A one day walking day in Vienna

I would not recommend you to spend only one day in Vienna but if it is all you have then here is a walking tour that you should take. I advise you to stick to the center of the city, walk around the Ring. You will not be able to see other places like Prater or the Schönbrunn or Belvedere Palaces because for them you need one day for each, especially the Schönbrunn Palace.

For this walking tour you can start from the Stadtpark, if you have a car you will find parking here, plus the park is really beautiful and deserves to be seen. There is a great restaurant here, restaurant Steirereck, for a great Austrian breakfast.

Walk down the Schubertring to the Maria-Theresien-Platz, with the renown statue of Maria-Teresa between the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Museum of Natural History. I would recommend you to visit one of them,but you will not have time for both of them if you wish to continue to tour. I choose the Museum of Natural History, it was great! A lot of things to see and it was maybe the best museum I have ever seen! The Antipa Museum from Bucharest is very small compared to this one!

To get introduced in the life of the royal characters of Austria you can walk across the street and visit the Hofburg, once the complex in the center of Vienna used for political role by the monarchy. Today is has the same role for the Republic of Austria and it is also a part museum, covering the Sisi museum, the royal Silver Collection and the Imperial Apartments.

Right behind the Hofbur is the Michaelerplats with lovely horse carriages and the best coffee house in Vienna Cafe Griensteidl. You must stop here for a coffee and a cake!

From here I would recommend you to cross the Volkgarten and admire the wonderful Parliament of Vienna with the statue of the goddess Athens right in front of the beautiful, imposing building. You can have a 1 hour tour of the Parliament every day, just check the visit center and you can also have an online panoramic view of it here:
http://www.parlament.gv.at/GEBF/ARGE/PARLAUSZEN/PANO_Parlament/Vorplatz_Tour/tour_parlament_vorplatz.html

Next to it is the City Hall building. From where I stand, the most beautiful administrative building in Vienna, is a absolute pleasure to admire it. I wrote some weeks back about the Christmas fairs that take place here, but seeing it during my Summer visit helped me focus more on the actual architecture of the City Hall and not so much on the surroundings. I was sad I couldn't go in for a tour as a minimum of 10 people is required an we were only two.

You will by now, probably feel exhausted but bare just a little bit more. You need to walk the streets inside the Ring and admire all the lovely coffee houses, all the nice shops and churches. Speaking of churches, you cannot leave Vienna without admiring the great Stephansdom! The large Gothic Cathedral has a very imposing position right in the center of the city. The symbol of the city and definitely the most important religious building in Austria.Less