We arrived at Vienna Sudbanhof train station a bit later than expected. A really friendly "information guy" at the train station explained us the way to get to our hotel. It was easy to get from the city centre to our hotel and vice versa. Our hotel was on Geblergasse and to get there you should go to the U6 line and get out at Alser Strasse. We did buy a 72-hour ticket here, since we had to take more public transportation here than in Prague (it's a much bigger city...). The hotel was nice, the breakfast was good (they had little packages of Nutella too!) but breakfast was not included so we had to spend 5€ more per person. Ah!, and the only lift was reaaally slow. Anyway, a good choice, altough a bit expensive: 51,5€ per night (double bedroom).
I don't quite remember the chronology of the events, but in Vienna we saw - the Stephansdom, the StaatsOper, the Kunsthistoriches Museum (Art History Museum), Schloss Schonbrun, Hofburg Palace (including Kaiserappartments, Sisi Museum and Silver Chamber), Kriminal Museum, Kapuzinergruft and we also strolled through some really nice gardens. What we DID NOT see, but you can consider going if you have the time (and no budget limit!): the Belvedere, the Albertina, the Natural History Museum, the Secession Building and the Freud Museum (just to name a few... you have lots to see in Vienna!)
We saw the Stephansdom a bit in a hurry. There was a mass being celebrated at the time, so we didn't feel quite comfortable rummaging about and we didn't go there again, which was a shame.
The StaatsOper is really something. You have guided tours 3 or 4 times per day, so check the schedule at the Opera's entrance to plan your day. Trips can be in English, Spanish or German (you also have Italian but not so frequently). Our guide was really friendly. He told us the enormous budget of the Opera (I don't quite remember the amount), which included the salaries of 400 employees and that more than 50% of that was payed by the Government. Tickets can go from 3€ (standing places, you can get those on the day of the show if you stand in the line specified for that some 90 minutes before it starts) to 196€ (presidential cabinet). You can also rent some rooms inside the opera for the intervals of the operas (which are more or less 15 minutes) to fraternise with friends (you will pay a lot for those precious 15 minutes). We went backstage and saw the people there setting it all up for the show that night and also we took seats in the audience which was really nice. Accidentally we discovered that the operas were projected on the square on one side of the opera so we went and see Faust by Gounod and it was really fabulous to see all the people there, sitting on the floor with improvised chairs or no chairs at all, young and old, men, women, and even a guy recording the whole thing probably to sell it on the streets. After the guided tour to the Opera, we passed through the souvenir shop (they always make you do that you know...) and they were playing a really cool CD, I believe the name was Classic meets Cuba and I so have to get it! If you take the guided tour to the Opera you are also entitled to go to the Opera's museum. It's a really, really small museum - it has only one room! - but it's nice, you can see lots of pictures of former artist of the Vienese Opera and also the costumes they wore at several operas.
We must've spent some three to four hours in te Kunsthistoriches Museum. It's really nice and it has lots of paintings from famous painters like Van Dyck or Rubens. The building itself is beautiful. you have a cafe in the middle where you can take a break to regain strength (that was what we did - we ate a wonderful mushroom soup and a not so wonderful red fruit cake).
You can't miss the Hofburg Palace. Here you can see the appartments of Franz Joseph and Sisi (which includes her bedroom filled with gymnastic objects - she liked to keep fit), the royal cutlery, porcelain, etc. and also the Sisi museum with a well-conceived exhibition.
If you visit Schloss Schonbrun after visiting the Hofburg Palace, the appartments won't be a surprise for you. So here what really counts is the gardens. These are huge and very beautiful. Climb the Gloriette for a great view of the city (you will also do a bit of exercise!). Try your way on the maze and labyrinth and experiment your musical side in the music platforms in the middle of the maze. Ah, I almost forgot! Visit Schloss Schonbrun first of all because at entrance they give you a booklet with discounts on other sites.
The Kapuzinergruft contains the tombs of several emperors. The first tombs, for example the one of Maria Theresa, are sumptuous and grand, but as we progress in time, you can see the richness of the tombs becoming less and less magnificent. Here are the tombs of Franz Joseph and his beloved Sisi.
And now for something completely different... The Kriminal museum is a "different" museum. So maybe the price isn't so good, but here you can see some of the creepiest crime stories of the city. The museum includes impressing photographs and even more impressing heads (yes, human heads!) and face-masks of criminals as well as crime objects. Everything is in German only and you have to pay 2€ for some pages in English (these are well-written and give you some information, but I believe 2 € is too much!).
As you can see, Vienna is a city with lots to see. You won't regret staying there for 3 days. Even if in the end you don't feel like visiting more museums or monuments, you will definitely enjoy the beautiful gardens that exist all through the city.
If you're going to Budapest next, you can buy your ticket at any train station (we bought ours when we arrived in Vienna Sudbanhof). The train leaves from Vienna Westbanhof (which was convenient for us, since this station is in the same underground line as our hotel - U6) and the ticket is cheap - 20 something euros.
(pictures soon)
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