46 Feature
EYE ON TRAVEl
ChArM TO SPAre
3. Vienna's new “Museumsquartier” is one of the 10
largest cultural centres in the world. In a mix of buildings
ranging from Baroque to Contemporary, there's a Museum
of Modern Art, a Museum of Contemporary Art, plus
There’s plenty to enjoy in stylish vienna centres devoted to dance, photography, architecture and
more. The sleek Leopold Museum, established in 2001 is
by Maryalicia Post the star attraction. It boasts the definitive Shiele collection
as well as many works by Klimt. Original Art Nouveau
and Wiener Werkstaate furniture form an interesting
mini-collection... A panoramic window on the fourth floor
frames Vienna's rooftops like a work of art. The Leopold
is open from 10:00 to 18:00, and until 21:00 on Thursday.
Outstanding cafe/bistro. Closed Tuesdays. For details, visit:
www.leopoldmuseum.org.
4. In the mid-19th century, the Ringstrasse, a broad
road encircling Vienna's old city, replaced the city’s former
city walls and moats. By the direct edict of Emperor Franz
Joseph I in 1857 ("It is my will....") the new Ringstrasse was
lined with opulent town houses called Palais. Though all
were built between 1860 and 1890, the architectural styles
are a scrapbook in stone, a medley called "Ringstraßenstil."
Readers of Edmund de Waal's award-winning memoir,
The Hare with the Amber Eyes will take a long look at the
facade of the Palais Ephrussi where so much of the story
took place. It stands on Dr Karl-Lueger-Ring opposite
the University. Today, the building is the headquarters of
“Casino Austria.”
5. The Schönbrunn rivals Versailles for magnificence;
in its Baroque Hall of Mirrors, the five-year old Mozart
played for the Imperial family. This summer home of the
Hofburg Palace
Hapsburgs boasts 1,441 rooms. By comparison, Versailles
has about 2000. Don’t worry about the number: on the
V
“Grand Tour” you will only see 40 rooms; on the “Imperial
ienna could have been planned with the tourist Even relatively distant attractions like Schloss Schönbrunn Tour” you will see only 22. Buy a ticket online and skip the
in mind. are easily reached by an efficient underground system. And long queues at one of the most visited sites in Europe. For
The inner city's treasures – from St Stephen’s wherever you go, you are never too far from one of Vienna's details, visit: www.schoenbrunn.at. The Palace gardens are
Cathedral to the dazzling Hofburg Palace – are legendary cafés. enlivened by a zoo featuring giant pandas, a palm house, a
linked by eminently walkable streets. Museums, art galleries, Like the dollop of whipped cream on your Sacher Torte, carriage collection, and a viewing pavilion, the “Gloriette.”
and theatres are only minutes apart. Vienna’s over-the-top architecture, its sheer exuberant style, There are relaxing cafes throughout the grounds, but for a
makes even a short stay richly satisfying. proper meal in a delightful setting book a table at the Cafe
Here are six places to see on a first visit to Vienna – or to Restaurant Residenz in a wing of the Palace. On Saturday
visit again if you know Vienna well: and Sunday afternoon, enjoy free piano music with your
1. St Stephen’s Cathedral, affectionately called “Steffi,” coffee and cake.For details, visit: www.cafe-residenz.at.
is at the heart of the city, literally and figuratively. The 6. The Judenplatz Memorial, by British architect Rebecca
Viennese even admire the postmodernist glass facade of Whiteread, commemorates the 65,000 Viennese victims
the Haas-Haus opposite because its windows reflect their of the Holocaust. A squat steel and concrete structure, it is
beloved Gothic church. To tour St Stephen’s, its towers and designed to look as if it were constructed of thousands of
the catacombs, purchase an “all-inclusive” ticket. Simply books placed backwards on shelves, their contents forever
looking around the nave on your own is free. unknowable. The names of the camps in which the victims
2. Among the seven or eight museums in the Hofburg perished are inscribed around its base. The memorial, the
Palace, one of the most visited is the recently expanded initiative of Simon Wiesenthal, was unveiled in 2000.
“Sisi” museum, a collection of objects belonging to the
beautiful and doomed “Sisi,” – the Empress Elizabeth. The
exhibition of items, many of a very personal nature, was Treasure Trove
enhanced in 2006 with the addition of 240 pieces from a Vienna’s famous auction house, the Palais Dorotheum, at
private collection. Admittance to the Silver Collection and Dorotheergasse 17, is also Vienna’s largest antique shop.
the Imperial Apartments is included on the “Sisi” ticket. For The building houses several floors of treasures; most will
details, visit: www.hofburg-wien.at. The Hofburg is also the be auctioned, but you might find a ready-to-go souvenir
home of the famous Spanish Riding School; its performances in the “Glashof” or in the Art and Design Gallery. There,
are booked out well in advance, but as some spectators leave, porcelain, glass and collectables are for sale at fixed prices.
others are admitted. To be sure of a place, book online as far A delightful, old-fashioned cafe is on the second floor.
ahead as possible. For details, visit: www.srs.at. The Vienna The Dorotheum is open Monday to Friday from 9:00-
Boys Choir sings in the medieval chapel of the palace on 18:00 and Saturday from 9:00-17:00.
Sundays, a tradition that has endured for 500 years. The
choir travels in July and August, but in 2011, it resumes in
the Hofmusikkapelle on September 18. Standing room is
* The XXIX ESCRS Congress and 2nd EuCornea Congress
The eastern wing of Schloss Schönbrunn as seen from inside the Prinzenpark free; queuing for admission to the Sunday 9am Mass begins
take place in Vienna from 16-21 September 2011.
at 8am.
EUROTIMES | Volume 16 | Issue 5