This page is your homebase for general tips on traveling to Austria, as well as recommendations for activities in Vienna and Burgenland.

Health and Travel Tips

• Bring a converter!  Austria, like much of continental Europe, uses a two-pin (Type F) plug.  230 Volts.  Not all devices switch automatically, so check your device's voltage.
• Pack for sun and rain.  Temperatures in the Vila Vita area are expected to range between 11C/52F and 19C/66F
• Tip about 10%, plus a little more on small orders
• Although rare, there are disease-carrying ticks and mosquitos, so try to deter encounters by exercising caution, wearing protective clothing on excursions, and considering the use of repellants.
• For medical assistance:
  • The general emergency number in Austria is 112
  • For an ambulance: call 144
  • For emergency medical service: call 141
• Film & photography permits are not required in the Nationalpark, but you must obey "Wegegebot", meaning staying on paths and not ignoring fences.  As long as your stay on roads and dirts paths, you can film and photography anything.  Drone use is prohibited.

About Burgenland

Burgenland, is the only state in Austria without a slice of the Alps, and home to the only steppe national park in the country. The least populated and youngest addition to the Republic of Austria (incorporated from The Kingdom of Hungary under the Hapsburg Empire), it is known for its sunshine, mild climate, vineyards and excellent wines, extensive bike trails, and for its Lake Neusiedl.
Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park, which is a transition zone between the Alps and the Pannonian lowlands, is centered around Lake Neusiedl. With its surrounding wetlands and meadows, the area draws a wide range of wildlife, particularly migrating and nesting birds.  The lake is the largest endorheic lake in Central Europe (water flows into, but not out of the lake, which leads to large fluctuations in water levels). And, because the water is relatively shallow and gentle, the area is considered a great place for family swimming.

​Activities in Burgenland

Bird and other wildlife spotting
Baroque donkeys, Hungarian Gray Cattle, Przewalski horses, water buffalo, South Russian tarantulas, and hundreds of species of birds all call Burgenland home.  Remember to pack your binoculars!
Click here to plan your individual or group safaris at Seewinkel National Park.

Cycling, swimming and water sports
Pedal boats and row boats are available a 20 minute drive from Vila Vita, here.
Bike rentals are available a 10 minute drive from Vila Vita, here.
Also, the nextbike app is the country's largest bike rental network throughout Austria.

Trails
​Explore Lange Lacke loop on Alltrails.
Climb the Observation Tower at Sandeck (just south of Illmitz)

Horseback riding and horse carriage riding

Explore towns around Lake Neusiedl, such as Podersdorf am See (and take a walk to its lighthouse)

Experience Burgenland's cultural architectural landmarks

For more ideas, visit
- Burgenland Tourism
- Nationalpark Neusiedler-See
- Lake Neusiedl

Activities in Vienna

Download the official Vienna City Guide App: ivie - Wien Guide
For visitors with disabilities and special needs: ​https://www.wien.info/resource/blob/321726/2bbb2311ce8c135d46ba6b16e6d99e17/accessible-vienna-en-data.pdf

A Walking Tour of Vienna City Center

• Stephansdom (St. Stephan’s Cathedral), with both views and catacombs to explore, is a great starting point.  Stroll down Graben, a wide pedestrian street that dates back to Roman times, where you’ll pass the elaborate Baroque Pestsäule (Plague Column) and the city’s first underground public lavoratories in the Art Nouveau style.
• At the end of Graben, turn left into the luxury shopping street, the Kohlmarkt.  Situated amidst high-end fashion labels and jewelry shops, Demel continues to make the candied violets that were a favorite of Empress Elizabeth of Austria (Sissi). This is a great place for souvenir chocolates or a strudel break!
• Looking down Kohlmarkt, the street leads to a vista of the Hofburg facade (the Michaelertrakt) filled with vigorous statues. Once you arrive at the Michaelerplatz, which is the square in front, you’ll notice the Loos House, Michaelerkirche (St. Michael’s Church), and an exposed Roman excavation, in the middle. Glance down upon the ruins in passing, to witness that the Romans were already enjoying the luxury of floor heating!

• An alternative to stopping in at Demel, would be to go down Herrengasse, one of the oldest streets in Vienna, that radiates from Michaelerplatz.  Built as a military road in Roman times, once the Hofburg was built, it became a prime location for the wealthy gentry wishing to be as close as possible to the Imperial Court. Today this road leads past the ornate, marble pillared Cafe Central, which was one of the many historical hang-outs of Vienna’s big-name intelligentsia. It was formerly referred to as “the chess school” when it was frequented by so many players. As with most traditional Viennese cafes, the menu offers the standard fare of basic traditional dishes, Austrian pastries, and a variety of coffees and refreshment. (For a barrier-free visit, ring the bell at the main entrance and an employee will accompany you to the barrier-free entrance in Herrengasse.)
• Now you’re ready to take on the Hofburg, the Imperial Palace of the Hapsburg Dynasty. It is a sprawling complex, that evolved, and dates from the 13th century, and includes an impressive library (currently undergoing renovation), the Spanish Riding School, and what today, has been turned into various museums.

