A tour around Vienna with VIENNA route
- Nib & Ember
- Nov 12
- 6 min read
If you visit the information centre at Vienna City Hall, you will find a wide selection of leaflets, magazines, brochures and booklets about Vienna. Twice a year, I go there and collect everything that sparks my interest: from educational prints to my much-loved Wanderpass (Vienna Hiking Trails pass).
The VIENNA route is a small booklet with tear-off pages, each one representing a tourist route around Vienna, mainly (though not limited to) the city centre. You can use it on its own, but it also comes with ivie – the official city guide app. Whether you explore the city, guided by the printed maps and suggested landmarks from the booklet, or follow an audio tour from the app, you will have the opportunity to discover Vienna deliberately and purposefully.
This summer, I decided to complete (still working on it) all of the suggested routes and visit all the main stops on the maps, so that I could get to know Vienna even better. When it comes to the VIENNA route, one thing I find somewhat inaccurate is the estimated time given for each themed walk. Most of the routes take much longer, especially if you intend to visit a museum or even stop at a café along the way – not to mention the landmarks outside the city centre. Apart from that, I find the idea quite refreshing and the recommendations fairly good. In the booklet (or in the app), you can read more about the history of each landmark or monument. Here, in this blog post, I provide a general overview, but if you'd like to discover more, every route will have it's own separate blog post (soon).
By the time I came to post this, I had already been to Vienna City Hall again and discovered that there is a new edition of the booklet, with some of the themes changed. In this post, I share my experience with the older version, but I will review the new one as well.
RINGSTRASSE
The first route circles Vienna’s First District along the famous boulevard, the Ringstrasse. Along the way, you’ll get to see many of Vienna’s most beloved landmarks, such as Stadtpark, Burggarten, the Museum of Art History, the Museum of Natural History, the Parliament and the City Hall.
If you plan to follow the route and visit a museum or two as well, you’ll most likely run out of time. However, if you dedicate a full day to it, taking things slowly, move casually from one stop to the next, relax in the parks, and enjoy a coffee or lunch at one of the suggested cafés, you’re in for a real treat. This is Vienna as it’s meant to be experienced: unhurriedly, savouring every taste and every view.
The main stops on this route are as follows: MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Café Prückel, Stadtpark, Vienna State Opera, Burggarten, Museum of Art History, Museum of Natural History, Parliament, Volksgarten, Burgtheater, City Hall and the University of Vienna.
ART NOUVEAU
One of my favourite routes is the one dedicated to Art Nouveau – the golden era of Vienna. To me, this is the Otto Wagner route. Absolutely lovely! Especially if you manage to visit the pavilions and spend some time appreciating Wagner’s work – both materialised and conceptual.
When you follow this route, I recommend paying close attention to the day you choose, as the Otto Wagner Pavilions are open only at weekends. The good news is that on the first Sunday of every month, entry is free of charge.
Main stops on the route: Anker Clock, Art Nouveau WC on Graben, Augarten flagship store, Österreichische Werkstätten, Otto Wagner Pavilions, Secession, buildings by Otto Wagner, and Café Rüdigerhof.
A little tip: since you’ll already be at Karlsplatz for this route, don’t miss the chance to take the U4 and visit the Otto Wagner Pavilion in Hietzing. Then return to Karlsplatz and have something to eat at Karl & Otto, a lovely café located in one of the Wagner Pavilions. And if you even have more time, it is an absolute must to visit the Otto Wagner Areal in the 14th district.
INNENSTADT (First district)
The most visited part of Vienna is always bustling with tourists, whether they are admiring St Stephen’s Cathedral or relaxing in one of the many cafés surrounding it. Also included on this route are the Vienna State Opera (if you can’t get a ticket for a live performance, a good consolation is to book one of the guided tours, which are very informative and take you through the entire building), Albertina, Brasserie Palmenhaus, Burggarten, Hofburg, Café Bräunerhof, J. & L. Lobmeyr, Palais Equitable, and Ruprechtsviertel.
