Another solo trip and a brand new country ticked off the bucket list! I spent 3 days exploring the capital city of Austria, Vienna. As a newly single almost-30 year old girl living in London, I felt nervous that my travelling would slow down when my long-term relationship ended this year. Not only is travelling with another person less anxiety provoking as you have another person to share ideas with and problem solve with when things go wrong, but travelling as a single girl can also be expensive as you do not have another person to split that hotel room or Uber with.
After a very spontaneous summer adventure travelling solo for 1 month exploring Europe, I felt eager to continue ticking off as many new cities and countries as I could. I made a conscious decision to embrace the freedom during this period of my life by going wherever and doing whatever I wanted to without having to negotiate with another person.
Read about my 1-month long European Adventure here!
About Vienna
Vienna, the capital city of Austria, is nothing short of history and charm. During my 3 day city break, I purchased a 3-day Vienna Pass for €143 (£120) which included unlimited use of the hop on/hop off bus and various attractions. I loved spending time wandering around the city and popping into any nearby museums and attractions that were included in the pass. I am usually wary of purchasing City passes as I don’t think that they’re usually worth the money, but with the Vienna pass, I was blown away with how many attractions that I was able to visit for such an affordable price.
Known as “The City of Music”, Vienna was home to some famous music composers including Mozart and Beethoven, and Vienna is famous for its musical performances in the concert halls to this day. I actually booked a guided tour around the Opera House using the Vienna Pass, but I got the time of my booking wrong and very sadly turned up an hour late and unfortunately no more slots were available that day.
Attractions that I visited using my Vienna Pass
- Schönbrunn Palace – Entrance to the State Apartments was free, including an audio guide. The rest of the palace can be explored for an extra €10. However, there was a 1-hour wait for this option, so I decided to opt out. Although, the palace is beautiful and I would have loved to have seen more! The stunning architecture and the gardens are definitely worth the visit. There is also the option to attend an Apple Strudel show inside of the palace for free with the Vienna Pass, but unfortunately these only run once an hour. However, what a great opportunity to see how the Viennese delicacy is made!
Price without the Vienna Pass = €22 for entrance to the State Apartments. - Schönbrunn Orangery – The second largest Orangery in the world, being 189m long and 10m wide! Inspired by Ancient Rome, the Orangery is complete with underfloor heating which has been running for 250 years to ensure the perfect temperature for the growth of citrus trees and other plants. The Orangery was historically used for a range of festivities, primarily musical concerts, including the performance by Mozart, who performed here at 6 years old in 1786. To this day, the Orangery occasionally hosts palace concerts.
- Schönbrunn Zoo – Home to 7800 animals from 7 species, Schönbrunn Zoo is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and welcomes more than 2 million guests per year! From koala bears to polar bears, to monkeys and tigers, Schönbrunn Zoo has been rated the best European zoo numerous times. The Vienna pass included entrance to Schönbrunn zoo, the desert house and the palm house.
Price without the Vienna pass = €36 - Panorama Train – With no prior plan to use this attraction, I jumped at the opportunity when the train arrived as I was leaving the zoo. Whilst embarking on the bumpy journey to tour the Palace gardens, I learnt so much about the history of Vienna using the audio guide provided. The Panorama train offers plenty of opportunities to hop off to explore the sites.
One of the stops of the journey was the Small Glorieriet, the two-story tower painted in the same colours of the palace, built between 1755 – 1772. The history of the Small Glorieriet was explained by the Audio Guide as an escape in the forest for lovers to secretly unite. However, my favourite stop of the journey was the Obelisk Water Fountain, supported by 4 turtles to symbolise stability, power and the connection between Heaven and Earth. The fountain is engraved in hieroglylthic carvings, depicting the fight between good and evil while using water to signify the flow of time and the continuity of the empire in Austria.
Price without the Vienna Pass = €15
- St Stephen’s Cathedral – A gothic masterpiece and a symbol of Vienna, located in the centre of the city. I stumbled upon this whilst walking around Vienna, and I was in awe at the stunning architecture. If climbing the tower, a view of the whole city can be seen!
- Vienna City Cruise – Danube Canal – A relaxing way to see Vienna from the water! A 60-minute cruise is included with the Vienna Pass, with the option to purchase food and drinks on board. This is one of the attractions that has to be booked online in advance. I was lucky enough to capture the beautiful sunset over the water, which was a highlight of the trip.
Price without the Vienna Pass = €29.50 - Sigmund Freud Museum – Being a Mental Health Practitioner, my book of choice for this trip was ‘Mentalizing the Body’, exploring the integration of the body and mind using Psychotherapy. With a heavy focus on the work of Sigmund Freud, I could not give this museum a miss! It was the only museum that I visited during my trip to Vienna, although the city is filled with exciting museums suited for everyone.
Price without the Vienna Pass = €14.50
Getting Around Vienna
In addition to the attractions, I utilised the Hop On/Off Bus as often as I could with the Vienna Pass, which minimised the additional expenses of using public transport around Vienna. I downloaded the live timings for the Hop On/Hop Off bus, which provided directions to the nearest stops in addition to tracking the buses live so you could be sure how long that you would be waiting for. However, the public transport system was very accessible and on the couple of occasions that I did use it, Google Maps provided accurate timings for the metro, trams and buses.
Vienna turned out to be the perfect city to explore solo for 4-nights. It was very affordable, the food and wine was amazing and I found all of the locals to be very welcoming and hospitable. I would love to return during Summer time in the future, as I think that the long Summer days in the city would be beautiful!
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