• For an alternative agenda, or an extremely museum-packed day, cross the Ringstrasse and continue to the Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural History Museum) and the Kunsthistorisches Museum (The Museum of Fine Arts, or literal translation: Art History Museum).  These symmetrical, twin museums are 19th century palatial buildings, embellished with architectural details that are as striking as the works they display.
• The Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural History Museum) houses the Imperial collections, and continues to be a research museum. Among its multitude of objects, is the world’s largest and oldest public collection of meteorites.  Part of its charm is the occasional, unexpected surprise from the past. On the way to the dinosaur bones, for example, you can view Maria Therese’s favorite lapdog, a dwarf spaniel from the 18th century, owned by the Habsburgs.
• Its sister museum, The Kunsthistorisches Museum, is one of the word’s leading fine art museums.  Its primary collections are the art collections of the Habsburgs, which includes an armor collection, the world’s largest Bruegel collection, and noteworthy paintings from a long list of “old masters”.

• ​Just across the street from the twin museums, is the Museums Quartier (a.k.a. MQ ).  Modern architecture integrated into Vienna’s 18th century Imperial stables, form a large complex of museums, cafes, and exhibition spaces arranged around a courtyard of modular lounging structures.  Here, you’ll find the MUMOK (Museum of Modern Art), exhibiting modern and contemporary works, and the Leopold Museum, which features modern Austrian artists, including a number of works by Gustav Klimt, and the world’s largest Egon Schiele collection.
• While at the MQ, be sure to explore the view on the rooftop terrace, MQ Libelle, where there is a kiosk that serves drinks and snacks…a perfect place to take in the sunset! Access is free of charge via elevators on the east side of the Leopold Museum.

• Crossing over the Ringstrasse, and heading back toward the center, enter the Burggarten, the former private garden of the Emperor.  Pass the Mozart sculpture and continue until you reach Palmenhaus, an Imperial art nouveau greenhouse built in the 1820’s, which today refers to the cafe-restaurant of the same name. It's an uplifting place to enjoy a meal or refreshment, while admiring its design, or taking in the view of the garden from its terrace. Initially based on the plans of the Orangery at Schönbrunn, it evolved over time into the multi-use structure that it is today, with the restaurant in the center, flanked by a butterfly house and greenhouse of the state. ​
• When leaving Palmenhaus, exit left, go through the gate, and walk down Hanuschgasse to the legendary corner hotdog stand, “Bitzinger Würstelstand.”  From there, look up to see the terrace of the Albertina Museum.

• ​Continue the curve a few paces, as it bends into Helmut Zilk-Platz, and you’ll find the entrance to one of the world’s finest collections of graphic art, including works from Leonardo Da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer. (Note: the Albertina Modern is a separate museum, at Karlsplatz, with ever-changing contemporary exhibitions.

• Vis-a-vis the hot dog stand, you might also notice the prestigious, world-renowned Wiener Staatoper (The Vienna State Opera, a.k.a. The National Opera), one of the first cultural institutions of Vienna. If you were to cross the street and walk behind it, along Philharmoniker Straße, you’d come upon Hotel Sacher, yet another Vienna legend, and luxury hotel renowned for its Original Sacher-Torte (Sacher cake).  Both the hotel and cake’s rich past began with Eduard Sacher, son of the prodigious pâtissier Franz.  In 1832, at the age of 16, and at the instruction of Prince von Metternic to impress his discerning guests, Eduard Sacher invented the dessert which still bears his name.  To soak up the history and atmosphere, you need not commit to a full meal. Easy, and just as lavish, would be to stop by the Blue Bar for cocktails.

• When you Exit Hotel Sacher, turn the corner into Kärntner Straße, and you’ll find yourself on one of the main pedestrian streets, that leads straight back to to Stephansdom, ending full circle, where this excursion began.

Additional Places to Explore
Viennese traditional coffee houses in the city center
The banks of the Danube Canal, just at the edge of the first district
A good place to start a (or hang out) is around Motto am Fluss.
Upper Belvedere  and some more amazing museums
Naschmarkt: a vibrant open market with stalls running parallel to restaurants
Schonbrunn Palace and its garden (explore the maze!)
Schönbrunn Zoo: the oldest existing zoo, and today one of the most modern ones, in the world.
Prater: A pay-by-the-ride amusement park (no entrance fee) with the famous “Riesenrad” ferris wheel, featured in the Orson Wells film The Third Man…and so much more