Vienna Tour
Karla Cassone
Take a look at the world's largest repertory operation and discover much that otherwise remains hidden from the evening opera-goer during a guided tour of the Vienna State Opera. During a 40-minute tour, you will learn a lot of interesting facts about the history of the house, its architecture and the opera business. From the foyer, you will walk up the grand staircase through the state rooms (Tea Salon, Marble Hall, Schwindfoyer, Gustav Mahler Hall) to the auditorium (with a view of the stage).
Our guided tours are offered in German and English at all times indicated. A possible additional offer of languages is deposited with the respective booking date. Guided tours can only be purchased online (not by phone) or 30 minutes before the tour starts at our guided tour check out (entrance corner Opernring / Operngasse). Please note that there are only remaining seats available for purchase.
Instead, the tour started with an honest assessment of the anti-Semitic environment of Vienna in 1908, when a frustrated 18-year-old named Adolf moved to the city in the hopes of attending art school.
My tour guide said that the Holocaust Memorial that stands in Judenplatz is meant to be open to interpretation. Personally, I think the title, Nameless Books, says it all. The books are turned so that the titles are hidden, and I get the strong impression of blank pages, which leads me to think of the erasing of Jewish intellectual thought, and the erasing of life and memory.
In this case, the guide used a microphone and we all had earpieces so that we could easily hear him. He made sure that we did not block intersections or sidewalks and managed to find out-of-the-way spaces for us to stop and listen so that I did not feel like a nuisance tourist.
Hello! We recently returned from a trip to Vienna. I wanted to share a tour guide recommendation in case anyone is interested in hiring a private guide. We took a 2 hour walking tour of the city center area with Dr. Karin Eichhorn-Thanhoffer. Karin's tour was so interesting and informative! It was myself, my husband and our 2 older teens. Karin specializes in Jewish history but can/does talk about all kinds of history related to the city. We met her near the Opera House. We corresponded some prior to the tour, and when we met her in person she asked us where we'd already been and reviewed her plans to make sure it was agreeable. She even spent longer than the 2 hours with us because our kids had questions. We loved our tour and would definitely recommend her!
We did a 2 hour city walk - I think she combined the city walk highlights 1 and 2 for us. We had already toured St. Stephen's so we didn't go there. We didn't go inside of places. We did get to see the horses being brought out from the Spanish Riding School - she seemed to know when that would occur and timed that right. We also learned a lot about some of the monuments and memorials in the city. If you tell her what you are most interested in and would like to see or learn about, she will customize something for you. She spent 2.5 hours with us too, even though she only charged for 2. We gave her a generous tip! She has lived in Vienna all of her life, and as we we were touring she ran into and said hello to friends and family she knew. Hope that helps.
Thank you so much for this! We will definitely sign up with her for at least one of her wonderful sit and chat tours! What a great idea. I am curious though when you write that she specializes in Jewish Vienna which also interests us, because there is nothing on her site suggesting that.
I went on a tour with Dr. Karin Eichhorn-Thanhoffer for a tour of Jewish Vienna. You can read the rest of this, but the punch line is: Write Her Now And Book Your Tour. Before our tour, I sent her some detailed information about my interests, including stories about my father, who escaped Vienna in 1939. I was particularly interested in the first half of the twentieth century. Karin tailored our tour beautifully, thoroughly, enthusiastically. You would never guess that she's led this kind of tour a thousand times - she still conveyed her own passion and excitement about the material. I had been in Vienna several times over the last fifty years, but learned so much more from the tour - explanations of the monuments, debates about the monuments, relevant buildings, old theaters, as well as lots of history. She was also very relaxed, and brought a binder of pictures to show us. I had a number of questions about other resources, and she was able to help tremendously. I'm sure you'll enjoy learning from her as well.
While the sights impress, perhaps the real highlights are the stories, anecdotes and facts whipped out by the tour guide. For example, the State Opera House has some 180,000 costumes at its disposal and 200 stagehands work every day to make those backstage changes.
