DISCOVER VIENNA
GRAND CITY TOUR – SCHOENBRUNN PALACE
Half day bus tour
We will give an overall impression of the most significant historical sights: Starting with a tour along Ringstrasse with magnificent buildings like the State Opera House, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Imperial Palace “Hofburg”, the Houses of Parliament, the City Hall and the University, we will continue to the former summer residence of the Habsburg Family - Schoenbrunn Palace.
Schoenbrunn Palace – the Imperial Summer Residence
The highlight is of course your private tour through the imperial apartments and a stroll through the Imperial Gardens. If the weather is nice, we can also go up the hill to the Gloriette, the former tea salon of Empress Sisi. The park at Schoenbrunn Palace was opened to the public around 1779. Extending for 1,2 km from east to west and approximately one kilometre from north to south, it was placed together with the palace on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1996.
The palace and its grounds form a unit and reflect each other in correspondence with the Baroque notion of the princely palace, according to which architecture and Nature should interpenetrate.
The Baroque layout of the gardens, together with the additions made during the last decade of Maria Theresa's life, still today determine the characteristic appearance of the gardens at Schoenbrunn.
HISTORIC VIENNA
City walk
This tour takes you to the Old City of Vienna, where no bus is allowed to drive through. Walk through the fascinating complex of the imperial Hofburg, which also houses the Spanish Riding School. Pass by the so-called “Loos Haus”, a famous Art Nouveau building which now houses a bank, have a look into quiet old courtyards and tiny streets and take time to visit one of Vienna’s most famous sites - St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
ON THE FOOTSTEPS OF EMPRESS SISI
City walk
Take a walk through the baroque city centre to discover some of Vienna’s treasuries. We will start with a visit of the imperial crypt, the burial place of the Habsburgs, where Empress Elisabeth, known as “Sisi” has been buried among her predecessors.
We will continue to the Spanish Riding School where you will have the opportunity to watch the training of the world-famous Lipizzaner stallions. Here, at the Spanish Riding School, the renaissance tradition of classical horsemanship is cultivated. The home of the Winter Riding School is part of the Imperial Palace and was constructed between 1729 and 1725.
Alternatively, we can arrange a visit to the Imperial Apartments or the Sisi Museum, both situated in the huge complex of the Imperial Palace.
WALTZ COURSE
Dancing School
The guests will have the possibility to get to know one of Austria’s oldest and most prestigious traditions – the Viennese waltz. World-famous, thanks to the yearly ball at the State Opera, the Viennese waltz is part of Austria’s culture and well known all over the world. There are two dancing schools in Vienna opening the traditional ball at the State Opera.
ON THE FOOTSTEPS OF HUNDERTWASSER
Half day bus tour
In the building of the former “Thonet”-factory, in the 3rd district of Vienna, a new cultural landmark has been created. A forum for important international exhibitions, a home for the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a museum that makes you feel at home. A house not corresponding with the usual clichés and norms and which is an adventure of modern times, a journey into the land of creative architecture and a melody for feet and eyes.
Spanish Riding School
The Spanish Riding School is the only institution in the world which has practiced for over 430 years and continues to cultivate classical equitation in the Renaissance tradition of the haute école.
The objective of classical equitation is to study the way the horse naturally moves and to cultivate the highest levels of haute école elegance the horse is capable of through systematic training.
The Winter Riding School has always been used for a wide range of activities, going far beyond equestrianism and dressage. It has provided the perfect backdrop for imperial balls or even aerial events.
The Viennese Heuriger – a piece of history still alive
Vienna is not just a throbbing, modern city in the heart of Europe; it is also its own wine region. Around 700 hectares of vineyards can be found within the city borders – no other city in the world can claim that!
Whether it’s Riesling, white Burgundy or Blauer Zweigelt – Viennese wine is superb! Enjoy the delicious Viennese grape juice where it occurs most naturally: at a Viennese tavern called Heuriger.
There is a spray of pine branches hanging outside and next to the door a sign bearing the word “Ausg’steckt” – you are standing in front of a real Viennese Heuriger – which means that the wine served in the tavern is exclusively home-made wine from Viennese vineyards.
However, the word “Heuriger” has another meaning too: it is also the wine from the last harvest, which immediately becomes “old wine” on St. Martin’s Day (November 11).
The relaxed atmosphere, the gardens in the city suburbs, the good wine and the delicious food are all reasons why Heurigers make a popular outing for young and old alike.
In Vienna, a good time naturally includes music, and naturally the songs that are played and sung at Heurigers are often about wine and the legendary relaxed mindset of the Viennese.
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