Named after the Michael, archduke of Austria-Este, whose reigned extended from 1848 to his death in…read more1867, Michaelerplatz at first glance appears to be a picturesque circular area directly adjacent to the northeast entrance of the Hofburg palace buildings. Its location marks the meeting of pedestrian retail street Kohlmarkt and automobile lanes of Herrengasse, Schauflergasse and Reitschulgasse. Upon deeper investigation, for centuries this circle has played a role in trade and transportation in Vienna. In the center of this roundabout, ruins from Roman times were uncovered in 1990, originating from the era when the square was part of a legionary camp, a crossroads of trading routes and setting for local businesses. Today it's the hub for notable sites such Michaelerkirche (St. Michael's Church), the Hofburg Palace complex, Looshaus (an early 20th century modernist building designed by Alfred Loos), and Palais Herberstein, one of many local palace buildings in the area. You can see lots of horse drawn carriages nearby, as it's a central tourist thoroughfare nowadays. Worth walking thru and admiring if you're in the neighborhood!

Located just behind the Hofburg, Michaelerplatz is a busy junction of streets and pedestrian zones…read morewith a bit of Roman ruins thrown in! You need to watch out for horse drawn carriages as well, so it's a real mash up of everything a city can throw at you. When you exit the Hofburg, shopping and eating are down the street directly in front of you. To the right is access to the Burggarten and Spanish Riding School. In the middle is the ruins. The Looshaus and St. Michael's Church are also right on the plaza. This is another great spot for a meetup or to take a bit of a rest, but the ruins are what make it special, in my opinion. If you like ancient history, and /or archaeology, you're going to want to see this square. 61/2025

Gorgeous building. We visited right after Christmas and the square is filled with Christmas…read moremarkets, drinks, food and Christmas items. Definitely worth a visit

Christmas market is so expensive you will not find anything to buy under €10 there there are so…read moremany cheaper alternatives that you can find in Vienna don't go here if you're not rich you will save much money

I've been traveling around Central Europe the past few days, starting in Budapest and now in…read moreVienna. Both are very beautiful and have such great history. From all the parliaments I've ever seen, this one is definitely the coolest and most engaging. It's free to enter and there are so many opportunities to learn about not only Vienna but Central Europe in general. I'm really glad we stopped by and got to explore it!

An attractive building that I recommend walking by at night when this Neoclassical structure with…read moreits statue of Athena and her golden helmet are nicely illumunated.

Hofburg Palace is a MUST-visit in Vienna. Chances are, if you're going to visit a museum as a…read moretourist, at least one of them will likely be at Hofburg Palace or within its vicinity. The Sisi Museum was one that I visited, and all day long, the palace grounds are teeming with tourists. Even if you don't enter the palace, you can walk through the grounds, enjoy the garden, people watch, and enjoy watching the horse-drawn carriages. Baroque architecture heaven!

The Hofburg is a giant complex of museums, government buildings, the Austrian president's home, and…read moreso much more. Much of it is open to the public and the grounds are free to walk around on. Everything else is either closed to the public or requires an entrance fee. There is something for everyone here: the Sisi Museum, the national Library, the Spanish Riding school (home to the famous Lipizzaner horses), a Butterfly house.....you couldn't possibly see everything in a day! It's quite possibly THE most visited spot in all of Vienna, and you will more than likely find yourself here at some point during your visit. Good luck choosing what to see first! 68/2025

It's a lovely plaza with museums on all sides. At the center is a memorial to Empress Maria…read moreTheresia. It can be used as a meet up spot or as a beacon to get your bearings in the city, as it is so centrally located and rather large. Beware, several people dressed in costumes hang out there to try to sell tourists tickets to various music performances. I don't know if they are legit, as we did not participate, but they will try a hard sell on you. 58/2025

What a great place to discover on such a beautiful day. Very well maintained and it sits between…read morethe two big museums, Kunsthistoriches and Naturalhistorisches. More of an opportunistic visit than a planned one, but a great statue to see nonetheless.

Wow a very creepy yet extensive look into the royal history of Vienna…read more Never been in a crypt before. There were 4 or 5 large rooms full of coffins. It was fascinating the amount of intricate detailing on each of them and some of them were gigantic. You could almost tell how famous/important the person was by the detailing and size of their coffin.

Crypt Entrance was…read moretricky to find. The sign is not at street level and the door blends in with all the others in the area. I opted not to take a guided tour. I didn't want to feel rushed looking around. As I walked down the stairs and turned left into the Leopoldo vault, I thought I was going to be disappointed. There was a small room with twelve caskets in the wall and another seventeen on the floor. There were more Habsburg rulers than this in 400 years. There are 150 Habsburgs here. You end up walking through nine vault rooms and seeing ten vaults. Massive elaborate sarcophagus like Marie Theresa's, almost take up the entire room. It really took a fair amount of time to wander through here and look at the incredible craftsmanship. The plaques give the name, reign, and / or family relationship. Hours are 10 am - 6 pm. Last admission is 5.30 pm, but don't do it. You want more time. Guided tours are offered Wednesday to Saturday at 2 pm in German and 3.30 pm in English. The admission is 8€.

We came here to see Wiener Riesenrad when we were in Vienna, because it's featured heavily in the…read morefilm The Third Man, which is my husband's favorite. What we did not know in our plan to visit the riesenrad (ferris wheel) and that it doesn't show you in the film, is that the wheel is in the middle of a giant amusement park, and not really a cool noir looking structure after all! Nothing against the amusement park (Prater), but just be aware that you will have to go into the park and pay to see the wheel up close. It's still cool to see from afar (and if you have kids, to go to the amusement park too). And there are rose gardens outside the park where you can sit and enjoy the wheel from afar over the trees. That's what we did and we got our photo of it that way without a million people around it!

Pretty view but not worth it, we did a combination ticket which was nice but you share the ride…read morewith 10-15 others and we went around once. Half the time we went around they were filling the ride up with other people. It's a nice view and if you only want to go around once then go for it, but you can find the view elsewhere. World's oldest Ferris wheel which was cool, but again at least go around twice. They had nice dinner carriages and depending on the price that might be something to look into.