We traveled to Vienna, Austria, with kids in August 2019. One of those days was spent in Bratislava, Slovakia, which you can read about in our Bratislava post.
We arrived in Vienna prepared for the opulence of the capital of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. And it certainly delivered on that. But we left amazed at what an unexpectedly kid-friendly city it is. Here’s an overview of our itinerary while in Vienna:
- Day 1: Natural History Museum, Heldenplatz & Michaelerplatz, Hundertwasserhaus, Prater/Giant Ferris Wheel
- Day 2: Schloss Schönbrunn, St. Charles’ Church
- Day 3: Day trip via train to Bratislava, Slovakia
- Day 4: Haus des Meeres, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Plague Column, St. Peter’s Cathedral
We had a hard time finding an Airbnb in Vienna, so went for a hotel instead. We stayed at the Saint Shermin, a small boutique hotel in a renovated Viennese-style house. The hotel decor was beautiful and the staff very helpful, but most important it was centrally located in downtown Vienna. The Karlsplatz station for the U-Bahn (the metro system) was a couple blocks away, which made public transportation very convenient. It was also located across from a great playground at Ressel Park, right next to St. Charles’ Church, that we stopped at almost every day on our way back to the hotel.
Speaking of the metro system, we had a great experience in Vienna. We don’t always use the public transportation system in the cities we visit; sometimes they seem complicated and we prefer to just walk. But we found Vienna’s metro to be very user friendly overall. There are ticket kiosks in each metro that are simple to use. We purchased either single ride tickets or 1-day tickets, depending on our plan for the day. And the signage in the stations is straightforward. I definitely recommend taking advantage of the metro system while in Vienna.
Day 1
We decided to dive right into Vienna on our first day. Our first destination was the Natural History Museum. On the way, we passed by the gorgeous Vienna State Opera, the famous opera house, built in the late 1800s. About a block away from there is the Burggarten park, an English-style garden with lots of green space. It was originally built as the private royal garden for the Habsburg family. It boasts a small pond and a handful of statues, most notably the Mozart monument. Wolfgang Mozart lived in Vienna when he composed many of his most well known pieces. A beautiful treble clef made of flower is on the lawn in front of his statue.
Natural History Museum (and other nearby stops)
A couple minutes from Burggarten park is the Natural History Museum. The grandeur of the building and Maria-Theresien-Platz, a public square with multiple fountains and statues, is stunning. On the opposite side of the square is the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts). The inside of the Natural History Museum is equally gorgeous and rivals the displays at times.
The first section of the museum takes you through rooms of minerals, rocks and gemstones. Our kids our constantly collecting rocks everywhere we go, so these rooms were heaven for them. No kidding, we easily spent an hour looking at rocks. We finally dragged them into the next section on dinosaurs. The Dinosaur Hall includes a fantastic animated dinosaur which simultaneously scared and fascinated our kids. We also spent a lot of time in the Anthropology Room which includes a number of interactive exhibits with pre-historic men and women. Overall, our kids absolutely loved the museum and we would go back in a second.
Directly across the street from the public square, we walked through the Burgtor, a city gate with huge pillars, to Heldenplatz. The public square is in front of the Hofburg, the former imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty and current residence and workplace of the Austrian president. There are a number of museums located here now as well. Even if you don’t visit any of these buildings, it’s just a beautiful square.
We walked out of the Hofburg through a beautiful archway onto Michaelerplatz. From this square, you can look back at the Hofburg on one side and ahead at the buildings of the historic city center of Vienna on the other. Michaelerkirche (St. Michael’s Church), dating back to the 1200s, immediately stands out, with its tower reaching well above the neighboring buildings.
We were on our way to Café Frauenhuber, the oldest coffee house in Vienna, for lunch. A friend had recommended it as one of her favorite cafes in Vienna, and raved about the schnitzels and apfelstrudel. Unfortunately it was unexpectedly closed while we were there.
Instead we continued walking to Café Diglas (the Wollzeile location), a favorite of an Austrian friend. They had a nice outdoor seating area, which I prefer with kids, especially when the weather is nice. The inside of Café Diglas has a charming old-style feel and the chandeliers add a touch of elegance (right photo). The food was also good, with enough options for the kids to choose from. Vienna is known for its café culture, so including some of the city’s wonderful cafés on your list of places to eat is a must.
