Status: Away Vienna
Ah Vienna, the City of Music. While it’s renowned as the birthplace of musical legends like Mozart and Strauss, it’s also a fantastic place to visit.
Our friend, Haley H. from the Air Canada Vacations Team, recently went on a trip to Vienna, Austria. We’ll be learning more about this beautiful city with her in this inaugural staff travel story.
Getting around
How did you get around while you were there? We took Ubers a few times, but we mostly walked. They have a fun little train called the Heurigen Express that goes around to all the wineries in the area, which we took a few times.
Did you notice any interesting forms of transportation? Vienna is a very easy walking city. It’s not super spread out. You could walk to any neighbourhood in 20 minutes. We did see people getting on and off the Hop-On Hop-Off bus, but we didn’t do that.
Eats and treats
What was the most interesting food you ate? We had local tomatoes with a homemade ricotta ice cream served as an appetizer. It was really good!
Any restaurants or dishes you’d like to recommend? A lot of restaurants here will hunt their own game or pick their own mushrooms. Bruder is one of those places you’ll want to visit again and again. The bartenders are super kind and know so much about cocktails. They focus on fermented, dynamic dishes, natural wines and small batch housemade cocktails. Collina am Berg is another incredible restaurant which really focuses on sourcing their own ingredients. There’s also an open kitchen, so you can watch the chefs at work which creates a super immersive dining experience.
What to see, do and notice
Were there any activities or places you’d recommend? We visited the Spanish Riding School, which is the oldest horseback riding school in the world. It’s located in this gorgeous white building that looks like a cathedral. They have beautiful white horses, and you can get tickets there to watch a show or see them practice.
Anything you wish you’d done? I do wish that I went to the opera. It was something we were looking at tickets for, but we didn’t have enough time. It’s definitely something planned for our next trip.
Did you notice any interesting local wildlife? There are horses everywhere on the street. You can see them on every corner. Beautiful horses with their carriages.
How does the fashion/street style compare to back home? It’s very Euro-chic. Everyone was wearing long dresses. It wasn’t super fancy, like in Paris where people wear heels, but more natural. People were very put together but casual about it.
Final thoughts
Is there anything you wish you knew about Vienna before you went? I’m really into natural wine, and I knew there was a wine varietal in Austria that I liked which was a red wine, but I had no idea they were known for their natural wine production. The Viennese make orange wines and other types I’m really interested in. I had no idea this was so big in Vienna. When I landed, I discovered there were so many natural wine bars in the city, so I wish I knew beforehand so I could plan for them in my itinerary.
Would you go back if you had the chance? Definitely—I really loved Vienna. It’s such an easy city to go to. It’s very clean, you get the beautiful European architecture, the really soft pink and yellow buildings. There’s lots to do if you’re into food, walking tours, museums, and nothing was far, so you don’t need to sit on a shuttle. You’re in a city and you can go 20 minutes to get to a vineyard. You’re also in Europe Christmas Market territory as well, so I’d recommend going back for that.
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Note: This interview was conducted on August 8, 2024. Information and details may have since changed.