Vienna: A Few Hours of Wanderlust
Updated: Feb 27
Have you ever wandered around a city and after only a few hours felt so comfortable that you could easily imagine spending weeks, or months (or years) living there?
That’s how the streets of Vienna felt to us.
As a stopover vacation on the way to Mauritius, we had the opportunity to spend a few pleasant hours strolling through downtown Vienna, Austria. Knowing we had a layover when we booked our flights, we researched whether a stopover would be possible. Luckily for us, it was. We were travelling in February, so there was potential for a very chilly and snowy Austria, but our final destination was expected to be tropical. Having no intention of wearing winter-ready clothing on the plane, we packed our winter essentials into a small carry on luggage. Once we landed in at the Vienna International Airport, we changed into our heavier clothes and stored the carryon in a locker. We then purchased tickets for the express train direct to downtown Vienna.
The CAT (City Airport Train) express ran every 30 minutes, but took only 10 minutes to reach the city center. We chose to disembark at the Stephansplatz Station so that we could easily walk to St. Stephen’s Cathedral (also known as Stephansdom). The station is large and filled with a wide variety of restaurants and shops. We used Google Maps to create a walking route that would allow us to easily reach to as many of the attractions we wanted to visit as possible, while taking into consideration that the weather could be inhospitable.
TIP: Give yourself some options when stopping over, especially if there is the possibility of inclement weather. For example, we had considered going to the Vienna Opera House during our short visit; as it was within walking distance from the station and they offered an interesting and in depth backstage tour. Had the weather been unbearable for walking, we likely would have opted for this tour so that we could stay warm but still experience some of Vienna’s rich history. It’s always good to have a back-up plan.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral is a marvel to stand before. With its iconic gothic and romanesque style, it towers over you. Clearly having been rebuilt, one can easily make out the different sections as you walk around the massive structure, each one seemingly older than the last. The most recent build occured between 1339-1365, but stands on the ruins of two other churches from as early as 1147. The mosaic tile roof, with it’s bright colours and intricate design, is stunning and has become one of the most recognizable images associated with Vienna. The faces of the gargoyles were very intriguing and we found ourselves slowly walking around the entire Cathedral with our head’s raised so to look up at each one as closely as possible. One can enter the Cathedral, walk into the main alcove and visit the gift shop for free, but one cannot access the bulk of the Cathedral without purchasing a ticket ($6.50 Euro). One can also opt to descend to the catacombs or climb the south tower for what must be a spectacular view, for a small fee. Had it been a cold or snowy day, we would have spent more time inside and explored everything the cathedral had to offer, but since it was sunny, we decided to walk the city a bit more.
