Vienna City Center Highlights Guided Walking Tour

Albertinaplatz and Josefsplatz

The walk starts on Albertinaplatz, behind the State Opera, where the Albertina rises on its ramp above the square. The palace holds one of the largest collections of drawings and prints in the world, and the square below carries the Memorial against War and Fascism, a group of stone sculptures from 1988 that the guide explains at the very beginning. A few steps away is Josefsplatz, a perfectly enclosed baroque square named after the emperor whose equestrian statue stands at its centre.

Josefsplatz is bounded by the Austrian National Library, whose State Hall is one of the most beautiful library rooms anywhere, and by the wing of the Hofburg that houses the Winter Riding School. The guide spends about 20 minutes on the two squares, introducing the dynasty that ruled from here and setting the scene for the palace.

The Hofburg, the Spanish Riding School and Heldenplatz

The Hofburg was the residence of the Austrian rulers from the 13th century until 1918 and grew over those centuries into a city within the city, with some 2,600 rooms, 18 wings and 19 courtyards. The tour follows the outside of the complex, from the Renaissance Swiss Gate of 1552 to the domed Michaelerplatz facade, and passes the Spanish Riding School, where the white Lipizzaner stallions have been trained in classical horsemanship since the 16th century; with luck you see the horses crossing to their stables.

The walk then opens onto Heldenplatz, the vast square in front of the curved Neue Burg wing, with its two equestrian monuments and views to the Parliament and the City Hall tower. The guide covers the Hofburg in about 30 minutes; entry to the apartments and museums is not included, and Hofburg tickets can be bought afterwards if you want to go inside.

Graben and the Plague Column

Graben is the most elegant pedestrian street in Vienna, laid over the moat of the Roman camp that gave it its name and lined with the facades of 19th-century banks, luxury shops and cafés. In the middle stands the Plague Column, a swirling baroque monument of clouds, angels and figures completed in 1693 to give thanks for the end of the epidemic of 1679; it is one of the most photographed objects in the city. Just off the street is St Peter's Church with its green dome squeezed between the houses.

The guide takes about 20 minutes along Graben and Kohlmarkt, pointing out the former imperial purveyors, the pastry shops with their window displays and the view back towards the Michaelerplatz dome. This stretch is the heart of Vienna's shopping district, so you can return later with time to browse.

The coffee-house district

Viennese coffee-house culture is listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, and the lanes between Graben and the cathedral hold some of the oldest and most traditional houses. The guide explains the rituals: the glass of water served with every cup, the marble tables, the bentwood chairs, the newspapers on wooden holders and the understanding that a single coffee buys you the right to sit for hours. You also learn the vocabulary, from the Melange to the small black Mokka, and which pastries belong with which drink.

The tour does not include a sit-down stop, but it shows you where to go afterwards and why each house has its own character. About 15 minutes are spent here, and many travellers return to one of the cafés for a late breakfast as soon as the walk ends at the cathedral nearby.

Blutgasse and St Stephen's Cathedral

Blutgasse is a narrow medieval lane whose name, Blood Lane, is linked by legend to the knightly order that once owned the houses here; its linked courtyards, cobbles and old staircases are a quiet world a minute from the cathedral square. Nearby is the house where the city's most famous composer lived in the 1780s, seen from outside. The guide takes about 15 minutes to walk the lanes and tell the legends attached to them.

The route ends in front of St Stephen's Cathedral, the Gothic heart of Vienna with its 137-metre south tower and a roof of about 230,000 glazed tiles laid in zigzags and the double-headed eagle. Begun in the 12th century and rebuilt after wartime fire in 1945, it is open daily, and the guide explains its legends at the end of the tour so you can go inside, climb the tower or visit the catacombs on your own afterwards.