To start our stay in Vienna we walk from the main station to the city center. On our city walk, we are particularly interested in seeing how the city has changed over the last 15 years.
Our hotel, the Austria Trend Hotel beim Theresianum, is located on Favoritenstrasse in Vienna’s 3rd district, Wieden, about a 5-minute walk from the main train station. The main train station is located in Vienna’s 10th district, Favoriten, on the site of the former South Station.
Around half of the site is now used for offices, apartments, and green spaces. The northeastern part is called Quartier Belvedere, and the southwestern part is Sonnwendviertel.
The planning and construction work lasted from 2006 to 2015. For the first time in Vienna’s history, the city now has a central train station through which all long-distance connections run.
We start in the Belvedere quarter, bordering the Belvedere Palace Garden and the Schweizergarten. The curved buildings of the Erste Campus (Erste Bank der österreichischen Sparkassen AG) provide space for around 5000 employees.
We walk north along Argentinierstrasse, where one is planting trees as far as Karlsplatz, and expanding the street for bicycle traffic. There are only a few parking spaces left for cars. We want to have breakfast and choose Café Goldegg.
During the Nazi era, Café Goldegg served as a meeting place for persecuted trade unionists and revolutionary socialists. In 1988/89, a general renovation was carried out true to the original, and the café had been placed under monument protection. The Art Nouveau rooms are often used for filming.
Through the palace gardens and past Belvedere Palace, we reach Prinz-Eugen-Straße and Schwarzenbergplatz. The French Embassy stands out architecturally from the numerous embassies and consulates in this district.
The monument in honor of the soldiers of the Soviet Army was erected behind the Hochstrahlbrunnen. It commemorates the 17,000 Russian soldiers who fell during the liberation of Vienna in 1945.
Past the concert hall of the Vienna Music Association and the Vienna Museum, which will be renovated in 2023, we reach Karlsplatz and Karlskirche. The roof terrace of Karlskirche offers a beautiful view of the city and Resselpark.
South of Karlsplatz and west of Karlskirche are the headquarters of TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology) and other adjoining buildings. At the Getreidemarkt, the TU has built Austria’s largest energy-positive building for 800 employees and students.
We briefly pass the Künstlerhaus with the Albertina Modern and the State Opera House before reaching Kärntner Strasse. A translucent roof structure was built on Mahlerstrasse, branching off the Kärntner Strasse.
Of course, we take a look at the Hotel Sacher. We then notice that Kärntner Straße had also been planted with trees.
We walk across Neuer Markt with the Donnerbrunnen fountain and pass the entrance to the Capuchin Crypt, where many Habsburg nobles, including empresses and kings, were buried.
At Stock-im-Eisen-Platz in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, we enter another particular building, the Palais Equitable, with its magnificent staircase and inner courtyard.
At Graben we turn into Dorotheergasse and treat ourselves to a short break in the venerable Café Hawelka, opened in 1939 by Leopold and Josefine Hawelka.
It became an institution and a meeting place for the art scene far beyond the borders of Vienna. The interior dates back to 1913 and has remained unchanged ever since. Leopold and Josefine’s grandchildren run the café today.
After a panoramic view from the Graben into Jungferngasse, Naglergasse, and Kohlmarkt, we reach the Tuchlauben in the Goldenes Quartier. Many luxury brands have a branch here.
The route continues along Bognergasse to the square ‘Am Hof’. The Mariensäule forms the focal point.
On the east side is the ‘Kirche am Hof’. The professional fire department is now housed on the northern and western sides. The civic armory was housed here to store a supply of weapons for the defense of Vienna. During the revolution of 1848, it was the headquarters of the National Guard. After that, it was once again used by the professional fire department.
Through Wipplingerstraße we come to Judenplatz. The memorial commemorates the Austrian Jewish victims of the Shoah. A Lessing memorial also adorns the square.
Rotenturmstrasse also surprises us with its green trees. The lively hustle and bustle proves that people also feel at home here.
The Lugeck, a small square in the 1st district, was already a center of Viennese trade in the Middle Ages. The Regensburger Hof was a long-time inn for Regensburg merchants in Vienna. Emperor Frederick III met the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinius here. A statue and an inscription plaque on the wall of the building commemorate this event. Figlmüller runs a restaurant on the ground floor. In the middle of the square is a monument to Johannes Gutenberg.
In Bäckerstrasse, one Figlmüller restaurant followed another. Everything from the schnitzel restaurant in the Schmeckender-Wurm-Hof to the gourmet restaurant and wine house is represented here. Access is also possible via Wollzeile. There are other Figlmüller restaurants in Vienna, including a wine tavern. Figlmüller advertises to it has created the original Wiener Schnitzel. Reservations should be made in advance.
In the courtyard of ‘Labstelle Wien’ at Lugeck 6, you can admire the beautiful greenery.
150 m further on you come to Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz with the Jesuit University Church. To the left is a beautiful facade of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
At the end of Bäckerstraße is the Pfudl restaurant, also known for its excellent cuisine. There is even a guest garden on the forecourt.
We have gathered a lot of impressions for the first day and are now heading back to our hotel.
Read on -> City Center in Vienna, off the beaten path
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