I would love to spend a weekend in Vienna every month, admiring all the architectural wonders, enjoying all the delicacies, and exploring all the secrets of the Danube metropolis. Because new ones are added every year.
It’s hard to stop being amazed. Once you’ve visited all the major sights of Vienna, such as Schönbrunn Palace, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Belvedere Palace, the Vienna State Opera, the colorful Hundertwasser House, and maybe even the Spanish Riding School, it’s time to leave the beaten path and take a short break from grandeur and splendor. Because Vienna is as diverse as hardly any other European city, with plenty of outdoor and natural wonders in addition to the urban jungle attractions.
What I love about warm days in the city is the opportunity to enjoy Vienna with a good glass of wine in peace, amidst paradise-like nature, from above. The writer Karl Kraus once said that the streets in Vienna are paved with culture, while those of other cities are paved with asphalt. He’s right, and hardly any other European metropolis is as closely linked to viticulture as Vienna. Who else can boast over 6 million m2 of vineyards within city limits? If this number means nothing to you, perhaps the idea of 857 football fields planted with grapevines might. Today, Vienna is the only metropolis worldwide with significant winemaking within city limits.
According to gourmet expert Jürgen Dollase, winegrowers were already allowed to serve their own wine for three months a year under Charlemagne around the year 800. Wine culture in Vienna flourished in the Middle Ages when each district had its own vineyard, a practice later abolished as the city expanded. In 1784, Emperor Joseph II allowed wine service. At that time, a spruce twig was used as a guiding symbol: Please, this way to good wine. The tradition of the Buschenschank inn was born. Enjoying nature, with wine and beautiful views.
A City View Like in Cinemascope
So, leave the magnificent urban jungle and head up to the pleasure mountains. From the final stop of tram line D in the Viennese Heuriger village of Nussdorf, City Hiking Trail 1 leads you to wonderfully beautiful viewpoints. Through vineyards and forests, you reach the Viennese people’s local mountain, the Kahlenberg. During the summer months, along this path, wine taverns and Heurige tempt you with culinary delights and fine wines.
From the Stefaniewarte, at about 300 m, you have a broad view over the Vienna Basin, the beautiful hills of the Vienna Woods, and the Danube.
After a detour to the cozy Josefinenh
