Vienna was the first stop on our September trip through Austria, Hungary and Germany, and I really didn’t know what to expect from it.

When you start researching Vienna, you immediately find lists of museums, palaces, classical concerts, opera performances and art exhibits. And while Vienna is absolutely famous for all of those things, one of the biggest lessons from this trip was this:

You don’t have to travel the way a guidebook tells you to travel.

If you love art, spend hours in the museums. If classical music is your thing, absolutely go to a concert in Vienna. If you could tour historic palaces all day, you are in the right city.

But if those things aren’t really your thing? That’s okay too.

Some of our favorite memories in Vienna involved bikes, pizza, rooftop drinks, walking through the city and a very funny attempt to order lunch from an older Austrian woman who spoke absolutely no English.

Honestly, that was exactly our kind of trip.

Where We Stayed in Vienna

We stayed at Hotel Imperial, a Luxury Collection Hotel, and it was beautiful.

The hotel is historic and elegant and in a great location for exploring central Vienna. We were traveling as part of a group trip through my husband’s work, so some of our events were planned for us, but we also had quite a bit of free time to explore on our own.

After flying overnight from Chicago, we intentionally did not schedule anything with a firm start time for our first afternoon.

This is one of my travel rules that I have learned the hard way: don’t book an expensive tour or timed activity a few hours after an overnight international flight.

Flights get delayed. Rooms aren’t always ready. You might be exhausted. Or, surprisingly, you might feel great.

Pro tip: Give yourself some flexibility.

We dropped our luggage at the hotel and headed out to explore.

Our First Afternoon in Vienna

Our first stop was lunch at Gasthaus Pöschl, a small Austrian restaurant in central Vienna. I had the fried chicken and a cucumber/potato salad.

Then we spent the afternoon walking.

Vienna is an incredibly beautiful city to explore on foot. It also felt exceptionally clean and safe throughout our stay.

We made our way to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, one of the landmarks in the center of Vienna. You can climb up the 343 steps of the South Tower for incredible views, however we weren’t quite ready for that workout after our overnight flight. 😉

Inside the beautiful St Stephen’s Cathedral.

We also wandered along the Graben and Kohlmarkt, two of the main pedestrian and shopping areas in central Vienna.

This was exactly what I wanted from our first day. No complicated itinerary. No rushing from reservation to reservation. We just walked, looked around and got our bearings.

That evening we had our welcome dinner with our group at Hotel Imperial. The service is impeccable at this hotel! I loved the bar just past the lobby, too. My only complaint would be the gym… it was very small.

Rooftop Drinks With a View

One thing I always love finding in a new city is a great rooftop bar.

Our first night we went to SKY Bar, which had gorgeous views over Vienna, including views toward St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

There is something about seeing a European city from above that helps you understand the city in a completely different way. And after a full day of sightseeing, sitting down with a drink and a view is much more my speed than squeezing in one more museum.

We also went to Lamée Rooftop during our stay, another great spot for a cocktail with a view in central Vienna. I highly recommend the espresso martini!

If you’re planning a Vienna trip, I would definitely put at least one rooftop drink on your itinerary.

The Food in Vienna Felt Surprisingly Familiar

Food ended up being one of the things that surprised me most about Vienna.

So much of it reminded me of the food my mom cooked when I was growing up.

My parents are from Quincy, Illinois, which has a strong German Catholic heritage, and suddenly some of those meals from my childhood made a lot more sense.

There was so much meat and potatoes. Hearty, simple food.

Obviously Austrian and German cuisine aren’t exactly the same, but there were flavors and dishes that just felt incredibly familiar to me.

One of our most memorable meals was at Plachutta, a Vienna restaurant famous for Tafelspitz.

Tafelspitz is boiled beef.

Stay with me. 😂

Because “boiled beef” does not exactly sound like something you’d travel across the Atlantic to eat, but it is one of Vienna’s signature dishes. In fact, the locals insisted we try it!

The beef is slowly simmered in broth with vegetables and brought to the table in a large copper pot. You start with the broth and then eat the incredibly tender beef with the traditional sides, including potatoes, horseradish and sauces.

And once again, I kept thinking, this tastes like something my mom would have made.

We also had a nice dinner at ef16.

And Then There’s the Coffee and Cake

Vienna takes coffee very seriously.

Sitting in a café isn’t just about grabbing caffeine and leaving. It’s part of the experience.

Order a Wiener Melange (VEE-nur meh-LAHNZH), Vienna’s classic coffee made with espresso, steamed milk and milk foam, and get a piece of cake.

