visiting for a few days, you will undoubtedly spend most of your time here. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, this historical area measures a mere 1.4 sq. mi.—it’s hard to believe so much is crammed into such a small space. At the center of the district is the grand, gothic Stephansdom at Stephanspl., from which the district’s main arteries extend—Rotenturmstrasse leads toward the Danube canal and the nightlife of the “Bermuda Triangle,” while in the opposite direction, the shopping thoroughfare of Karntner Strasse paves the path toward the Opera House. The grandest of all is Graben with its historic facades (ignore the McDonald’s golden arches and the H and M signs), connecting to Kohlmarkt and eventually leading to the Hofburg Palace, the Hapsburg Empire’s former headquarters. Though a museum, church, or palace is literally around every corner, the real pleasure of the Inner Stadt is getting lost in its winding streets of Baroque, medieval, and Jugendstil architecture. You will pass cafes with patrons overflowing into the streets, and then suddenly find yourself in a quiet grassy plazawith a few benches. The clickety-clack of horse shoes on cobblestones can’t help but transport you to another time, even if the tourist hustlers dressed up as Mozart remind you every now and again that it is in fact the 21st century.
CORE DISTRICTS
If the crowds of tourists in the Inner Stadt are driving you camera-crazy, the Core Districts offer a series of lesser known, but just as interesting, sights that are really not as far away as they may seem on the map. These districts (numbers II-IX) are also home to the majority of local Viennese and city inhabitants and offer a modern-day flavor and diversity that may have originally seemed to fall through the cracks in the Inner Stadt cobblestone streets.
Across the Danube canal to the east is the gritty second district, Leopoldstadt, which, although home to the overly photographed Prater Reisenrad and Augarten, is otherwise rather un-picturesque. In a C-shape around the Inner Stadt, districts III through IX fan out in a counter-clockwise direction. The third district, Landstrasse, to the south, is home to the sweeping grounds of Schloβ Belvedere with the famous Klimt collection, and color-crazy, quirky Kunsthaus Wien and Hundertwasser Haus. The fourth, Weiden, and the fifth, Margareten, offer some of the greatest palate pleasures; the tasty Naschmarkt and Gumpendorfer Strasse, with their collections of cafes, restaurants, and coffeehouses, have some of the city’s best dining experiences.
If you are booking a hostel, it’s likely you will be staying in the sixth, Mariahilf, or the seventh, Neubau. Mariahilf is named after the city’s longest shopping throroughfare, Mariahilferstr., with more H and M branches than can be counted on two hands as well as many other international chain stores, ice-cream shops, and shoe stores. The seventh district stretches west from the Museum Quartier and is refreshingly non-mainstream next to Mariahilf. Many of the city’s young artisans have set up high-end boutiques with creative clothing and jewelry, the nightlife is vibrant, and the former red-light district of Spittelberg offers some cobblestoned character to the area. Behind the Rathaus (City Hall), the eighth district of Josefstadt is a comparatively quiet residential area, with the exception of the nightlife hot spot along the Gürtel (the Belt Road). Here, the bars are built into the structure of the Stadtbahn, where the U6 runs, creating a funky underground vibe where DJs spin and the drinking never ends. Alsergrund, the ninth district, is mainly home to the university campus and a wealthier enclave. The spectacular spires of Votivkirche accompany some more notable museums, including the Lichenstein.
OUTER DISTRICTS
The Outer Districts (numbers X and up) encircle the core districts starting from the south in a clockwise direction and include far fewer sights and way more locals. Welcome to suburbia, baby. The southernmost districts, Simmering (XI), Favoriten (X), and Meidling (XII) are not terribly interesting and are generally avoided by tourists, with the exception of the Zentralfriedhof. Locals consider these blue-collar neighborhoods the underbelly of the city, and this may be the only area with the potential for danger.
By far the most popular draw for tourists in the Outer Districts are the grounds and imperial rooms of Schloβ Schonbrunn in the 13th, one of the most spectacular sights in the whole city. In the 14th, Otto Wagner’s Kirche am Steinhof glistens among a backdrop of green hillside in one of the city’s wealthier districts, Hietzing.
Just beyond the Gürtel in the 15th and 16th, a number of additional hostels lie along and around the top portion of Mariahilferstr., around Westbahhof. With the exception of the commercial Mariahilferstr., this area tends to feel either industrial or strictly residential, and even dining options become more limited. The 15th, Rudolfsheim-Funfhaus, houses much of the immigrant population, including Turks and Serbs.
A gem of the Outer Districts is Dobling (XIX) and, in particular, the heurigers (wine taverns) of Grinzing, where you can spend an evening dining (and drinking) and arrive back in the city happily tipsy. Over the past few years, this has become a popular stop for tourists wishing to get a bit of the countryside, and so at times there is the inevitable eyesore of the coach tour buses. If you can Photoshop those out of your mental picture, Grinzing is a pleasure, with quiet tree-lined streets and cobbled plazas. There are still many fine dining options and heurigers without the tourist souvenirs; be sure to find one with a spectacular view out into the vineyards and over the Danube.