Vienna/Innere Stadt

Innere Stadt is the inner-most district of Vienna. Its historic centre dates back to Roman ages and has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It is encircled by the Ring Road (Ringstraße), a grand boulevard constructed along the old city walls, which were torn down starting in 1858. Along the Ringstraße are many famous and grand buildings, including the City Hall (Rathaus), the Austrian Parliament, the Hofburg Palace, the Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum), the Museum of Art History (Kunsthistorisches Museum), and the State Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper).

The very central point of Innere Stadt is the famous St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom), perhaps the most recognizable symbol of Vienna. From there, many of Vienna's most famous streets expand in every direction, including Graben and Kärntner Strasse. The centre is largely pedestrianized, and the remainder of streets open to traffic are mostly reserved for bus and taxi traffic - driving around is an intricate affair and is best avoided.



From Vienna International Airport
It may come as a surprise, but the Innere Stadt is not directly reachable from Vienna International Airport.

The shortest way to get there from the airport is to take the City Airport Train or S-Bahn line S7 to Wien Mitte-Landstrasse and then transfer to U-Bahn line U3 directly to Stephansplatz, or alternatively the U4 along the Donaukanal - a convenient stop to alight and start walking into the Innere Stadt is Schwedenplatz, while you can also choose to go south and alight at Karlsplatz by the opera house. Or, you can walk as the Wien Mitte-Landstrasse station is only some 250 m from the Ring, separated by the nice Stadtpark.

Alternatively, you can travel on the S7 one station farther to Praterstern in Leopoldstadt, and from there the U1 will take you to the abovementioned Schwedenplatz, Stephansplatz or Karlsplatz. If you want to explore the Innere Stadt starting from the west, you can take the U2 from Praterstern, which stops along the western bend of the Ring, starting at Schottenring and terminates at Karlsplatz.

There are no trams that go directly to the Innere Stadt from either Praterstern or Wien Mitte-Landstrasse.

From major railway stations
Other than the above-mentioned Wien-Mitte Landstrasse and Praterstern, the major railway stations of Vienna are the Hauptbahnhof, Westbahnhof and Wien-Meidling.

From the Hauptbahnhof, take U-Bahn line U1 (the station by the Hauptbahnhof is called Südtiroler Platz) to either Karlsplatz, Stephansplatz or Schwedenplatz. From the Westbahnhof, take U3 to Volkstheater, Herrengasse, Stephansplatz or Stubentor. If you end up at Wien-Meidling, which still serves as a terminus for some trains until the Hauptbahnhof is fully operational, your only option is a rather long ride on tram line 62 all the way to its terminus at Wien Oper (Kärntner Ring).

Get around
The inner city is easily walkable. For the special flair and tourist guidance one can take a tour in an historic horse carriage.

The underground lines, both cross the district, while  and  border it. The city-bus lines 1A, 2A and 3a cross the district too. The tram lines D, 1 and 2 run on some parts of the Ring.

Chances are that on your journey to, from or around the Innere Stadt you will need to use the U-Bahn station Karlsplatz, or just one of its subways to get under the ring. Make sure to pay attention when nearing the Opera from the underground, as a globally unique attraction awaits you there – the. This paid public toilet in the subway passage is lushly decorated and incessantly blares Strauss tunes at tourists and locals relieving themselves, those passing by.

Religious buildings
All of the religious buildings still function as a church, with Catholic Mass and Communion services on of course every Saturday night and Sunday, in addition to weekdays. Those that visit during Mass times, including those that do so other than for attending it, are expected to make as little noise as possible as a form of respect.

Hofburg
This immense palace complex grew into a large, unwieldy series of buildings over the years and was the imperial residence of the Habsburg emperors until 1918. What began as a medieval castle (whose chapel is the only original element of that building to survive) was expanded and redecorated as the Habsburgs' power increased correspondingly. The Palace Stables and Amalia's Wing were added in the 16th century; the Imperial Chancery Wing, Court Library, and Spanish Riding School were added in the 18th; most recently St Michael's Wing (Michaelertrakt) was tacked on and around 1900 the New Palace (Neue Hofburg) was completed. Each separate building contains so many treasures that the time spent moving from one to another is like opening box after box of fabulous jewels. The palace now houses the offices of the Austrian President, a convention center, and the Spanish Riding School with its Lipizzaner stallions, as well as several museums.



