Situated on the Danube River and famous for its imperial palaces, majestic squares, and stunning architecture, Vienna has a long and distinguished history. On this engaging walking tour through its streets and squares, you’ll not only learn about the buildings, but also the characters that shaped the city and who were in turn shaped by the city: from the Imperial family to Mozart, from Sigmund Freud to Gustav Klimt! Vienna is a city that has been at the epicenter of European arts, culture, politics, and social change for centuries.
Your expert, English-speaking private guide will meet you outside the world-famous Opera House where your walking tour begins. An exquisite building dating back to the 1870s, the Vienna State Opera puts on 350 performances of 60 shows per year, taking its place as one of the world’s leading opera houses. From here you’ll explore the many highlights of central Vienna. Wander through Albertinaplatz with its beautiful museum housing Impressionist masterpieces from Monet to Degas and modern art from Chagall to Rothko, and head to Josefsplatz where the famous grey (white) Lipizzaner horses are stabled at the iconic Spanish Riding school.
The Hofburg is a vast imperial palatial complex made up of several buildings and palaces – you’ll pass the Schweizerhof (Swiss court) and main facade as you learn about the intricacies of Austria’s regal and imperial past. The palace has been at the heart of Austria’s political and diplomatic life for 700 years and is made up of 2600 rooms, 18 wings, and 19 courtyards. Even though the Imperial family was deposed in 1918, much of the palace is still in use as government offices today.
Vienna is famous for its many beautiful squares, lined with baroque and neo-classical architecture. You’ll see the imposingly Baroque Michaelerplatz – a vast star-shaped square from which many roads and streets lead including Kohlmarkt – Vienna’s high-end shopping street lined with luxury jewellers and fashion boutiques. It leads to Graben, another thrumming street whose buildings date to the 17th and 18th centuries – filled with shops and cafes, with alleys leading off the main thoroughfare, and home to a baroque marble ‘plague column’ completed in 1694 as a monument to the pestilence!
Lastly, your guide will show you around the magnificent interior of St Stephen’s Cathedral, a Gothic and Romanesque masterpiece dating back to the Middle Ages, and end with giving you tickets to access the elevator to ascend the North Tower, unaccompanied, to enjoy lovely views over the city you’ve just explored!