Hundertwasserhaus
From the café, we walked about 1 mile / 1.6 km east to Hundertwasserhaus. This house, designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser in the 1980s, reminded me of Antoni Gaudí’s fun and unique buildings in Barcelona. There is a nice terrace area with a water fountain where you can sit under trees and take in his colorful structure. Note that it is a private apartment building, so you can’t go inside. Hundertwasser designed the façades of a few other buildings in Vienna as well, including the KunstHausWein, a museum dedicated to his work.
Giant Ferris Wheel
We walked east to the Danube Canal (formerly an arm of the Danube River), and then followed a path along the water. It’s a beautiful walk, with lots of greenery and free space for kids to run. We crossed the canal and walked north to Prater, the amusement park that houses Vienna’s famous giant ferris wheel.
The silhouette of the ferris wheel is iconic and can be seen from a ways away. It’s a bit pricey for a ferris wheel, though they have family tickets (our family of 4 was 29 EUR). After you have tickets, you go through a small museum on your way to the ride line. The ferris wheel ride provides nice views of Vienna and the kids enjoyed it. I also liked that it feels much safer than normal ferris wheels since it’s full enclosed.
We left after the ferris wheel and successfully avoided any of the other rides or attractions at Prater. We went to Pizza Mann a couple blocks away from the ferris wheel. The pizza and service were good, so a quick and convenient dinner if you’re in the area.
Day 2
Our second day was dedicated to Schloss Schönbrunn, one of the main attractions in Vienna. It was formerly the summer residence of the Habsburgs and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s not walkable from downtown Vienna, but it’s not too hard to get to. You can take the U4 metro to the Schönbrunn stop; it is about a 30-minute ride from the Karlsplatz station near our hotel. It’s a bit of a walk from the metro station to the palace, and it can be windy, so some additional layers of clothing can be helpful.
Schloss Schönbrunn
There is so much to do at Schloss Schönbrunn that it can be tricky to prioritize. We decided to buy the combined ticket for the Children’s Museum, the maze and the labyrinth, as well as the Schönbrunn Zoo. We started with a walk through the gardens to get to the zoo, which was the most important stop for our kids. The zoo is the oldest in the world and really nicely laid out with very natural-feeling spaces. We spent nearly 3 hours there and still didn’t see everything.
After the zoo we walked around the flower gardens behind the palace before heading to the maze and labyrinth. The maze includes a viewing platform where you can look over the whole area. Within the various labyrinths, there are additional activities, such as a chiming jumping station (right picture), climbing poles and plenty of ways for the kids to get out their energy. Unfortunately we ran out of time to visit the Children’s Museum since it closed at 5:00. But the kids were having so much fun at the zoo and mazes, we didn’t want to hurry them along. If you want to hit all of these activities (plus the myriad other attractions at Schloss Schönbrunn), you’ll need to plan for only a certain amount of time at each.
Back in downtown Vienna, we went to Santos Mexican Grill for dinner. We’re always on the lookout for good Mexican food, as it is a rarity in Brussels. The restaurant is located in the Museum Quarter, so it’s convenient and the area is quite charming. It also had a great outdoor seating area perfect for summer weather. The staff was very friendly and the food was all excellent.
St. Charles’ Church
After dinner, we stopped at Resselpark, which was very near our hotel. It includes a great playground that we frequented throughout our stay in Vienna. Across from the playground is St. Charles’ Church (Karlskirche), with its large green dome. Situated behind a reflecting pool, the church looks even more stunning lit up at night.
Day 3
We considered a few day trips from Vienna, but most of the towns we would want to visit within Austria (such as Graz) were a couple hours away on train. Instead, we chose to take a quick 1-hour train ride across the border to Bratislava, Slovakia. You can read about our schedule in our Bratislava post.
Day 4
We started our final day with a fantastic breakfast at Café Jelinek, another recommendation of our Austrian friend. It’s a very cozy Viennese coffee house; the décor feels like it probably hasn’t changed much in 50 years, and it’s all the better for it. The coffee was great and there are quite a few breakfast options.
The café is located outside of more heavily touristy areas of the city, which might explain why it was mostly empty on a Wednesday morning. But the quiet and relaxed start to our day was much appreciated, and it is within a 10-minute walk from the aquarium, which was our next destination.
