Vienna Day & Night

Vienna offers an excellent mix of cultural landmarks and nightlife. One can bathe in the grandeur of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, hit the Leopold Museum for a sampling of local art, and survey the Hofburg Palace.

Then there is the Danube, the river immortalized by Strauss’s classical waltz, “The Blue Danube,” performance artists, and local statues.

Yet another worthwhile sight is the Hofburg New Palace Museum, with its collection of ancient musical instruments: Beethoven’s clarinet, a keyboard played Mozart, and some really weird musical instruments that made me wish I’d taken Junior High band class more seriously. The Armor Collection displayed body armor from all over the Hasburg Empire. Armor was often more for ceremonies/festivities than for jousting, which explains the pointy shoes and skirts.

The great element about Vienna though is that it also has a thriving nightlife. Bars, cafes, clubs, and, in June, a free music festival that offered fifty stages featuring everything from trance, electronic, rock and hip hop, to folk and blues. The highlight was DJ Antoine.

Vienna is a dynamic, thriving city, a mix of old world charms and new, burgeoning experimentation. The people are friendly and the cultural treasures are unique. What is more, a thriving nightlife made it a terrific, well-rounded place to visit.