art & architecture in vienna
perhaps the most slept on european city
If I were in charge of marketing for the Vienna tourism board, I would make the tagline: as pretty as Paris, but much cleaner. Because truly, visually, Vienna is immaculate. The blend of Neoclassical and Baroque and Art Nouveau in the central neighborhoods is a visual feast. And in between the architectural marvels, the parks are stately, with lush lawns dotted with statues to make it extra classy. Pristine façades show a vision of Paris’s Haussmanian beauty without the grit.
But while the central districts of Paris have perfectly planned uniformity, Vienna is delightfully diverse in its embrace of Historicism. The ring around the old city is anchored by monumental buildings that range from Neo-Gothic and Greek Revival municipal buildings to Neo-Rennaissance museums and a Neo-Baroque opera house. Here, a park can have a Baroque cathedral on one side and a pair of Art Nouveau pavilions on another, and the iconic Secession building with its golden cabbage dome across the street. Which makes Vienna an interesting and comfortable architecture walk.Â
Perhaps it isn’t fair to compare it to Paris, for either city. But the elegance and general prettiness makes the comparison inevitable. And when Paris is littered with nearly 50 million travelers each year compared to a mere 8 million to Vienna, I can’t help but wonder if Vienna has an awareness problem. After all, Austria seems to be the source material of so many things that the world sees as European (and perhaps misattributed to other European countries, you know the one), and many things that have become so ingrained in everyday life around the world that you forget it started somewhere. Croissants, cafes, spritzes, Mozart, waltzes, Klimt, Kaiser rolls, Freud.
In today’s Vienna you can see shadows of its past. The echoes of glamorous eras when Vienna was the cultural center of the world, attracting the best talent churning out music and art that continue to be revered generations later. Inside beautiful halls and ornate palaces, art through the centuries live on to enrapture audiences from around the world.
Vienna is a special place. It’s tranquil. It’s structured. It’s charming. It’s somehow at the same time grand and quaint. The cobble stone streets click with the hooves of horses. Trams rush by in the shadows of elaborate façades. There’s an abundance of benches for loitering. Courtyards and parks filled with lounging people on a sunny day. So many cafes where coffee comes with whipped cream and there’s at least a dozen cakes to choose from. And where it is perfectly appropriate to cafe hop eating cake all day without care. What more could you ask for?Â
This was my first time in Vienna. A spontaneous trip. A side trip of sorts, tacked onto a planned vacation. Which made it feel extra special. Like bonus days, gifted and meant to be savored. The weather was lovely, for the most part. I’d just missed the heat wave, and while it did downpour one day, there was plenty of mild sunny hours where I was free to wander the beautiful streets on my own architecture walks. Popping in and out of churches, climbing up to see the views from above, admiring the city at street level. And when the rain came, it was natural to duck into the museums and spend precious time with art. Healing through paintings. Walking through history in the eyes of artists.
a walk in (many) parks
I spent my first day on a long walk. The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky. I was a little delirious, after a sleepless red eye, which meant the perfect mental state for a long roundabout walk where my only job was to stare at beautiful buildings, sit in beautiful parks, and caffeinate every couple of hours.Â
The Ringstraße made it easy. I started in the beautiful Burggarten and then walked up, past the grandiose Hofburg, to a flowering Volksgarten, a bustling summer market in Rathausplatz, and then to a wonderfully peaceful Sigmund Freud Park and Votivkirche. And then park hopped over to Liechtenstein park where I couldn’t stop myself from sitting for a bit on a shaded bench, listening to the birds and the trickle of the water in the pond.Â
Tucked beside the grand Hofburg Palace, Burggarten once was a private park for royalty. Today, it still feels regal. Expansive, well manicured, with an iconic statue of Mozart to round it out. And the beautiful Palmenhaus overlooking it.
On the other side of Hofburg is Volksgarten. A more colorful garden, with a rose garden in full, kaleidoscopic bloom. A Temple of Theseus and a Neoclassical parliament building adding to the atmosphere. It’s a great place to literally stop and smell the roses.
Stadt Park feels like an urban park. It has that energy, filled with citydwellers on walks and runs and gathering for picnics and pickleball. English style, with tall trees shading the paths and statues and an opera house and canal.
Beyond the more touristy streets of the 1st district, Liechtensteinpark feels like a tranquil local escape. The quiet grandeur of the Baroque Liechtenstein Garden Palace, a courtyard cafe, and a small pond under the trees that make for the perfect sanctuary.
