A Few October Days in Vienna
‘Yet again I sit in a foreign country wondering why on earth I would want to get on a plane and go back to the UK. I wish I could just stay forever in a European city, cafe hopping, riding the streetcars and eating lots of cake while looking at beautiful buildings.’
- An excerpt from my travel journal, Vienna, 2025
Some peoples’ idea of a 21st birthday probably includes drinking, a party, a club or two, and getting in at 3am. Not that I don’t occasionally enjoy those things, however my 21st looked more like finishing off the Aperol Spritz season in cafes around Vienna, walking palace grounds until our feet hurt and eating more cake and pastries in a few days than I have in the past year. Getting in at 10pm and collapsing into bed after a day of exploring a new city.
There’s something so magical to me about being in a place that is completely unknown to you, walking around and knowing that to somebody, this is a local high street. This is a childhood home. A café they work in every day. But to me it’s a fleeting visit that will become a ghost of a memory of a trip taken for my 21st birthday.
There is so much of Vienna to explore and in a little over two days we might not have even done half of it. It’s a peaceful city, that moves as it breathes, even amongst the hectic I never felt rushed or pushed in any direction. We spent time in busy coffee houses we had to queue for, empty ones only just open in the morning, quiet art galleries and parks awash with the warm tones of autumn.
Here is a little recounting of my Vienna trip, with a few recommendations sprinkled in if you find yourself one day exploring the city.
Day 1 – Belvedere and MuseumsQuartier
The hotel we stayed in was right by the Belvedere palace grounds, so on the morning of our first full day in Vienna, we stopped for coffee and a pastry at a café right around the corner, sat outside and had breakfast – which ended up being one of the largest pastries I’ve ever had, and one that I still think about to this day. What I wouldn’t give to get one of those at Aldi. Little tip for coffee drinkers in Austria (and most of Europe really): don’t order a cappuccino if you’re used to drinking a large cup of coffee – you’ll be rather disappointed by its size.
Belvedere palace is split into Upper Belvedere and Lower Belvedere, and both house galleries and changing art exhibitions. As frugal students, me and my friend decided to pick one to visit. We chose Lower Belvedere because there was a French Impressionist exhibition showing the art of collectors Jenny and Sidney Brown – Cezanne, Monet and Renoir. The exhibition is running until February, but be warned that although there are plenty beautiful Cezanne and Renoir pieces in the collection, despite his name being in the exhibitions title, there is only one Monet, and it might have been my least favourite piece in the gallery. Standouts of the collection for me were the Parisian landscapes and countrysides of Pissarro, whose work I had not previously encountered.
Lower Belvedere also has a medieval and renaissance art gallery which is included if you purchase a ticket to their current exhibition. European medieval art has always fascinated me, maybe it’s a consequence of studying so much medieval and religious literature, but the iconography and deep rich hues are unlike anything that I've seen elsewhere. You also get access to the privy garden and a few stately rooms in the palace, ornate gold walls and textured ceilings galore. It’s a beautiful building, even more so when the grounds are covered in crunchy October leaves.
Belvedere Palace grounds, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
Lower Belvedere Medieval and Renaissance Art Gallery, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
Belvedere Palace Grounds, Vienna, photo taken by my best friend, 2025
For lunch we ended up at Phil, a café-bookstore nearby the MuseumsQuartier, which was one of my favourite eating spots of the entire trip. Despite most of the books being in German, there was a small English section, and the café itself was lively but nowhere near as busy as most of the cafés further towards the city centre. All of the cafés we visited in Vienna also served alcohol, so I definitely treated myself to quite a few Aperol and Hugo spritzes in our time there. We loved Phil, it’s a charming spot that might go unnoticed by most tourists but is definitely somewhere to hit if you want reasonably priced, and not rushed, lunch.
That afternoon we made our way over to the museum district, where we happened across the Hofburg palace, next to the Burggarten, a stunning building and park that was once again heightened by just how beautiful the colours of the trees were in late October. One thing about Vienna is that no matter where you’re heading, or what you’re looking for, you’ll find countless more stunning architecture on your way. We also looked at the Natural History Museum and the Art History Museum – key word being looked at and didn’t go into because we were too tight to pay €25 for a student ticket. We thought paying for one art exhibition for the trip would be a slightly more economical decision, and made sure we weren’t stuck in galleries for three days straight.
If given more time in Vienna, or the day I decide to go back, I would definitely explore the Art History Museum and Upper Belvedere to see some Klimt, which is what Vienna’s art scene is most famous for. You can find Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’ on crappy souvenirs everywhere.
Hofburg Palace, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
My one non-negotiable for this trip however, was the state hall in the Austrian National Library. Which was essentially a book lover’s dream. It was something straight out of Beauty and the Beast, and there are truly no words to convey how in awe I was of the painted ceilings, the immense shelves of books. I wondered while there how long it had been since some of those books had actually been read, whether people were even allowed to read them anymore. It was one of those places that you can’t really believe that you’re standing in while you’re there, so the moment slips through your fingers and the pictures no longer seem like ones you took.
