General Info about Vienna

Vienna is the capital of Austria as well as a federal state.

Population: Vienna has about 1,651,437 (2006) inhabitants.

Vienna is divided into 23 districts.

1. 1.  Innere Stadt (city centre, many functions, few residents)
2. 2.  Leopoldstadt (on the island between Danube and Danube Canal and Giant Wheel)
3. 3.  Landstraße (on the right bank of the Danube Canal, Belvedere Palace)
4. 4.  Wieden (very small district south of the city centre)
5. 5.  Margareten (separated from Wieden in 1861)
6. 6.  Mariahilf (small district on main shopping lane leading to Westbahnhof)
7. 7.  Neubau (small district on main shopping lane leading to Westbahnhof, with MuseumsQuartier, large cultural complex)
8. 8.  Josefstadt (small district very close to City Hall, Parliament and University)
9. 9.  Alsergrund (General Hospital district)
10. 10. Favoriten (in the south of Vienna, largest district in population, building site of new main train station)
11. 11. Simmering (on the right bank of the Danube Canal, Central Cemetery)
12. 12. Meidling (on the southern bank of the Wien river)
13. 13. Hietzing (on the southern bank of the Wien river, Schönbrunn Palace)
14. 14. Penzing (on the northern bank of the Wien river, separated from Hietzing in 1938, Otto Wagner's Church Am Steinhof)
15. 15. Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus (on the northern bank of the Wien river; until 1938, 14th and 15th district, Westbahnhof)
16. 16. Ottakring (on the western outskirts, Vienna's traditional brewery)
17. 17. Hernals (on the northwestern outskirts)
18. 18. Währing (on the northwestern outskirts, Central Institute of Meteorology)
19. 19. Döbling (on the northern outskirts, the classical ‘Heurigen’ district)
20. 20. Brigittenau (separated from Leopoldstadt in 1900)
21. 21. Floridsdorf (on the left bank of the Danube, industry areas, northernmost part of Vienna)
22. 22. Donaustadt (on the left bank of the Danube, largest district in size, UN City, largest convention hall)
23. 23. Liesing (southernmost district, industry areas)

Source: Wikipedia

Vienna is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by population in the European Union. Vienna is host to many major international organizations such as the United Nations and OPEC.

Vienna lies in the east of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary (all boarders can be reached within 1 hour). These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region of 3 million inhabitants, referred to as Twin City. (Source: www.Wikipedia.org )

Leisure time: Vienna offers a wide range of leisure time activities. It is considered to be the most environmental friendly Capital of Europe. 50% of Vienna's area is covered with lawn or parks, 18% are covered by forests. The biggest forest, the Wienerwald, is a very well-known and green-belt recreation area around Vienna.

Vienna possesses many park facilities, including the Stadtpark, the Burggarten, the Volksgarten (part of the Hofburg), the Schloßpark at Schloss Belvedere (home to the Vienna Botanic Gardens), the Donaupark, the Schönbrunner Schlosspark, the Prater, the Augarten, the Rathauspark, the Lainzer Tiergarten, and much more.

Many of Vienna's famous parks include monuments, such as the Stadtpark with its statue of Johann Strauss II, and the gardens of the baroque palace, where the State Treaty was signed. Vienna's principal park is the Prater which is home to the Riesenrad, a Ferris wheel. The imperial grounds Schönbrunn is home to the world's oldest zoo, which was founded in 1752.

(Find more details about Vienna’s landmarks in our “Activities --> Sightseeing” section)

Donauinsel, an artificial island in the river Danube (built to prevent flooding of the city), is with its length of 20 km the longest beach in an European city. Easy-to-reach by car, bike or public transportation, Donauinsel is the most important recreational area in Vienna. Many different activities, for instance, roller-skating, cycling, wind-surfing, sailing, swimming and much more are offered here.

The nearest skiing resorts are less than one hour away from Vienna.

(Find more details in the “TRAVELING” section)

Product Price List (in €)

Here you find approximate prices for every-day products:

Coffee Houses

The Vienna coffee house (Kaffeehaus)is as a Viennese institution. In this kind of establishment, locals and tourists make one anothers’ acquaintance.

In these hectic times, the cosy, charming and informal coffee houses become increasingly popular; their atmosphere being a balance between the homey and the formal. Coffee houses have always been favourite spots in all countries of the Habsburg empire between Florence, Trieste, Belgrade and Budapest.

A Short Coffee-House Dictionary

Kleiner Schwarzer – espresso or mocha
Grosser Brauner – a large cup of coffee with a little milk
Verlängerter – a cup of ‘weak’ coffee/half milk
Melange – a cup of half coffee/half milk foam
Theeschale licht – large cup of coffee with a generous helping of milk

Tips

‘Bedienungszuschlag inbegriffen’ (service included): Most cafés and restaurants carry this slogan. Although it is expected in Vienna to give a tip for every service. € 1 - 2 EURO are usually enough, up-scale restaurants do expect a little more.

Public Holidays

January 1: New Year's Day (Neujahr)

January 6: Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige)

Easter Sunday and Monday (Ostern)

Pentecost/ Whitsunday (Pfingsten)

August 15: Assumption Day/Ascension (Mariähimmelfahrt)

December 6: St. Nikolaus Day (Nikolaustag)

December 8: Immaculate Conception (Mariä Empfängnis)

December 24: Christmas Eve (Heiliger Abend)

December 25: Christmas Day (Christtag)

December 26: St. Stephen's Day (Stefanitag)

December 31: New Year's Eve (Silvester)

May 1: Labor Day (Tag der Arbeit)

Mother's Day (Muttertag)

Ascension (Christi Himmelfahrt)

Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam)

October 26: Austrian National Day (Nationalfeiertag)

November 1 & 2: All Saints' Day & All Souls' Day (Allerheiligen + Allerseelen)

November 11: St. Martin's Day (Martinstag)

Advent

(See more details at section “LIVING”)