Visiting Vienna for the First Time? Here's What To See and Do

Vienna’s historical center isn’t just the heart of the city, it’s also where you’ll find many of Vienna’s top-tier sights, from St. Stephen’s Cathedral to the Vienna State Opera. Take a traditional guided walking tour or a speedy Segway excursion to get your bearings and see many top attractions as you follow a guide through the center of this picturesque city. Opt for a convenient hop-on hop-off bus tour to easily travel around the outside of the historical center and see many of its defining landmarks in the process.

Vienna is a city celebrated for its cultural institutions, and it offers a variety of museums no matter your interests. Music aficionados can head to the Mozarthaus to learn about the famed 18th-century composer, while history enthusiasts and Sisi fans can visit the Imperial Treasury. Art lovers shouldn't miss the Leopold Museum, where they can see a collection of renowned works by Viennese artists such as Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. As for travelers with children or an active inner child, Vienna’s Snow Globe Museum offers a more light-hearted experience.

With palaces and stately architecture around every corner, it’s hard to forget that Vienna was once the Imperial capital of the Habsburg Empire. But no other building in this elegant city quite measures up to Vienna's most celebrated imperial attraction— Schönbrunn Palace. Once the Habsburg summer residence, this sprawling estate gives visitors the chance to wander halls once reserved for royals. But don’t ignore the city’s other palaces, particularly the Belvedere Palace with its formal gardens and the Imperial Hofburg Palace, home to the Spanish Riding School.

With its reputation for producing world-class composers from Johann Strauss to Franz Schubert, Vienna is a must-visit city for classical music enthusiasts. Attend a classical concert at one of the city's esteemed and extravagant venues, such as the Musikverein or the Schönbrunn Palace, to fully experience Vienna’s musical legacy and its enduring cultural relevance. At the Sala Terrena, it’s even possible to listen to performances where Mozart himself once played. Concerts are held daily in Vienna, although the venues may differ depending on the day.

Within the immense Prater park is the Wurstelprater, Vienna’s historic amusement park that has delighted visitors for over 250 years. Here, you’ll find the Riesenrad, the “giant wheel” of Third Man fame, which—at a height of 210 feet (64 meters)—provides impressive views of the city skyline. Madame Tussauds Vienna is another source of family-friendly fun at the Prater, as is the park’s miniature railway, which is a delightful way to see more of the park and the former royal hunting grounds.

Vienna is a city that loves its traditions. One custom many tourists won’t have trouble getting behind is sitting down at a local coffeehouse for coffee and cake. The experience sounds simple until you’re presented with the difficult task of which cake and coffee to order. Signature cakes, like the sachertorte of Café Sacher or the imperial torte at Café Imperial, make this process simpler. But, for more guidance, take a walking tour that eases you into Vienna’s food and coffee scene.

From glamorous boutiques to ornate arcades to sprawling markets, Vienna's shopping offerings are wide and ranging, ideal for the casual browsers and the big-money spenders alike. Stroll down the most famous shopping street in the city, Mariahilfer Strasse (Mariahilferstraße), and pick up some souvenirs to take home. (Tip: if you venture down the side streets, you'll find some real treasures.) Other top shopping spots in Vienna include the Goldenes Quartier and Kohlmarkt, your one-stop-shop for jewelry.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the spectacle of Vienna’s Imperial history thanks to its famous palaces and museums. But that era and its associated attractions only tell one part of Vienna’s story. Take Vienna’s Jewish history as an example, something you can learn about at the city’s Jewish Museum or on a walking tour of the former Jewish community centered on Judenplatz. Alternatively, look way back to Vienna’s Roman history and discover the city’s origins with a visit to the Roman Museum, which is built on the remains of two Roman houses.

When all of the baroque architecture around Vienna is starting to blur together, head to the Hundertwasser House in the Landstrasse district. This bright and surreal apartment building, as well as the Hundertwasser Museum several blocks away, were both designed by Austrian architect Friedrich Stowasser in his signature expressionist style. You can see more of this unconventional design on the far side of the city at—of all places—the waste incineration plant of Spittelau.

Most visitors to Vienna find more than enough to see and do in the center of the city that they never consider heading any further out. But the hills that surround Vienna not only offer a city escape, they provide viewpoints with panoramas across the city. Take a bus past the vineyards of Grinzing to the top of Kahlenberg for views down to the Danube. Otherwise, go for a stroll through the woods of the Lainzer Tiergarten for a completely different vista of Vienna.