Danube River cruises feature stops in Vienna, the capital of Austria. We enjoyed a visit to Vienna on our recent luxury river cruise. Ships do not dock near the city center, so most people will take the ship’s shuttle bus or a taxi to see the sights. Our ship’s shuttle only operated in the afternoon from 2 PM to 5 PM as tours were offered in the morning. There was also one shuttle in the evening if you wanted to dine off the ship. We used Uber to go into the city on our own in the afternoon and had no problems.
Morning: Imperial Vienna Tour
Amawaterways offered two tours in the morning: Imperial Vienna Tour or Vienna City Tour by Bike. I only recommend the biking tour if you are comfortable with biking on roads.
The Imperial Vienna Tour starts with a coach ride around the ring road to the city center. You will drive by many beautiful buildings along the way. We did the active pace group for this tour, so we had a small group of 6 people and walked a little further than the normal pace groups.
We started walking through the People’s Garden (Volsgarten) towards Hofburg Palace. The Palace was the winter residence of the Habsburg dynasty rulers from 1273 to 1918. It was built in the 13th century but had many additions such as the Spanish Riding School and Imperial Chapel. Today, the Hofburg Palace houses the Austrian president’s office and various museums.
After walking past some of the Hofburg Palace, we visited St. Michael’s Church. This is a Romanesque Church and one of the oldest churches in Vienna (built between 1220 to 1240). Mozart’s Requiem was performed for the first time at this church and you can find Mozart’s death mask inside the entryway.
We then walked on to the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial, St. Peter’s Catholic Church, and Graben. Graben is a famous street in Vienna’s first district and dates back to the old Roman encampment of Vindobona. Located on the Graben is the Pestsäule (the Plague Column) which was built in thanksgiving for the ending of the Great Plague in 1679.
The last stop on the tour is at the beautiful St. Stephen’s Cathedral. This Romanesque and Gothic Cathedral was completed in 1160. It has an interesting mutli-colored tile roof.
Afternoon: Coffee Culture
We recommend having a relaxing afternoon: window shopping and trying the delicious Sacher Torte. The Sacher Torte is a dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam. The whole cake is covered in dark chocolate icing. We tried the delicious “original Sacher Torte” at Hotel Sacher.
If you would like to learn more about the Habsburg rulers, instead of relaxing in the afternoon, we recommend visiting Schonbrunn Palace. This was their summer residence and wonderfully demonstrates Baroque architecture. The palace contains 1,441 rooms and stunning gardens.
Evening: Opera
Vienna is the “Music Capital of the World.” The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna Boys Choir are located here. Also, it was the home to many great classical music composers like Beethoven and Mozart. Amawaterways offered an additional tour to attend a classical concert. Alternately, you may choose to venture out on your own to attend a concert at the Vienna State Opera House.
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