A weekend in Vienna

The first half-day allows you to discover the architectural showcase of the capital: the Ring. The buildings that line the circular boulevard, including the National Opera, the Hofburg Palace, the major museums (Fine Arts and Natural History), the Parliament, the Great University, the Town Hall, the Votive Church, reflect the Baroque and Historic periods. Then, enter the city centre, the Innere Stadt (1st district) to stroll through the oldest streets of the capital. In its heart, rises more than 300 m in the sky the Cathedral of St. Stephen (Stefansdom), a marvel of the Gothic age. If it is not too late, visit the Albertina, the great museum of the centre which houses a unique collection of art (impressionists, expressionists, drawings and engravings of the Renaissance...) collected by Prince Albert of Saxony-Teschen and his wife Marie-Christine, daughter of Marie-Thérèse. The building alone is worth a look. Lunch in a Beisl: a typical popular restaurant where the daily menu, cheap, must be accompanied by a beer or a local wine. After lunch, head for the Museumsquartier in the 7th arrondissement. Opened in 2001, it is one of the largest museum complexes in the world! You can choose to visit the Leopold Museum, where Austrian art is particularly prominent (you will find works by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele), or from Mumokmusée d'Art contemporainthe surprising architecture (grey basalt) which, through its collection, traces various trends in modern and contemporary international art: Pop Art, Arte Povera, Viennese actionism, etc. After the visit, we will stroll through this unique complex organized around the vast courtyard of the former imperial stables, and why not have a drink on the roof of theMumok, to see Vienna from above? Then you can stroll through the pretty streets of the 7th arrondissement, in the small Biedermeyer district of Spittelberg. Dinner in a restaurant in the city centre to taste, for example, Tafelspitz with Austrian wine.

In the morning, breakfast in a Viennese café in the city centre: on the menu, coffee and delicious pastries. They are here called Mehlspeisen. Then visit Vienna on the Secession side (Art Nouveau): on the superb Naschmarkt market, with a view of the majolica house ofOtto Wagner. Go up Friedrichstrasse to see the Secession Pavilion, which contains Klimt's famous Beethoven Frieze. Then continue to Karlsplatz to see Otto Wagner's subway pavilions. Then visit the church of Saint-Charles, a baroque masterpiece. Lunch in a 4th or 1st floor restaurant, such as a café or brasserie. In the afternoon, departure for Schönbrunn, summer palace of the Habsburg dynasty, a kind of Austrian Versailles: large castle with vertiginous ceremonial rooms (furniture, marquetry, frescoes, imperial apartments). It was here that Sissi, Franz Joseph and their children spent their days. The estate also includes gardens of all splendour in which to stroll for the rest of the afternoon, if the weather is mild. Otherwise, the visit continues to Schönbrunn with the zoo, the royal greenhouses, or the butterfly greenhouse! Last dinner either at the Orangery of the castle, all to music, or in the city above the rooftops of the capital at the restaurant Do & Co, just in front of the cathedral... You can also rush into the outlying villages of Grinzing or Nussdorf to dine in a Heuriger, a wine tavern transformed into a restaurant with a good franquette. Vienna by night before climbing on the plane: 7th district (Burggasse) or in the 1st, Bermuda triangle. You can also spend an evening at the Opera House..