The trip from Venezia to Vienna is the best trip ever. Inside the train, we were mesmerized with the scenery outside. It was surreal, beautiful, lovely, calming, and whatsover describe it

We can see the snow ski from inside the train. Unfortunetaly, we can't afford for ski :((
Well, we still have much time until forever to visit it someday ;)

Walking through Vienna is a bit like walking into the pages of a fairytale, as a horse and carriage trots past one ornate palace after another. The Austrian capital is bursting with Imperial history and Baroque architecture, with a musical accompaniment by Mozart and Strauss. But there’s also a more modern side, with Art Nouveau and modernist art, and a darker side to the city as depicted in The Third Man.

Like in many famous European capitals, the sheer number of visitors here each year can push up the prices. But it is possible to fill yourself up on the city’s history, culture and sachertorte without having to spend big. So here are my top tips for experiencing all that Vienna has to offer without blowing your budget.

1. St Stephen’s Cathedral

One of the best views in the city centre is from the South Tower of St Stephen’s Cathedral, 137 metres up. Entry to the cathedral itself is free but if you want to climb the 343 steps to the top of the tower, it costs €4 (open daily from 9am–5.30pm).

2. Schönbrunn Palace

“From the 18th century to 1918, Schönbrunn was the residence of the Habsburg emperors…Together with its gardens, the site of the world’s first zoo in 1752, it is a remarkable Baroque ensemble and a perfect example of Gesamtkunstwerk.”

In my opinion, it’s like the Austrian Versailles! Really, if Baroque art and architecture are your thing, this is a great place to visit, and if you don’t want to spend any money, the gardens are free! Schönbrunn is a great place to live out your Austro-Hungarian Empire Royal fantasies.

3. Vienna’s Easter Markets

Traditional Easter decorations and artfully decorated eggs, culinary treats and a program of music await you at Vienna’s Easter markets in March and April. There’s all sorts of entertainment for young visitors to the markets.

The Easter market in front of Schönbrunn Palace is considered to be one of the most romantic Easter markets. In front of the backdrop of the palace, 60 exhibitors offer all sorts of culinary pleasures as well as decorative Easter decorations and handicrafts from Austria.

Children have fun in the Easter Bunny workshop, where they shape marzipan bunnies and make Easter flower arrangements, in the Easter nest hunt and in the Kindermuseum, while the adults enjoy the entertainment at "Jazz at the Easter Market".

Schönbrunn Palace Easter Market

03/21/2015 - 04/06/2015, daily from 10.00 am to 6.30 pm

www.ostermarkt.co.at

4. Getting around Vienna Old City

I have a flexible itinerary in Vienna. I just planned to walking around the capital city of Austria, but it turns out that walking around the city was one of the best things I could do — because Vienna is drenched in incredible architecture.

My first impression of Vienna was that it reminded me of a combination of New York and Paris. New York, surely, for the modern shopping areas that seemed to sneak into every neighborhood of the city.

But Vienna reminded me so much of Paris. Not for its glamour — I find Paris’s glamour inimitable — but for the jaw-dropping buildings that seem to dot the streets, springing up from everywhere. Vienna was a great way to see incredible buildings without booking flight to Paris.

Buildings like these.

Other buildings reminded me of specific sights within Paris. The building below, in Museumsplatz, seemed to evoke Paris’s Musee d’Orsay, a former train station:

But for me, the biggest treat was seeing Vienna’s buildings at night.

I just loved how everything was lit beautifully.

The University of Vienna, seen just before the sky went from royal blue to black, was one of my favorites:

I Love Vienna Because?

I have to quote a friend answering this question: “Vienna, you can love or hate it. It depends if the sun is shining or not.“

Today, the sun was shining, reflecting images in the golden ornaments of the old buildings, and I loved Vienna sitting in the Stadtpark, watching students having a picnic in the grass, busy suit-wearers talking on the phone and old ladies walking their dogs chatting about the latest disaster with their neighbours.