I also decided we had to do one (possibly overhyped) extremely touristy thing and stop at Demel so I could try Sachertorte. My grandma had also passionately insisted that we go to a nice tearoom, because it was one of her favourite things she did when visiting the city. Demel is a rather fancy coffee house, with chandeliers from the ceiling and a queue down the stairs of people waiting for a table. I would advise not to let this put anyone off upon arrival though, as the queue went down very quickly and we were seated in about ten minutes. Sachertorte is an incredibly rich cake, but it was beautiful with a latte and about forty minutes to rest our feet. My friend had their famous Kaiserschmarrn, which are torn up pieces of pancakes, caramelised and dusted with powdered sugar, with stewed plum on the side. Also delectable. I thoroughly miss the sweet treats from Vienna, and would return just for those.
Austrian National Library, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
Austrian National Library, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
Demel, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
To top off our first full day in Vienna, we walked down to the Votivekirche, and watched bats flying around in Sigmund Freud Park as it started to get dark. I’d booked tickets to see the new biopic ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ at the Votivekino just around the corner from the church. It was a little bit difficult because the website wouldn’t translate to English, but I was almost ninety percent sure that the film was going to be in English with German subtitles.
Thank God, it was. (I still prefer A Complete Unknown out of recent biopics though.)
It was a rather simple little cinema but also seemed to function as quite a busy bar in the evening, as it was packed when we came out of the film. It did feel kind of thrilling knowing that we were getting to see the film a day before the UK and America, almost like we had our own little premiere. We also got to see some very interesting trailers and adverts before the film that we only had context clues for, because of course, they were in German.
‘Vienna was a crisp, autumnal breath of fresh air. I loved how Vienna moved as a city - the brown leaves flying around, the busy street crossings and the streetcars all over the city… Despite there being a lot of movement going on in the centre, I never felt rushed at all. Maybe it was because its the off-season and things are a little quieter in October, but the city felt so peaceful to me.’
- An excerpt from my travel journal, Vienna, 2025
Day 2 - Schonbrunn and St. Paul’s Cathedral
On the morning of our second day we hopped on Vienna’s subway system (much cleaner and more pleasant than London’s, by the way) and headed slightly outside of the city to Schonbrunn Palace. Despite the city not being too hectic, the peace of Schonbrunn and its grounds was a welcome reprieve from the city centre. It was probably my favourite thing we did whilst in Vienna – and we didn’t even pay to go into the palace (yet another thing I’d do when I go back).
You could easily spend an entire day at Schonbrunn, the grounds are so extensive, they have a zoo and multiple mazes. There are also a few little cafés, including Café Pavillon, which was very quiet in the morning when we got there – coffee was my first port of call, unsurprisingly. We had cake – the Haustorte – and apple strudel, and I have to say that the Haustorte at Schonbrunn was by far my favourite sweet treat of the trip, even better than Demel’s favourite Sachertorte (if I had to pick!).
Schonbrunn gardens themselves are like a maze, we probably could’ve done with a map to get around. Every corner you turn around there is a new water feature or Roman inspired statue. The artistry and work that went into this palace and these grounds is frankly jaw-dropping. Part of the grounds are uphill, and they go up to another café in a kind of walkway feature that reminded me somewhat of Prior Park in Bath, partially because of their layouts and partially because of the shape of the bridge in Prior Park.
I will forever argue that Schonbrunn Palace and its grounds are a must-see landmark in Vienna.
Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
Cafe Pavillon, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, photo taken by my best friend, 2025
Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
Later that day we spent some time exploring a few other of the city’s districts, getting bratwurst for lunch at the Naschmarkt and hopping on the streetcar across the city to see Hundertwasser house, a row of funky, colourful flats designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
And of course we had to try Schnitzel before we left, which was our final Austrian meal. It was solid, but – and I don’t know if this is absolute sacrilege to say – it feels like the equivalent of British fish and chips, in Austria. There’s nothing wrong with fish and chips though!
And then, for our final evening in Vienna: a classical music concert at St. Charles’ Church. We figured we’d hit two birds with one stone, and instead of paying separately to go into St. Charles’, we’d buy tickets to see Vivaldi’s Four Seasons concert, ticking off another of what feels like a Viennese bucket list experience, and also getting to see inside the church.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure whether I’d enjoy the classical music concert – it’s not exactly something I would take myself to at home. However, even though our cheaper tickets meant we ended up on the balcony, and we were breaking our backs leaning over to have a proper view the whole time, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It felt lovely to be so completely enthralled in something so simple and pure – just a few musicians onstage in a grand church, the songs of a long-dead composer echoing through the space.
Hundertwasser House, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
Votivekirche, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
St. Charles’ Church, Vienna, photo taken by me, 2025
There’s no doubt in my mind that one day I’ll be back in Vienna, seeing everything that didn’t get ticked off my list this time. There are so many other cafés I want to sit in and watch the world go by, paintings to visit, city streets to explore, operas to see. That’s the beautiful thing about exploring somewhere new for the first time – realising there’s always more to see.