There are so many adorable cafés in Vienna, but some of the most famous are Café Central, Café Sacher and Demel. Truly, though, you don’t need to seek out a specific one to enjoy the tradition.

My Favorite Day in Vienna: Exploring by E-Bike

This was easily one of the highlights of Vienna for me.

Instead of spending another day touring buildings, we rented e-bikes from Pedal Power and headed out of the center of the city toward the Danube and the vineyards.

Our route was roughly 25 kilometers and took several hours, but with e-bikes it was completely manageable.

It was also such a fun way to see another side of Vienna.

You leave the grand architecture and busy center behind and suddenly you’re riding along the Danube, through quieter neighborhoods and toward vineyards and small villages.

If you like being active when you travel, I cannot recommend this enough.

And then came one of those completely unplanned travel moments that ends up being one of your favorite memories.

The Pizza Stop We’ll Never Forget

At some point along the bike route, we were hungry and stopped in a little village for lunch.

We found a place serving pizza and went in.

This ended up being the only place during our entire stay where we really couldn’t find anyone who spoke English.

Our waitress was an older woman. We spoke basically no German. She spoke no English.

And trying to communicate with each other became complete comedy.

There was pointing, gestures and a lot of smiling and laughing. Somehow, pizza eventually arrived. And it was excellent.

I couldn’t tell you the name of that restaurant if I tried, but I will absolutely remember that lunch.

Those are the travel experiences you can’t make a reservation for ahead of time.

Who knew the Austrian’s could make such yummy pizza!?

Vienna Wine Country and a Heuriger

That evening we went to Mayer am Pfarrplatz for a traditional Viennese wine-tavern experience with our group.

A Heuriger is a traditional Austrian wine tavern where local winemakers serve their own wine, particularly the newest vintage.

Before this trip, I really didn’t associate Vienna with wine. But vineyards and wine taverns are a real part of the culture here.

That was one of the things I loved about Vienna. You can be in the middle of this grand, historic European capital and then not long afterward be biking toward vineyards or sitting at a traditional wine tavern drinking local Austrian wine.

You Don’t Have to Do Everything Vienna Is Famous For

This may be my biggest takeaway from Vienna.

Before the trip, I kept feeling like we should go to a classical concert.

Should we see Vivaldi?

Should we go to the opera?

Should we spend half a day touring Schönbrunn Palace?

Should we go to another museum?

And eventually I thought: Why?

Not because those things aren’t wonderful. They are exactly why many people come to Vienna.

But they weren’t the things we were most excited about.

There are only so many hours in a trip, and you don’t get bonus points for seeing the attractions someone else thinks you’re supposed to see.

We like being active. We like food. We like being outside. We like walking neighborhoods, finding a great rooftop bar, trying local restaurants and occasionally getting ourselves into ridiculous situations where we can’t communicate with the waitress.

So that’s what we did.

Make the trip great for you and remember: There isn’t one correct way to experience a city.

Leaving Vienna Might Have Been the Most Luxurious Part

Even leaving Vienna turned into an experience.

Instead of taking a regular train to Budapest, our group traveled aboard the Majestic Imperator Train de Luxe.

And this was definitely not your typical European train ride.

The train is designed in the style of the luxurious imperial trains of the Austro-Hungarian era, so from the moment we boarded, it felt like we had stepped back in time.

We had lunch onboard, drank Champagne, played cards and watched the Austrian and Hungarian countryside go by.

The trip to Budapest took about four hours, and it was absolutely delightful.

Normally a travel day is something you have to plan around. This time, getting from one city to the next was part of the vacation.

What I’d Recommend for a First Trip to Vienna

If you’re visiting Vienna for the first time, I wouldn’t try to cram everything into your itinerary.

Give yourself time to wander the historic center. Go inside St. Stephen’s Cathedral and climb the South Tower if you’re up for 343 steps. Sit down for coffee and cake. Try Tafelspitz. Find a rooftop bar around sunset.

And if you like being active, rent the bikes.

That was probably the activity that felt most like us, and it allowed us to see a completely different side of Vienna than we would have seen from a tour bus.

I’d also recommend getting outside the city center and experiencing a Heuriger or Vienna’s wine country in some way.

Most importantly, don’t build your vacation around someone else’s Vienna bucket list.

Vienna surprised me in the best way. It was beautiful, incredibly clean and safe, easy to explore, and unlike anywhere we had been before. But my favorite part was discovering a version of Vienna that felt like us.

And if I could do one thing all over again? I’d get back on those e-bikes.

3 Days in Vienna: What We Did, Where We Ate & What I’d Recommend