Where to Stay in Vienna, Wien

What is Vienna known for?

The Hofburg Palace and the Belvedere stand among grand halls of state, while the Kunsthistorisches Museum holds one of Europe's great art collections. Music threads through the city, from the Mozarthaus Vienna to its concert life. The Danube runs past it all.

What are the main landmarks in Vienna?

Vienna packs great landmarks into a compact centre. The Hofburg Palace anchors the old core, near the Albertina and the Austrian National Library. Museums crowd the streets: the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Leopold Museum.

To the south stand the Belvedere and the Karlskirche, while across the city the Wiener Riesenrad turns above the parkland near the Danube. Palaces, churches, and museums fill the map.

What is the history of Vienna?

Vienna began as Vindobona, a Roman camp set on the river Danube. From that outpost grew the capital of Austria. The Danube gave it a route and a defensive line, and settlement gathered on the plain.

Over the centuries Vienna rose into a seat of power, its rulers raising the Hofburg Palace at the centre and the Belvedere beyond. Music made the city famous. The concert halls and the Mozarthaus Vienna recall an age when the capital drew composers from across Europe.

Palaces and churches multiplied, from Saint Peter's Church to the Karlskirche. In time the city became a federal state in its own right, one of the nine states of Austria. From a Roman camp on the Danube grew one of Europe's great capitals.

Where is Vienna?

Vienna lies on the river Danube, spread across a broad, low plain. The Danube runs through the city, splitting it between its two banks. Level ground carries most of the streets.

The land is mostly flat. The river gives Vienna its central axis and marks the low site by the water where the city first grew and spread.

What is the climate of Vienna?

Vienna has a temperate, continental climate marked by clear seasons. Summers grow warm and dry, with hot spells over the plain. Winters bring cold air and spells of snow, though the river keeps the sharpest chill off the low ground along its banks.

Autumn comes crisp and bright. The Danube and the surrounding lowland hold the weather steady between the extremes of the seasons.

How do you get to Vienna?

Vienna is the country's main point of arrival. As the capital of Austria on the Danube, the city draws rail and road from every neighbouring country and river traffic along the great waterway that runs through it. Most long-haul journeys reach here first.

From Vienna, the rest of Austria opens up by rail and road across a compact country. Water and rail meet in the capital.