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Tours of the City
Walking Tours
There are 11 tours available in English (and many more in German), as part of the Vienna Walks programme (tel: (01) 876 7111; website: www.viennawalks.tix.at or www.wienguide.at). These vary from ‘Vienna in the Footsteps of The Third Man’, which scouts out the locations of the famous film, to tours of the homes of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. Other popular options include tours focusing on a historical period, Jewish life in Vienna, or the underground city of crypts and wine cellars. Tours take one and a half to two and a half hours and cost €11–16. Any admission fees and transport on the U-bahn, trams or buses are extra. These tours do not need to be pre-booked.
Original Vienna Walks (tel/fax: (01) 889 2896; e-mail: contact@verliebtinwien.at; website: www.verliebtinwien.at) offers a program of walks in both German and English (August to October). The walks vary, but include Art Nouveau architecture, medieval quarters and hidden courtyards, or the Imperial Palace. Tours are between 90 minutes and two hours and cost €10.50, with a minimum of three walkers per group.
Bus Tours
Vienna Sightseeing Tours (tel: (01) 7124 68380; fax: (01) 714 1141; e-mail: vst@viennasightseeingtours.com; website: www.viennasightseeingtours.com) offers a number of half-day city tours, as well as full-day excursions to Prague, Budapest and other locations. The three-and-a-half-hour ‘Historical City Tour’, which includes a visit to Schönbrunn Palace, costs €32. Hotel pick-up is arranged and participants are given the option of a free transfer to Vienna Sightseeing Tours’ hop on-hop off service, the Vienna Line. This sightseeing bus route has 13 stops and departs 1000, 1100, 1300, 1400, 1500 and 1600 from the Staatsoper. A full circuit takes two hours and 45 minutes, while full hop-on hop-off day tickets cost €18. These are available for purchase on the bus, at the Staatsoper stop or from many hotel concierges.
Cityrama (tel: (01) 534 1312; e-mail: office@cityrama.at; website: www.cityrama.at) offers a similar full city tour, as well as number of other tours of Vienna and other destinations, in both German and English. The ‘Sisi Tour’ (Sisi is the name given to Emperor Franz Joseph’s wife, Elisabeth) covers the historical sites of the city and includes a visit to St Stephen’s Cathedral, Hofburg and a training session at the Spanish Riding School. The three-hour tour costs €33, which does not include entrance to the Spanish Riding School. Free hotel pick-up is arranged.
Boat Tours
The DDSG Blue Danube Schiffahrt GmbH (tel: (01) 588 800; fax: (01) 5888 0440; e-mail: info@ddsg-blue-danube.at; website: www.ddsg-blue-danube.at) offers cruises on the River Danube, available daily from mid-April to the end of September. The two sightseeing tours, the ‘Grand Danube River Cruise’ and the ‘Hundertwasser Tour’, go between Schwedenplatz and Reichsbrücke (see Getting There By Water) and it is possible to take one tour in one direction and return on the other tour. Each tour lasts 70–100 minutes and costs €10.50 (€14 return). They also offer themed cruises and evening dance cruises.
Other Tours
Three- to four-hour bicycle tours are provided by Pedal Power, Ausstellungsstrasse 3 (tel: (01) 729 7234; website: www.pedalpower.at), departing from the Prater ferris wheel, daily at 1000 May to September. Tours cost €23, which includes a bike and guide, and cover a number of city sites, such as KunstHausWien, St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Danube Canal.
The Old-Timer Tramway, is a sightseeing tour on trams that date from 1929. The tour departs from the Art Nouveau subway pavilion at Karlsplatz on Saturday and Sunday May to October. Tickets and information are available from the information office of the Vienna Transport Authority, Karlsplatz (tel: (01) 587 3186; website: www.wienerlinien.co.at). Points of interest include the Rathskeller, the Burgtheatre, the University of Vienna, the Schönbrunn Palace and the Riesenrad. Tickets for the two-hour tour cost €15 (concessions available).
Alternatively, a romantic, albeit expensive, way for visitors to see the city is by a traditional Fiaker (horse-drawn carriage). These are available for hire on Graben and just to the north of St Stephen’s Cathedral, at Heldenplatz (near the Hofburg) and at Albertinaplatz (behind the Staatsoper). The cost for up to four people is approximately €40 for 20 minutes (klein), €56 for 40 minutes (gross) or €95 for one hour (Stunde). The exact prices and lengths of the ride must be negotiated in advance.
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General
