Staying a month in Vienna has
advantages over shorter trips there. One is that I do not feel the need to
cram everything I want to do into just a few days, so my pace is more leisurely
and relaxed. Also, an extended vacation in the city ensures that I have a wider
selection of concerts, operas, and other events from which to choose. For
example, during both of my month-long visits, the Musikverein had an orchestra
playing Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, a favorite, and had other attractive
offerings scattered among other concerts that did not interest me.
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| Vienna Flea Market, Open Saturdays at Naschmarkt |
With more time to amble about the
city, I made multiple visits to the Saturday flea market at Naschmarkt, filling
my bags with fascinating old pictures, postcards, and books. Also, I went
several times to the book and stamp room of the Dorotheum (adding more things
to cart back home), and even attended an auction there. The extra time in the
city also gave me time to walk around some of areas of the city, such as
Simmering, that I have rarely visited.
A month in Vienna not only
provide opportunities for more exploration of the city, but also can be
economical. The cost per day of vacationing in Vienna can be significantly
reduced by renting an apartment for thirty days or more. Also, because rental
apartments have fully equipped kitchens, money can be saved by making and
eating meals there, dining out only on special occasions.
The monthly cost of renting a
comfortable, fully equipped apartment starts at about $50 per day for a place
large enough for one or two people. A comparable hotel room, without a kitchen,
would cost at least $100. If two unrelated people want an apartment large
enough for two separate sleeping areas, the cost per person starts at around $35 per person per day.
If you enjoy Vienna and have the
time, a month-long visit may make sense. Here are some things to consider when
planning such a trip and some tools to help.
When to Go
For me, any month is a good month
to be Vienna, but some months are better than the others. The least desirable
months for a longer stay are July and August. During these months, the
Staatsoper, Volksoper, Burgtheater, and Musikverein do not offer their regular
fare of performances. Major orchestras and production companies are traveling
or on vacation. However, all is not lost during these months because the city
provides some music, outdoor theater, and other attractions for tourists, often
at spectacular outdoor venues such as the City Hall plaza and Schönbrunn
Palace.
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| Summer Outdoor Movie Theater in front of the City Hall |
Two other things to consider when
thinking about a July or August stay in Vienna:
First, most apartments are not air conditioned, and these months can be
scorchers. Second, finding a bargain — or even reasonably priced — flight from
the United States to Vienna during these months is likely to be more difficult than
during other months.
The other ten months do not have
the same drawbacks as July and August, and each has its own advantages. My
choice in 2010 was to spend the month of April in Vienna. In 2011, I left a
week earlier, arriving in Vienna during the last week of March and staying to
the last week in April. I selected these
months because:
● Flights from Seattle to Vienna were reasonably
priced during this period (about $1,000)
● I expected the
weather to be decent, and both years, it was very comfortable in Vienna during
these months, with only a few uncomfortable days.
● The city would
not be too crowded with tourists; there were plenty, but not hoards.
● Vienna’s
Easter markets were open during these times. Easter markets -- at Freyung and
Schoenbrunn -- have booths with food and handicrafts, plus attractive easter
decorations. They are fun to visit
● I would have a
good choice of apartments for the month.
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| The Old Vienna Easter Market at Freyung |
In both 2011 and 2012, the timing
of my month-long stays worked out well. However, two things that I enjoy were
unavailable until the end of my time in Vienna. First, because of the iffy
weather, few musical events were held at outdoor venues. Outdoor concerts and
other events are usually fun in Vienna and many are available in warmer months.
Second, the city’s heuriger (places located near the Vienna Woods serving new
wine) did not offer outside seating until the weather warmed near the end of my
vacation. Sitting outside at a heuriger, surrounded by vineyards, is one of the
true pleasures of a visit to Vienna.
No doubt, May, June, September,
and October are spectacular months to be in Vienna, though they cost a little
more and are more crowded. The city’s annual arts festival (Wiener Festwochen)
starts in May, offering some of the best musical and other cultural events of
the year. The festival continues through June, and is supplemented that month
by many special outdoor events. In September and October, the weather cools and
the new concert and opera seasons open. These months are great for tromping
around the Vienna Woods and sipping new wine in Grinzing, Heiligenstadt, and
Nussdorf.
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| An Outdoor Heuriger Surrounded by Vineyards near Beethovenweg |
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| Christmas Market in from the Vienna City Hall |
These Christmas markets are a
treat to visit. I have timed several week-long Vienna vacations to be there in
early December so that I could enjoy the warm wine, decorative lights, historic
settings, and gemütlichkeit of these Christmas markets. In some years, the
evenings at these colorful markets were
comfortable; during a few years, the cold was almost unbearable.
