Austria Destinations Europe Vienna

Visiting Vienna In Winter Time

While Andrew was in Amsterdam exploring the city at Christmas a couple of weeks ago, I was exploring Vienna for a magical weekend (which also happened to fall on my birthday so even more magical). Here is a selection of images from my time there.

Where We Stayed

We based ourselves at the fabulous Le Méridien Vienna which is located in the heart of the city on the Ringstraße which is the road around the old town. It’s ideal for a luxury weekend break in the city!

We stayed in one of their luxurious Terrace Suites which has the most fantastic views across the city.

You can read the full hotel review here.

What We Did

You can’t go to Vienna in winter and not have a nosy around the Christmas Markets. They are dotted all over the city, with a large one at the Natural History Museum which was a short walk from our hotel.

The winter market was packed with stalls selling the most beautiful trinkets and Christmas gifts.

The winter markets have plenty of gluhwein wine stalls and I recommend you warm yourself up with one of these delicious hot alcoholic drinks. Across the road from the Natural History Museum is the Museums Quartier and in the middle of the square we found some brilliant little pop up bars!.

Our hotel had an amazing Champagne bar which is open to the public and great for a glass of Champagne to start the night off.

We didn’t get a chance to have dinner at Albertina Passage, but look out for the big rabbit next to the Opera House. The restaurant was a former underground pedestrian walkway that has been transformed into a bar/restaurant/jazz club, which came highly recommended to us.

This is the Cathedral in the centre of Vienna. If you get lost just find your way back to the Cathedral.

The shopping in Vienna is great, there are many luxury shopping options, but I also loved the huge number of small independent shops dotted all over the city.

Mozart lived in Vienna and you can visit where he lived and learn more about the musical genius.

It’s easy to walk about Vienna in awe of the city, but I highly recommend you take a walking tour around it, to learn more about the fascinating history of the city. There are many that leave from the square next to the State Opera House.