The absolute hidden gem on this route is the J. & L. Lobmeyr store – a traditional Viennese glassware manufacturer. A visit there is a genuine delight, not only because of the beautifully crafted chandeliers and glassware, but also thanks to the shop’s elegant interior and the friendly staff, who greet every visitor with a warm smile and kind attitude.
MUSICAL VIENNA
This route offers quite a different experience depending on which version of the booklet you have. One thing I immediately noticed is that the new edition includes St Charles Church – justified by the fact that Johann Strauss’s second wedding took place there.
However, if you live in Vienna, you’ll know that St Charles Church is connected to music in many more significant ways. I’ve listened to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons performed there several times by the Orchester 1756, and in summer, the church even hosts the Open Church Rave, which is… interesting, to say the least, and probably great fun!
The route, however, excluded Porgy & Bess – the jazz club where I watched SYML perform live in 2023 – and included Volksgarten Clubdiscothek instead. While I understand that this might be an arrangement between the venues and the publisher of the booklet, it still leaves a slightly bad taste in my mouth.
In the old version, the route also includes: Mozarthaus Vienna, Ronacher Musicalbühne, House of Music (which children tend to find fascinating), Johann Strauss Monument, Beethoven Monument, Vienna Concert House, Bösendorfer Salon, Musikverein, Vienna State Opera, and the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments.
There are also the Johann Strauss Apartment, Music Theatre an der Wien, Johann Strauss Museum, and House of Strauss. If you’re wondering why Strauss features so prominently, apart from the obvious reason of him being the Waltz King, it’s also because 2025 marks the 200th anniversary of his birth.
SIGMUND FREUD
Another historical figure strongly associated with Vienna – Sigmund Freud.
The only time I’ve seen someone else holding the VIENNA route booklet was actually in Sigmund Freud Park, and I have no doubt they too were exploring Vienna through the eyes of the famous psychoanalyst.
Along this route, you can visit: Sigmund Freud Museum, University of Vienna Campus, Sigmund Freud Park, University of Vienna, Café Landtmann, Huber & Lerner, Old University, Café Korb, and Bellevuewiese.
The new edition of the route also includes the Josephinum – which, I must say, is not for the faint-hearted.
RED VIENNA
If you don’t have the old booklet, you’ll never know that this route even existed – it has been completely removed and replaced by Vienna Neubau. And, to be fair, that makes sense. Looking at what’s included in the new route, it does represent Vienna more accurately than the older suggestions did.
Still, if you’d like to know what Red Vienna had to offer, here’s the list of the previous stops: Karl-Marx-Hof, Waschsalon in Karl-Marx-Hof, Amalienbad, Rüdigerhof, Vorwärts Publishing House, Austrian Society and Economy Museum, Margaretengürtel, and Werkbundsiedlung.
If you feel you’ve missed out on something here, you can always get the Wanderpass and try Hike 11: Urbaner Gemeindebau-Wanderweg, which makes a fair substitute for the missing Red Vienna route.
1873 VIENNA WORLD'S FAIR
The final route in the previous edition is dedicated to the 1873 Vienna World’s Fair. It takes you on a long walk through the Prater, offering a glimpse into both history and modern Vienna. Among the highlights are Schweizerhaus – a legendary spot beloved by beer and meat enthusiasts – Panorama Vienna, Campus WU, Viertel Zwei, Trabrennbahn Krieau, Prater ateliers, and Konstantinhügel.
I hope you enjoyed this quick review of the VIENNA route booklet! Don’t forget to get your own copy and start exploring Vienna - there are so many wonderful ways to enjoy leisure and fun in this beautiful city.
If you’re looking for more fresh ideas, have a look at my other posts in the Vienna category on the blog. There, you can discover the city through my loving eyes, and I’m sure you’ll find plenty of inspiration and new reasons to fall in love with Vienna!
NIB & Ember
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