My mom always had a dream to go to Vienna at Christmastime for the markets. My dad is not super into traveling, so I really wanted to make this trip happen for her. In 2019, we made it happen! This article is going to take a look back out our week-long outing in Vienna, which was super fun, even if it was super cold!

Vienna at Christmastime conjures up all sorts of visions of cozy markets, drinking mulled wine, snow and twinkly lights, and so many cultural activities, and Vienna is totally, 100% that. We managed to visit a whole bunch of Christmas markets and also got to see a bunch of museums and ate at some really cool places, filling our bellies with not only potatoes and schnitzel, but also more elevated fancy food as well!

I treated my mom to business class seats on Austrian Airlines and we flew to Vienna directly from Chicago. It was super comfy, but hard to get much sleep. The dinner service on Austrian Air is SUPER long and so it really cuts into the amount of possible sleep time you might have. Plus, the plane doesn’t take off super late in the day so you are not that tired. Our flight arrived in Vienna at 7am, which is around midnight Chicago time so neither of us got much sleep. Still, it was comfortable, and it was super nice to be able to stretch out and have a direct flight.

We stayed at the Hotel Bristol. I used Marriott points to pay for a part of the stay. Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, and it was pouring rain outside, so we basically lounged in the lobby until our room was ready, about an hour or so later. Our room was very tiny, but the bed was super comfortable. It was also an interior room on the first floor, so we never got much natural light, which made it seem a bit dim. That was a bit of a downer, but the room itself was fine and the bathroom was spacious. The location of the hotel, though, was absolutely primo and the primary reason I picked it besides the fact that I was using points. It’s on the Ringstrasse right next to the Opera House and the pedestrian area of the city. It is close to everything you want to see in the Central part of the city. We had an easy walk to the Kunsthistorisches Museum. We took a cab to the Belvedere because it was a bit farther and it was pretty darn cold out. If you want a place that is in the middle of it all, though, the Bristol is the way to go.

Also worth mentioning is the Bristol had the most epic breakfast buffet of possibly any hotel I have ever stayed at. Their bread basket alone is worth the cost for this breakfast, but you could also get a wide array of hot and cold items. We enjoyed breakfast here every single morning.

We saw so many things in Vienna. The highlights included the Mozart House, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Belvidere Museum, the Opera House tour, and I just adored the Schmetterling Haus. I think these are the top things in Vienna to do that are not to be missed.

Mozart Haus, which is one of Mozart’s apartments in Vienna, was so fun and you really felt the presence of the genius there. The rooms were essentially empty, but there was a guided tour with tons of Mozart’s music playing in the background that it was just really nice to walk around there.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral is supremely epic. It’s absolutely massive and incredibly ornate both inside and out. You definitely don’t want to miss walking around here, it is truly one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever been to. Next time I visit Vienna, I will be sure to get a proper tour around the place, because wandering around is simply too overwhelming.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum houses a ton of mostly baroque art. While we were there, they were having a big Caravaggio exhibit. At that point, Brian and I had only just started our slight obsession and hadn’t yet committed to seeing them all, but I did feel bad that Brian wasn’t there to see, I think, eight Caravaggios in one place. A bunch of them live at the museum permanently, so we will just have to go back! My favorite, even though it doesn’t count, was “Crowning with Thorns” painted in 1607. The light in this painting is incredible as it feels so much brighter than other Caravaggio paintings, and I feel as though it must be God’s light coming from the upper left of the painting. It’s well balanced and you can’t turn away from it. It’s a really incredible piece. Luckily, it always lives at this museum, so we will be back to see it for sure. Reminder to check out our progress on the Worldwide Search for Caravaggio’s here!

The Kunsthistorisches Museum also is in an incredibly beautiful building, and there is a sweet cafe in the middle of it underneath the large dome. It was a great spot for a cup of coffee and a break in the middle of our touring around.

The Belvedere is where a whole ton of Klimt’s artwork lives, and that museum is a whole different level of awesome. My mom and I absolutely love Klimt’s work and it is stunning to behold in person. “The Kiss,” his most famous painting, is massive and surrounded by tons of people but we stood there looking at it for at least 20 minutes – it is completely mesmerizing. I loved his other paintings of women with a mixture of styles – a realism mixed with impressionism for the faces and then very abstract for the rest.