The English tour should usually be available at all scheduled times, and everything was very well-organised and swift on my visit; the opera tour is one of many tours of historical buildings available in Vienna.
The compact centre makes it easy to walk between the sights in Vienna, but which route should you take? Here my suggestion for your walking tour, with insider tips along the way, links to detailed descriptions of sights, and information on guided alternatives.
A visit includes a permanent exhibition featuring the likes of Picasso, a self-guided stateroom tour, and a changing repertoire of special exhibitions that cover everything from Renaissance art to contemporary sculpture.
What we'll do
During the tour we will stop in Brno for lunch (not included) and walk around in the city center. Brno has many interesting monuments and statues, among them the famous Dragon of Brno . After lunch you will enjoy the views for the towering St. Peter and Paul Cathedral , the Vegetable market , and the old Town Hall .
What we'll do
During the tour we have an option to visit one of Mikulov Wine Regions vineyards to see the vines and, most importantly, sample some of the wine. This is available for an extra fee during the tour and will be decided on the day if the group is interested.
What we'll do
We will have a chance to walk around the beautiful and famous gardens surrounding the Palace during the tour. Lednice Palace and Gardens , the way we see them today, are designed in the 19th century for entertaining in the summer season. They palace is probably the best example of English Gothic style in Continental Europe. The Palace and Grounds, about 200h, are under UNESCO World Heritage protection due their unique architectural landscape.
Want to personalize this trip? When booking a private transfer, tell us your itinerary and start time preferences and we'll do everything we can to accomodate your request. Note: open group tours cannot be customized.
Most of our tours are limited to a maximum of 8 people which means you get the personal care and attention of your tour leader during your trip, as well as the chance to get to know your fellow passengers.
Standing in the heart of a city I knew so well, having cycled to the meeting point, and planning to meet friends afterwards I felt a bit out of place joining a food tour in my own city.
I mean - the Genuss food festival was happening right across the road in Stadtpark, and I already had strong opinions on where to find the best schnitzel in Vienna, so why spend my hard earned cash and precious Friday night touring my own city?
Who runs the Vienna Food Tours?There are many options for food tours in Vienna - you only need to see the many alternatives listed here to start getting hungry! However, not all tours are created equal.
The Vienna Food Tour is owned and run by a lovely local couple, Melinda and Thomas. Avid travellers themselves, they returned to their hometown of Vienna with a motivation to run their own food tours, after experiencing them on their own travels.
The tour itself goes for roughly 3 hours - which sounds really long on paper, but believe me, when you are tasting so many different dishes and drinks in quick succession, you want the time between to enjoy walking the city streets!
Melinda and her fellow guides are naturally chatty and friendly, happy to share recommendations and insider advice on navigating Vienna, some of the history and quirks of the culture and city, and assisting with recommendations of where to spend your time while in the city after the tour.
I'm not going to spoil the surprise and joy of where exactly you go on your tour, but I can happily mention some of the delicious dishes we tried. Keep in mind this was seasonal to the time of year I took the tour (Spring, in early May) so your food options may vary based on season.
It was a wonderful snapshot of Austrian cuisine, without being too cliche. The classics were there, but there was enough variety to keep things interesting - even if you live in Vienna! Plus, you really get your value for money, the dishes we ate would have easily cost more than the price of the tour if ordered separately over many meals.
All dietary requirements were also catered for, so if you are vegetarian and let them know in advance they will provide a special menu for you. What I really enjoyed on the tour was the chance to spend time with people who were newly arrived in Vienna, share with them some tips and soak up their enthusiasm and love for the city.
Oh and after the tour, Melinda and Thomas email through their recommendations for some other restaurants and special places to visit in Vienna, so you really feel taken care of during your time in Vienna.
Overall it's a big, glowing endorsement from me to take this tour - even as a local. It gave me a fresh perspective on the influences of the meals we eat regularly, and uncovered a restaurant or two that I may have visited before, but not tried the specific dishes we enjoyed. All in all I can thoroughly recommend!
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