Where to Stay: Finding an
Apartment
In both 2010 and 2011, I found an
apartment for my month-long stay using the internet. Both years, I spent
several hours comparing options, finally choosing one in a preferred location
at a reasonable price.
In 2010, I traveled to Vienna
with a friend -- a former college roommate -- who had recently retired and had
never visited Vienna. We want a space large enough to have two sleeping areas.
We ended up in a 70+ square meter apartment on Schopenhauergasse in the 19th
district (about four blocks from the Volksoper). It was fully equipped with
wireless internet, dish- and clothes- washers, cable television, and kitchen.
Bedding, towels, dishes and other necessities for daily life were provided. The
apartment had one bedroom and one very large living room/kitchen area. Moving
an extra bed from the bedroom to the living room, we had the two living areas
we wanted.
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| Part of the Living Room-Kitchen at Schopenhauergasse Apt. |
The apartment was nicely
maintained. After occupying it, we did not see the apartment owner again,
though we talked to her on the telephone on different occasions. We cleaned the
apartment (with the equipment that was provided) and washed our bedding.
The location of the apartment was
nearly perfect. It was on a quiet residential street a short walk to the
streetcar on Wäehringerstrasse and two nearby subway stops. Several small
grocery stores and bakeries were within four blocks. Also, a couple of block
away was an outdoor market with fresh vegetables, plus some good baked and
cooked goods.
We paid just under $2,000 for the
apartment (including utilities), about $33 per night per person. The utilities
were included in the price. The only disconcerting thing about renting the
apartment was that I had to wire the full payment for it in a couple of months
advance. The owner did not take credit cards. Wiring this amount of money to an
unknown person was a bit of a leap of faith. Fortunately, it worked out well.
In 2011, I rented a smaller
apartment (36 sq meters) for myself in the 6th district, on Liniengasse. The
price was about $1,500, or $50 per night. I chose the apartment for its
location (a short walk from the West Train Station, near Mariahilferstrasse)
and amenities. It was on the third floor of a five-story building; a small
grocery store was on the first floor. From the apartment, it was a short walk to
a bus stop on Gumperdorferstrasse and to a subway station.
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| The Newly Reconstructed West Train Station |
The owner went out of her way to
make the stay there enjoyable, meeting me at the West Train Station to guide me
to the apartment and offering to clean and wash the bedding whenever I wanted
her to. As with the other apartment, it was fully equipped, including such
extras as a microwave and electric tea pot.
Again, I paid for the apartment
several weeks in advance, but this time I was allowed to use Paypal, which
meant that I could use my credit card and had some protection if something
went wrong with the rental.
I describe my experience renting
two apartments to illustrate the rental process and how easy it was. If you
have an interest in renting an apartment for a month or longer stay, I suggest
that you check out these three websites:
I used the first one for my two
rentals, though I also checked rental accommodations (and even tried to rent an
apartment) using the second one. I have not used the third one.
Each of these sites provide, in
German and English, a list of apartments for rent with a description, pictures,
and a location map for each apartment. The first site, www.apartmentnetzwerk.at,
is easiest to navigate (though it is by no means elegant) and it has a calendar
showing for each apartment the days that it has been rented and the days it is
available. Using an interactive page, you can check price and make a
reservation by entering the first and last days that you would like to rent the
apartment. This page will confirm the apartment’s availability during the days
you want it and show the price. At that point, you can use the interactive page
to reserve the apartment for the days you selected. After you make a
reservation, the apartment owner will contact you by email with information
about payment.
The last time I looked at this
site (June 2012), it had listings for 359 apartments. These listing could be
sorted by price or by location (district). One thing is important to remember:
for many of these apartments, to get a bargain price you need to stay a full 30
days (a month). For example, when I searched the price of the apartment on
Liniengasse where I stayed this year, I found the price was 1,785 Euros from
November 1 to November 30 (29 days), but was 1,125 Euros from November 1 to
December 1 (30 days).
The second website is a bit clumsier.