Belvedere palace
Like many European destinations, Vienna has beautiful palaces. Schönbrunn is Vienna’s Versailles, while Hofburg Palace could be Vienna’s Louvre. Opulent royal residences once filled with imperial courts that have been converted into museums and gardens open to the public.
Belvedere Palace is a special one. A private palace that was commissioned by Prince Eugene of Savoy. Two baroque buildings connected by a formal garden, and today, perhaps most known as the home to the premier collection of Klimt paintings.
The Upper Palace is a dignified affair, filled with painted ceilings and ornate architectural details, and windows overlooking the garden and city beyond. The stunning Marble Hall where the 1955 Austrian State Treaty was signed.Â
Ah yes The Kiss, perhaps the Mona Lisa of Vienna, if we’re continuing the comparison. And dare I say, a bit more climactic than the Mona Lisa. But of the Klimt collection, I have a soft spot for the landscapes.Â
Beyond The Kiss, the Upper Palace hosts an impressive collection of art from old masters to 20th century masterpieces.Â
Lower Belvedere is a different vibe. A bit more intimate. A bit less formal. But just as richly decorated with fancy halls and former stables lit up with gilded Medieval works. Lower Belvedere is used for temporary exhibitions with contemporary art that pops against the Baroque background.
Perhaps the best part of Lower Belvedere is the Orangerie and flowering garden that feels like a secret garden with its ornate gate and simple fountain.Â
beautiful churches
Like any good European city, Vienna has beautiful churches.Â
The heart of Vienna beats at Stephansdom. This towering Gothic masterpiece dominates the city skyline. Its intricate, multi-colored tile roof—emblazoned with the coats of arms of Vienna and Austria—glitters in the sun. Inside, the cathedral is as majestic as any Gothic structure, with stained glass and light dancing in the expansive space.
Karlskirche stands out from the other churches in the city, a striking example of Baroque grandeur with Roman-style columns and an iconic, patina-d dome that rises above the park. Inside, it evokes memories of the theatricality of St. Peter’s Basilica. Under the oval dome is a lavish space filled with marble and gold and beautiful frescoes. Walking up the stairs leads to a dominating organ and eventually to a roof terrace overlooking the fountain and park.
Adjacent to Sigmund Freud Park, Votivkirche is a neo-Gothic gem and the grand era of the Ringstraße. The soaring twin spires and delicate stonework has the makings of a classic medieval cathedral but, well, newer. Under the soaring vaulted ceilings, the nave is bathed in light from the intricate stained glass windows, that makes you feel compelled to sit down and admire it, no matter what your religion.
another kind of worship
Vienna is blessed with art museums. I could get lost for hours in halls filled with art from so many eras. Beautiful art in beautiful buildings. Twin neo-classical museums, one for natural history and another for art history. An entire Museums Quartier to entertain me for days on end. Based on solely vibes, I’d venture to say that the paintings per capita in Vienna is wildly higher than most cities.Â
Kunsthistorisches Museum was sold to me by way of its cafe. Or rather, the space in which the museum cafe resides. Because when the ambience is this good, who even cares what they serve.
Kunsthistorisches is a palace for art. Filled with a dazzling collection of some of the greatest works from the old masters. The rooms are palatial yet intimate. It feels surreal to be able to get this close to these works. From the intricate details of Brugel the Elder to the dramatic light of Caravaggio to the hauntingly beautiful Velázquez portraits.
A part of the Museums Quartier, Leopold Museum is a temple for 20th century Austrian modern art. With plenty of Schiele and Klimt and Kokoschka. Walking through this museum feels like walking through the first few decades of the 1900s, to see the turn of the century through the eyes of expressive artists trying to reconcile the broken world with a sense of self.
On my final day, I thought it culturally responsible to change up the visual styles and see some Hundertwasser works. Vibrant, organic, dynamic, even just from the outside. Vienna truly is rich with architectural diversity in the best way.Â
And amid the showstopping architecture in the city center, the ones that charmed me most were these two little art nouveau pavilions.
So very Wes Anderson.Â
And so my first impression of Vienna was one filled with art and culture and history and the allure of an efficient, comfortable European life. I came with little expectations, only a vague, blurry idea of what this city might have and I left being it’s biggest fan, sharing the gospel of this underrated city. But until it becomes the destination it deserves to be, I’ll happily enjoy the peace of this European capital.Â
see also
SNAPSHOTS FROM LONDON
SNAPSHOTS FROM PARIS