Austria
Best pizzas I have ever had, better than the restaurants! Tasty, quick and cheap.
Do not miss this if you visit Vienna - just a short and cheap underground ride from the centre and main attractions, Naschmarkt is a great place to explore for fun, or simply to eat very cheaply. Choose from a wide range of specialist food stalls (lots of cheese, olives etc) from around the world. A great multi-cultural experience if you get the chance, and even better if you're on a budget!
Nashmarkt
If you go to a restaurant with massive portions don't be shy about asking for any food (e.g. Schnitzel) that you don't eat to be wrapped in foil so you can take it away with you. Lots of locals do it and there's no shame attached.
My favourite cafe in Vienna. For all who appreciate comfortable, well-used, elegantly scruffy interiors, in which a lot of the fittings are probably from the 50s or 60s.
The service is perfect Viennese tradition: efficient and quick (when the waiter isn’t on a cigarette break), skilled (the coffee is fine - rough and strong; the little trays fly around on improbable trajectories, but without spilling a drop) and with just that hint that you’re really bloody lucky to be getting served at all.
Have a grosser brauner: it'll set you up for the day (or night). The large mound of newspapers also meets the requirement of tradition, as does the classic Viennese breakfast of a couple of semmel and perhaps a boiled egg. Perfect for arriving in Vienna from a night train.
It’s opposite Westbahnhof train station, on the corner of Mariahilfer Straße and the Gürtel. When you come out of the main entrance of the station, head straight across the big road, crossing all the tramlines, going past the U-bahn hall, and then its just 10 yards to the right after you get across the last bit of pedestrian crossing. If you’re coming from the underground, there’s an exit right next to the door of the cafe; if memory serves, it’s labelled "innere mariahilferstr".
Mariahilfer Straße 128;
tel: 01 5233183
A brilliant out-of-the way restaurant with cheap, huge plates of schnitzel. Much better than some of the tourist traps in the centre of town.
Neubaugassse, 52, 7th district; Volkstheater or Neubaugasse underground stop
A couple of the trams follow the Ringstrasse around central Vienna. I remember doing this on an early Sunday morning (whilst most good Viennese are still in bed or at early Mass). It's the best way to see the huge changes to the city made in the 19th-century, including the Opera House, the Rauthaus and other institutions built as part of Frank Josef II's reimagining of his imperial city. Also a good place to flirt and smile at the Viennese.
Any tram stop on the Ringstrasse
There are some luggage lockers at Wien Mitte / City Airport Terminal but not as many as you'd think. They're near the McDonalds. Don't rely on being able to deposit your luggage as they might all be occupied.
Wien Mitte station
Sausages filled with molten cheese. Best bought from one of the many Würschtlstände (sausage stands) dotted around the city. Ask for a Käsekrainer hotdog and they take a mini baguette, hollow out the centre, fill it with ketchup and mustard and stuff the cheese-filled sausage in. They're probably heart attacks waiting to happen, the dripping ketchup and mustard are guaranteed to make a mess of your shoes / clothes but they taste amazing, especially late at night
all over the city
The Viennese Opera House is justly world famous, but costs a bomb and you must book some time in advance. Instead, do the student thing and queue for a Stehplatz, but you need good legs. Standing for 3 hours is good fun, but tiring.
In the 1st district, on the Ringstrasse (Ring Road), with a metro station of the same name.
This pension is good quality cheap accommodation. While it is really basic for those people on a tight budget, this hotel is perfect. And it’s ideally located just a minute away from the Opera House. I would highly recommend this place.
Walfischgasse 4, A-1010, which is just of the Kartnering. It is also very close to local transport links; www.pension-suzanne.at/english/index_2.htm
Small typical Viennese Beisl in the 9th district. Dunno if it's still on the menu but I used to say I'd choose an endless supply of owner Herbert's Krautsuppe (cabbage soup) as my desert island discs luxury item. Now very popular with the nearby Wirtschaftsuniversität staff as he does an all you can eat buffet. So try and go at the weekend. Classic Viennese cuisine at its best
Reznicekgasse 10, 1090 Vienna, tel.: 0043 1 317 91 40, take the D tram towards Nußdorf and get off at Althanstrasse or Augasse
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