Other attractions




Parks
The Innere Stadt has next to the Ring four bigger parks:



Cultural events
Vienna is of course famous for its classical music. The Musikverein or the Konzerthaus feature excellent concerts at their famous halls. The Opera plays classical masterpieces. Students can get reduced tickets, where they stand with other aficionados.



Buy
The inner centre has both old traditional Viennese, international luxury stores as Hermes or branches of cheaper shops like H&M.

Shopping streets
The shops are mostly concentrated at those 3 bigger, popular and pieton streets:

Eat
The inner district has many restaurant options of which the more prominent are listed. Some restaurants may be touristy, others are very upper class and pricy due to their location in the historical center of Vienna. High rated restaurants include the Bauer, Dombeisl and Palais Coburg. The Trzesniewski is a very Viennese "Austrichbrote" place to meet and have a quick lunch.

Budget




Mid-range




Ice cream
You can buy excellent ice cream (Eis) at a number of places in central Vienna.



Cafés
In the inner town one finds the most historic Viennese cafés, many like Demel, Café Central or Gerstner dating from imperial times. For a complete description on how and what to order read the Vienna overview article entry about Viennese cafés.



Bars
There are several bars in the first district of which most attract formal public. In contrast to that the Flex is highly popular amongst students.



Sleep
Several high profile hotels like Sacher, Grand Hotel, Imperial or others are in historical palais on the historical grand boulevard, the Ringstraße. As one can imagine sleeping in the Innere Stadt is not recommended for tight budgets.

Stay safe
All of Vienna is very safe, and the Innere Stadt is certainly no exception. However, pickpockets are very common here, especially in crowded areas and the Rathaus, so make sure to keep your bags/wallets safe. When visiting a cafe and sitting outdoors (especially the outdoor cafes in the Graben), its wise to not leave bags or jackets unattended, especially if you chose a seat near the edge, where somebody can easily grab your stuff. Police officers can easily be found and are helpful and reliable.

A lot of the areas may look shady and secluded at night, especially Karlsplatz, Schottentor, and Am Hof - but the chances of encountering any crime is incredibly low.

During your visit here, you might be asked by a homeless-looking person to buy a magazine (usually called Augustin). In some situations, even touching the magazine will make the seller charge you money (usually €2). If they ask you to buy it, shaking your head and saying "No, thank you" ("Nein Danke") will make them leave you alone.

Be careful when visiting the Innere Stadt (especially the Ring) during late January/early February - on one of these days, the Wiener Akademikerball occurs, and with that, there are mass protests near the Ring and the Graben during the nighttime. Although the protests don't turn violent and are usually peaceful, in 2014, it resulted in several broken windows and arrests. Do not be alarmed when seeing boarded-up stores during this time - its just a precaution. During the protests, its best to avoid the Ring between Karlsplatz and Schottentor.

Connect
Several cafés will either hand you over their Wi-Fi key or have free access anyway. Beyond that there are several access points in the Inner city:



Public Wi-Fi hotspots from the local Viennese government are being deployed; they remain active at Stephansplatz and Rathausplatz. Local information is displayed on connection. For Internet connection (filtered) one needs to register via mobile phone number, which will receive access code in SMS.

Go next
One can continue outside the ring to the inner districts: Or outside the Ring is attractive:
 * Landstraße is the inner district containing the Belvedere.
 * Wieden offers the Karlskirche next to the Karlsplatz.
 * Mariahilf borders the Naschmarkt and has nice bohemian areas.
 * Neubau contains the Museumsquartier and is a pedestrian next step from Heldenplatz or the surrounding museums.
 * Josefstadt is a classy residential area with little shops.
 * Alsergrund features the University.
 * Hietzing is an outer district including the Schönbrunn Palais.