so my journey to vienna started a month ago with the booking of the tickets. i found some cheap tickets from wroclaw, poland where i was staying at the time too vienna. about a 7 hour bus journey in total but the ticket were so cheap i had to take them and it worked out around $17 for a return journey. super cheap right?
the best advise i can give anyone when traveling is to take the opportunity there and then when you find a cheap deal and even if you don’t go you have only lost a few dollars. now most forms of transport are following the same system as flights; the earlier you book the cheaper the tickets. this is so with trains and buses.
i arrived to vienna around 7pm. its was still light so easy to find my hotel with downloaded google maps of course. if your from europe and have a phone plan in your home country from the 15 june 2017 you can use your normal data allowance at no extra cost in all EU countries. but as this is May i cannot use my data here so i download the maps and saved all the places that i wanted to visit before hand.
is this the best hotel chain in the world??
this is a big statement and one that i do not say lightly. but the 25 hours hotel in the museum quarter in central vienna is truly the best hotel that i have ever stayed in. let me take you through a few details on how i came to this conclusion.
the hotel it self has an ultra modern hipster vibe. dark woods and cool furniture adorn the reception with cool music playing the background. the staff at reception don’t wear terribly fitted suits like you see in other hotels but dress in demin and sneakers they fit in perfectly to the whole ambiance of the place.
my room… well as soon as you arrive in your room your struck by the mural on the wall over the bed, a super cool circus themed piece of art. as you start to look more at the details you start to realise how much effort has gone into making this place great for the modern traveller like me. from the bluetooth portable speaker to the yoga mat and not to forget a freitag bag that you can use for the duration of your stay. everything seems to have been thought of. the room was super clean and had a great balcony with views of viennas museum quarter.
other services..
on the top floor you’ll find the bar. this was the busiest and coolest hotel bar i have ever seen it even has its own DJ and this was on a wednesday night so I'm sure on the weekend its crazy. in the basement you’ll find a gym, steam room and sauna.
but the best service of all was the free use of a mini clubman car to use as you wish for the day at not cost at all. it even includes fuel and insurance. this i can truly say is the best free service that i have seen offered by any hotel i have ever stayed in worldwide and i have been in more than 300 hotels & hostels.
the vienna pass | you key to the cities attractions..
normally when i arrive in new cities i have already marked a few sights that i definitely want to visit on my map and then explore other places along the way. as i only had two full days in vienna i decided to take the vienna pass.
what's the vienna pass?? well its a card designed for tourists to get into all the major attractions in vienna for free as you just pay for the card for the duration of days that you wish. in my particular experience i saved over €109 as i visited more than 10 attractions and it includes the hop on tourist bus and boat ride. i calculated the individual price of all the attractions that i visited on it would have come to €188. but the 2 day pass is only €79.
is it worth it?? well as you can see from above it most defiantly is as you can save huge amounts of money if your only in the city for a few days. you can even use the fast track feature at some places so you don’t need to wait in line during the summer high season.
food tour...
I organised a food tour with food tours vienna before arriving in the city on my first morning as i wanted to dive right into the history and culture of the food. i met with lukas at one of the last remaining cafes that still bake their own cakes on site each day.
I have done a lot of food tours around the world and this was one of the best I've had as it was so unexpected as I had not idea about Austrian food or wine. The tour was well thought out in terms of what to eat at certain times it takes around 4 hours we went to more than 6 places that included desert, cheese, meat, veg, chocolate and amazing vinegars from a local supplier that he can get discount on it for you.
It included a little walk between each place that was really good as we got you ready for the next course and you also do a wine tasting of 3 wines in a cellar restaurant that you have to yourself. All in all it's super well thought out and lukas is a great tour guide. he's a chef so has a huge amount of knowledge about all the food that you are tasting but also the passion came across he had such a passion for austrian culture and food. that's what you want from a tour guide.
the city...
for someone like my self this is a beautiful city full or history and architecture on a grand scale. the main sights are located in the central district so you can walk to nearly all of the attractions that you want to visit. i also noticed how quiet it was for a capital city its not chaotic like london and has a calming affect. its also super clean. one of the cleanest cities in the world. my interactions i had with locals was extremely positive all my questions were answered politely and people were generally happy to help. they all spoke english to so that helped a lot.
the museum quarter is the highlight of vienna it is the largest area set aside for museums in the world. from modern art to ancient you can find all types of museums here to suit your needs. the other thing that i need mention is the naschmarkt in the centre of vienna its one of the longest in europe and has restaurants and all types of stores but many food. a tip is to go to the start of the market that is the furthest from the city centre as the prices are much lower there.
so your thinking is vienna worth the visit??
no doubt in my mind. if your thinking of visiting then go for it. it will be one the the best decisions that you ever make in your traveling life.
my recommended places to visit
- the leopold museum
- danube tower
- belvedere palace
places to eat
- dancing shiva superfoods
- 1500 food makers in the 25hours hotel
- sausages from the street they are great
- naschmarkt
how to get around
-metro
-walk
-tram
-bus
where i stayed
length of stay
- this is a great weekend city...
money
- vienna is using euros and can be expensive compared to other european countries.
country travel tips
atm: any is fine they all charge a small fee.
taxi: very expensive here take uber
sim card: wifi is everywheret but sim cards are cheap too. buy if your staying longer.
promo codes:
uber: use code; carlm5078ue
Booking.com: get $20usd off your booking click here
airbnb: get $20usd off your booking here: www.airbnb.com/c/cmuies