My second favorite was his interpretation of “Judith and the Head of Holofernes”, which was much different than Brian’s favorite painting of all time of the same name by Caravaggio. Klimt’s Judith is more obviously sexy with one breast actually bare. She is clearly the star of the show in the painting, as Holofernes’s head is cut off on the right. Judith is beautiful and you cannot take your eyes off her. You get a very different feeling checking out this painting versus Caravaggio’s rendering.

The Belvedere also has a super cute cafe as well as extensive grounds to explore. It was a bit too chilly for us to spend too much time outside, but I bet it’s really great in the summer to just hang out and enjoy the views from here.

The Opera House tour was incredibly fun, and I would definitely recommend doing a tour, especially if you are into theater or opera at all. You get to see the main areas of the Opera House, you hear some really great historical tidbits, and you get to go behind the scenes a bit as well. That place is massive, and it’s a wonder how they move things in and out for different shows on different days. The tour is guided by a live docent which was really nice and lasts about 90 minutes. Book your tickets way in advance and definitely check out this tour!

Finally, I loved the Schmetterlinghaus, or the Imperial Butterfly House, which is home to thousands of butterflies. This place was such a welcome bit of warmth on a cold day, and was just lovely to walk around. We saw a ton of cool butterflies, and this might be one of the largest Butterfly sanctuaries out there. It was impressive, and I highly recommend coming here, especially if you are in Vienna in the winter and need a warm up.

We did a ton of other stuff as well, but these were the highlights and what I would recommend should be at the top of your list in Vienna. There were other cool churches too, besides the Cathedral, and I think our favorite was Karlskirche. When we were there, they had this cool exhibit going on and there were these ginormous silver balls hanging in the church reflecting everything around them. It was pretty neat.

We also checked out a Christmas Concert by the Vienna Boys Choir – one of the most famous choirs in the world. It was completely magical. Their Concert Hall is a bit farther away from the central area of the city, and you will need to take a cab or uber, but it is totally worth it. Make sure to get tickets way in advance!

Boy, I haven’t even mentioned the Christmas markets yet, and that was pretty much the whole point about coming here! I have to say, though, that we were slightly (but only slightly!) disappointed. There were a ton of markets everywhere, but the vast majority of them seemed to have the same booths with the same vendors with the same goods at each one. This holds for the Market near the Cathedral, the Market near the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and the Belvedere Museum. The best market by far was a local artisan market right outside of Karlskirche, almost directly across the Ring Strasse from where we were staying. I bought 90% of my gifts and souvies here as they had a huge variety of unique booths and items that we didn’t see anywhere else. The shopping is good though, and there are also amazing treats and mulled wine to be had at each place. So, despite the repetitive, almost commercial feeling of some of these markets, you’re still going to friggin’ love it and have a good time. Just know you have to get away from the more uber touristy areas to check out the artisan markets for some more unique gifts and souvies. I absolutely loved shopping around at these markets!

Finally, the restaurants! We ate some really, really great food in Vienna, and drank some really, really great (and not super expensive) wines. You cannot miss going to Cafe Central for some coffee and pastries. This place is totally epic and housed in a super ornate old building. There is always a line to get in, but it’s worth it to grab a coffee and a pastry in this super historic setting! They also serve regular food and we had some delicious, hot soup for lunch here.

One of our best dinners was at Plachuttas Gasthaus zur Oper. They serve traditional Viennese food (including Schnitzel that they are super proud of) and their wine list is mainly Austrian wines, which are delicious and cheap! I had slow roasted beef and we enjoyed a bottle of Zweigelt with our meal!

Labstelle was our fancy meal of the week. This was a lovely multi-course meal and they really paced it well. It’s been a while, and I can’t remember what my favorite courses were, but I remember everything was excellent including the service. This restaurant came highly recommended in many places, and it definitely was not disappointing in the least.

Probably the most famous dessert in Vienna is the Sacher Torte. I’m not much of a chocolate cake fan, but we still stopped by the Hotel Sacher for this treat, since you kind of have to when you’re in Vienna. It was… fine. If you’re pressed for time I would most definitely skip it. Even my mom, a huge chocolate lover, was pretty meh about it.

Oh man, Vienna, you were amazing, and this article could’ve been double the length it already is. The architecture here is incredible everywhere you turn. The museums are world-class and there are a ton of them! There is music everywhere, and amazing food and wine at every turn. I am so excited to come back here with Brian, maybe in some spring or summer to experience more of the wine culture and get those Caravaggios onto our list!