Vienna

About

Vienna is the capital, most populous city, and one of the nine states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. Its larger metropolitan area has a population of nearly 2.9 million, representing nearly one-third of the country's population. Vienna is the cultural, economic, and political centre of the country, the fifth-largest city by population in the European Union, and the most populous of the cities on the river Danube.

Summary excerpted from the Wikipedia article Vienna, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text may be clipped or paraphrased to fit this page.

Why visit

Visit Vienna for opera, orchestral music, museums, coffeehouse literature, Ringstrasse architecture, Secession and modernist sites, and the political afterlife of the Habsburg capital. The Staatsoper, Musikverein, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Belvedere, Secession building, Central Cemetery, and districts beyond the Ring should be understood together. The city is most rewarding when performances, museums, and walks are planned as one cultural argument rather than separate attractions.

When to avoid

Avoid reducing Vienna to the imperial center. The Ring and the first district matter, but the city's 20th-century history, social housing, psychoanalysis, modernism, and musical institutions require time beyond the postcard core. July and August can be hot and crowded, while major performances require advance booking. Check opera and concert calendars before choosing dates, and leave room for cafes, cemeteries, and outer districts.