Haus des Meeres
Vienna’s aquarium, Haus des Meeres (House of the Sea), is a unique experience. It is housed in a giant concrete flak tower that was built by the Nazis and used to defend against air raids during World War II. So instead of being spread out one one or two levels like most aquariums, this one goes straight up for 12 floors. The good news is that it never feels cramped. The tanks, displays and open areas (such as the 5 story Tropic House) are laid out nicely and distract from the limited size of the floor space. On the 10th floor there is a “Remembrance from within” exhibition with information on the history of the flak tower.
Once you’ve gone through the aquarium, there is one final treat on the top floor: a roof terrace with gorgeous panoramic views of the city. Do not forget to visit the roof. Then, back down on the ground, there is a large playground outside of the aquarium. Overall, Haus des Meeres is a great way to spend a couple hours.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Plague Column & St. Peter’s Cathedral
We took the metro back into the heart of the city, getting off at Stephansplatz station and walking over to St. Stephen’s Cathedral. This is a church like none I’ve seen before. The roof of this gothic structure is a show stopper, with colorful tiles creating various patterns, including the Royal and Imperial double-headed eagle and the coat of arms of the city of Vienna. As you would expect, the inside is equally opulent. You can also take tours of the catacombs or walk up 343 steps in the south tower for views of the city.
A couple minutes’ walk from St. Stephen’s was our lunch destination: Lugeck. A friend had recommended the restaurant for its schnitzel, and we couldn’t leave Vienna without this classic Austrian dish. Lugeck is located in a beautiful building, and the inside of the restaurant is huge. It also has a large outdoor seating area, which we chose, and plenty of table space. The staff was great and gave each of our kids a container of colored pencils. As for the Wiener Schnitzel, it was fantastic, even our 6 year old loved it. I can also vouch for the goat cheese salad which was delicious.
After lunch we walked back past St. Stephen’s to the Plague Column (Pestsäule), which celebrates the end of the Great Plague of 1679 in Vienna. While the subject matter is dark, it is actually a beautifully detailed statue. It’s also quite large and impossible to miss if you’re in this busy area of downtown.
Next door to the Plague Column is St. Peter’s Cathedral (Peterskirche). It’s tucked back at the end of a side street. If it wasn’t for the green domed roof, we honestly might have skipped past it. Luckily we didn’t because the inside is surprisingly ornate for such a modest-sized and somewhat unassuming church. Every inch of the interior appears to be decorated with colorful paintings and gilded statues. There was a service taking place the day we visited, and the candles and lights added an extra flare. For this reason we also left fairly quickly so as not to disturb the patrons, but I can imagine spending some time look at the myriad details up close.
From there we made a stop about 5 minutes away at Demel Cafe & Bakery, a famous confectionery in Vienna established in 1786. Demel used to supply the Habsburg court with baked goods. The inside of Demel is as grand as the city. We had come here specifically for the Sachertorte, the famous Viennese chocolate cake, but also ordered karottentorte (carrot cake) and obsttorte (fruit pie). All were very good, but perhaps not quite as amazing as I had expected. In addition, the café didn’t have a particularly kid-friendly vibe, so we felt slightly unwelcome. With small kids, it might be worth just grabbing cakes from the ground floor and taking them back to your hotel to eat.
As the day was winding down, we walked to Ressel Park for a final visit to the playground before heading to the airport. We took the U4 from Karlsplatz to Landstrasse, which connects to the City Airport Train. Tickets were 12 EUR per adult (children under 15 years are free), and it’s a quick 16-minute ride to the airport. The train is really convenient and easy to use; highly recommend for travels between downtown and the airport. Also note that if you get to the airport early, there is a fantastic play area (above right photo) for kids to get all their energy out before boarding your flight.
Vienna is such a wonderful city and there are so many things we didn’t have a chance to do on this trip. The top of my list for next time we visit Vienna with kids includes:
- Upper Belverdere – a historic complex with a number of permanent art collections (I really want to see the Gustav Klimt paintings)
- Capuchin or Imperial Crypt (Kaisergruft or Kapuzinergruft) – burial place of the Habsburg beneath the Capuchin Church and Monastery
- Naschmarkt – open-air food market with a flea market on Saturdays
- Haus Der Musik (House of Music)