Vienna
December 2023
4 Days
To see the previous stop on this trip, go here to Dubai
I had a trip to Dubai in December for a class, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to spend a long weekend in Europe visiting some Christmas markets and allow me to break up the trip back home. Gwen and I had never been to Austria, and since Vienna is known to have some of the best Christmas markets we settled on here for our long weekend.
Contents
Daily Itinerary
Dinner at Zazatam
First Christmas Market at Prater Amusement Park
Largest Christmas Market in Vienna at Rathausplatz
Sausages for lunch at Bitzinger
Afternoon wine at Heuriger Zimmerman
Schnitzel at Lugeck
More Christmas Markets at St. Stephen's Cathedral
Morning coffee at Palmenhaus
Shopping on Kaerntner Strasse
Lunch at Naschmarkt
Even more Christmas markets at Art Advent at St. Charles' Church
Cake for breakfast at the famous Cafe Central
Lunch at the Perennial Top 50 Restaurant Steirereck
Sunset from the rooftop at Aurora Bar
Final Christmas market and palace tour at Schonbrunn Palace
Flights
Lufthansa/Austrian Economy DXB-FRA-VIE: Cash one-way
United Business VIE-FRA-ORD: Cash + 80 PlusPoints Upgrade one-way
Hotels
Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere: 24,000 Hyatt points for 2 nights + 2 free night certificates
▸ Luxury "lifestyle" hotel a bit outside the city center but easily reachable by the tram. Great rooms, great breakfast, great amenities, and a rooftop bar with amazing views.
Aurora Bar at Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere - Vienna, Austria 2023
Food (With Beli Ranking)
Steirereck (9.5) - Perennial top 50 restaurant with two Michelin stars in a futuristic looking building in the middle of a park. A fun experience with good food, but I would say not exceptional compared to other Michelin-starred restaurants.
Lugeck (7.9) - Same owners as the famous Figlmüller. Modern take on classic Viennese dishes. Definitely recommend if you don't want to wait to get into Figlmüller as it's right nearby.
Zazatam (7.9) - Located in the basement of Hotel Zola. Fun restaurant serving Asian-South American cuisine. A hidden gem and a great option if you need a break from the heavy Viennese dishes.
Bitzinger (7.7) - Famous stand serving delicious sausages. Although the line may look long, it moves pretty quickly. A must visit.
Cafe Central - The most famous cafe and one of the most popular attractions. There's always a line but the Apple Strudel is definitely worth it.
Full Itinerary
Day 1
My flight from Dubai departed at 1:30am and as I had already been up since early in the morning wrapping up my class, by the time we arrived at our hotel around 12pm I was completely exhausted. Thankfully we were able to get into our room right away so after grabbing a quick breakfast at the hotel, it was time for a nap. All we had planned for our first night was a dinner, so we checked out the rooftop bar (pictured) for a drink before heading to dinner.
Aurora Bar at Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere - Vienna, Austria 2023
Gwen had booked our dinner at Zazatam which we had a bit of trouble finding as it turned out to be in the lower floor of the very non-descript Hotel Zola. Although a bit difficult to find, upon entering the restaurant did have a fine dining/lounge feel. The food was unique and was a fusion of many cuisines. A bit of a hidden gem I would say and definitely worth a visit.
Prater
Following dinner, we found ourselves near Prater, a large amusement park. Within the park there was a Christmas market set up. Since we had already eaten, we used this time to check out all the foods that we wanted to eat during our trip.
Day 2
Rathausplatz Christkindlmarkt
The Christmas Market in front of the City Hall (Rathausplatz) is the largest in Vienna, with about 100 booths selling all kinds of decorations, art, jewelry, toys, and of course food and drinks.
Rathausplatz Christkindlmarkt - Vienna, Austria 2023
Apart from the Wiener Schnitzel, Viennese sausage may be the next most famous food in the city and Bitzinger is probably the most popular spot to get it. This small stand is located right next to the Opera House and although there's usually a line, it moves very quickly. You can get your sausage in a bun or just sliced and with ketchup and/or mustard.