However, it has one feature that is better than the first site: it allows
sorting of apartments by category (economy, standard, premium), location
(district), and features (smoking, pets,
internet, parking, elevator). Thus, it can help you find an apartment that best
meets your needs if you have a special situation (e.g., traveling with a dog). Unfortunately,
this website does not have the calendar feature showing the dates that the
apartments are available. It also requires more clicking to find pictures,
price, and descriptions. If you find an apartment that you want to rent, you
must complete a form specifying the apartment and the days you would like to
rent it, then the site operators will respond by e-mail in a few hours letting
you know if the apartment is available when you want it and its price. This
site had about 145 apartment units listed for rent.
In early 2011, had some problems
reserving an apartment using this site. Twice, I sent, via the web
site, an inquiry about renting an apartment. Each time the response stated that
the apartment was not available on the dates I requested. Because of time zone
differences and the lag between completing the apartment inquiry form and the
response, I wasted several days trying to rent, without success, an apartment
though this site.
The third site allows sorting by
district, apartment name, number of persons accommodated, size, and quality
rating. In June 2011, it had 196 apartments listed. Like the second website, it
does not show on-line the availability of apartments, instead requiring completion
of an inquiry form to determine if a specific apartment is available during the
days that a person wants to rent it.
In addition to these two
websites, you might also wish to check for an apartment on the Vienna
Craigslist. I suggest looking at two locations on Craigslist. The first is
This set of listings is mostly
for daily and weekly rentals, but occasionally has listings for longer term
stays.
The second site is http://vienna.en.craigslist.at/apa/ It might be worthwhile to keep an eye on
these listings. They ads by people who want to rent their apartments some
specified period (weeks to months) while
they will be away. With a little luck, it may be possible to get a good deal on
such a rental for the weeks that you plan to spend in Vienna.
Many other websites offer
apartments for rent. Many of these website are for short-term rentals,
including these:
Other websites offer a small set
of apartments located together or near each other. In most cases, these
apartments are available for short-term or longer term rental.
When you know the days that you plan to be in Vienna, it makes sense to purchase tickets for major cultural events in advance. Of course, the earlier you decide which events you want to attend, the more likely you will be able to buy tickets before the event is sold out. Also, you are more likely to be able to find tickets in your preferred price range. There seems to be no shortage of tickets costing several hundred dollars each, but ticket costing $30 to $60 each are much harder to find for the more popular events.
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| On Stage with the Munich Symphony Orchestra, Musikverein |
A good first stop for planning
the trip to Vienna is this website, which provides an overview of what is
happening in Vienna and what will be happening in the coming months:
This site is comprehensive,
showing not only the high culture events, but also pop concerts, diverse performances,
outdoor festivals, and other public events of all kinds. A branch of this site has a searchable
listing of events by day and location: http://events.wien.info/en/
You can also research events and
buy tickets for them at for-profit websites, including:
http://www.viennaclassic.com/uebersicht.php?comefrom=uebersicht&navid=100&sid=ff9e08d98847f9d369207080441e4596&setlang=E
When it comes to the premium
music events in Vienna, I prefer to buy directly from the official ticket
office of the Musikverein, Konzerthaus, Volksoper, and Staatsoper. When buying
directly on their websites, it is easy to review the schedule of upcoming
performances , select the ones to attend, pick the seat(s) that I want, and purchase
the tickets.
The sites for concerts are:
(If the home page appears in
German, it can be changed to English by clicking the EN button at the top of
the page.)
You can use these websites to
find the concerts at the Musikverein and Konzerthaus for coming months, and you
can buy tickets, selecting the price range you want and selecting your seats. To
buy tickets, you will need to establish an account at the sites, which is very
easy. Also, you can sign up for email updates that will keep you informed of
coming events. After you purchase tickets, you can pick them up at the ticket
office of the Musikverein or the Konzerthaus after you arrive in the city.
The sites for the Vienna State
Opera and the Volksoper have similar pages, easy to negotiate, to identify
performances scheduled for each month and buy the tickets you want.
I have used these pages for
several years and have never had any problems with them. Just remember to print
out receipts for your purchases and take them with you.
Time to Go
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| One of Vienna's Many Museums |
By finding the right apartment, a
person traveling alone should be able to have great month in Vienna for about
$150 per day; a couple traveling together can have a month in the city for
about $135 per person per day. For a single traveler, the costs include $1,000
for an international flight, $1,500 for an apartment, and $2,000 ($67 per day)
for everything else (meals, transportation, entertainment). For a couple, the
expenses include $2,000 for international transportation, $2,200 for an
apartment, and $65 per day per person for everything else.
If those costs fit your budget,
if you have the time, and if you enjoy what the great city has to offer, it’s
time to go.
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