Bitzinger - Vienna, Austria 2023
Heuriger Zimmerman
In Austria, the Heuriger is essentially a wine tavern and although the best time to visit would be the late summer and fall when you can sit outside we still wanted to check one out since we were in Vienna. Döbling is one of the most popular areas with many heurigers you can walk to. In the summer, there's even a tram you can take. We went to a couple in this area, although they were quite empty with only a few people. I wouldn't recommend making a special trip out to this area in the winter - I definitely would want to come back in the fall and take the tram into the hills.
Figlmüller is often noted as having the best Wiener Schnitzel, but the line was incredibly long when we returned to the city center. However, just next door is Lugeck from the same owners which is described as serving modern re-interpretations of traditional Viennese dishes. We waited for about 10 minutes before getting a seat and the schnitzel here was great. Considering it's just friend meat I'm not sure what would make it better anywhere else.
Lugeck - Vienna, Austria 2023
Domkirche St. Stephan
Just near the restaurant is the symbol of Vienna, St. Stephen's Cathedral - of course with a Christmas Market outside.
St. Stephen's Cathedral - Vienna, Austria 2023
Day 3
Palmenhaus
Palmenhaus is a large greenhouse and has a cafe inside where you can enjoy the glass ceilings and gardens indoors. If you want to sit down a reservation is probably a good idea as there were a number of people waiting when we arrived. We actually had not planned to go here, but instead were heading to the butterfly house attached. Schmetterlinghaus is an indoor garden in the building next to Palmenhaus with many butterflies flying freely throughout. A fun little visit if you are looking for something to do.
Kärntner Straße
Kaerntner Strasse is the most famous street in Vienna and the place to go for any shopping you might want to do.
Naschmarkt
Naschmarkt is the most popular market in Vienna running 1.5km and containing over 100 shops. There are a number of restaurants scattered throughout which you can sit at as well as many stalls selling falafel, baklava, doner kebab, nuts, produce, meat, and more.
Karlskirche
Of all the Christmas Markets we went to, Art Advent outside St. Charles' Church was our favorite as the stalls were scattered throughout the park rather than just lined up in a square like the other markets. We had our first gluewhein of the trip here and Gwen had roasted chesnuts for the first time.
St. Charles' Church - Vienna, Austria 2023
Day 4
There are many cafes in Vienna, but Cafe Central is undoubtedly the most famous, known for past patrons including Freud, Trotsky, Stalin, and Hitler. Although we arrived only 30 minutes after opening around 8:30am, there was still quite a long line. However, it moved fairly quickly and we were seated in about 20 minutes. We tried several cakes, all of which were delicious but the apple strudel was my favorite.
Cafe Central - Vienna, Austria 2023
Steirereck is a perennial top 50 restaurant, coming in at number 18 this year. As we went for lunch, we opted for the a la carte menu rather than the tasting menu.
While the several dishes we had were very good, there wasn't any one that stood out to me. The restaurant in general felt like a more traditional fine dining restaurant with seasonal menu changes rather than being known for a particular dish. Good, but not a place I would be dying to return to.
The most memorable part of the experience was the bread cart which came around every 15 minutes and had probably over 20 different breads. I couldn't try all of them but I tried and the ones I had were all excellent.
The Bread Cart at Steirereck - Vienna, Austria 2023
Aurora Rooftop Bar
On the top floor of our hotel was Aurora Rooftop Bar featuring excellent views of Vienna, especially at sunset. There was a large outdoor area as well which was still open although it was a bit cold out.
Aurora Rooftop Bar - Vienna, Austria 2023
Schloss Schönbrunn
Schoenbrunn Palace is the most famous palace in Vienna and was the summer residence of the Habsburg rulers. We booked an after-hours tour which included a concert in the evening and allowed us to spend some time at the Christmas Market outside beforehand.
My feelings on palaces are the same as churches in that they are generally the same - lots of rooms with painted ceilings and large paintings on the walls. This one wasn't much different although I do think it's fun to learn a bit about the history, especially as this was my first time in Austria and I have no knowledge of the history of Austria.
Schloss Schönbrunn - Vienna, Austria 2023
Overall
Our short Christmas trip to Vienna was everything that we intended - primarily shopping and eating a lot at the Christmas Markets. We had considered trying to make a trip outside Vienna to the mountains, Salzburg, or Hallstatt but it would have been difficult as a day trip so it seems we will have to return one day!
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