Vienna New Year's Eve 2002/2003

After that strange New Year's Eve in Paris 3 years ago we decided to try a new attemp. This time we only booked a room in a hotel next to a station (Hotel Ibis Mariahilf). We organized the journey by ourself (by train).
At New Year's Eve nearly all Vienna people met in the inner city. There are 10 stages with all kinds of music styles (waltz, folk, 80s-pop, musicals, hip-hop and opera). At midnight the Pummerin (the large bell from Stefansdom) rings and whole Vienna dances the Donauwalzer (danube waltz).
As an adult it is useful to buy a Vienna Card. You can use the card as a bus ticket for 72h and get reductions on museum entrance fees. As a student (below 27 years) you get more reduction as on Vienna Card (no combination allowed).

Interesting sights:

House of Music (Inner City, Seilerstr.)

- a good example for expensive Vienna: entrance fee 8,5 EUR, students 6,5 EUR
- one floor full of strange sound installations
- at the middle floor there are 5 rooms for Haydn, Mozart, Strauss, Schubert and Beethoven - only this is interesting in this museum
- at the top floor you find some sound installations for interaction and a shop

Danube Tower (U1 Kaisermühlen, go on by Bus 20B)

- TV Tower at the northern bank of the Danube
- expensive (4,10 EUR per adult with Vienna-Card), but nice view over the city
- a park is located around it, behind it the skyscrapers of UNO-City

Prater (U1 Praterstern)

- park for relaxing in the northern city
- at Praterstern you can attend a fairground, but in winter many of the attractions are closed

Lipizzanermuseum (Inner City next to Hofburg-palace)

- museum about the most famous riding school in the world
- entrance fee 4 EUR with Vienna-Card / 3,6 EUR per student
- if you like horses - don't miss it
- Attention: in January (tour) and July (relax) the horses are not in Vienna

Schönbrunn Palace (U4 Schönbrunn/Hietzing)

- palace with interesting park
- besides you can visit the zoo (expensive) and Palmery (2,8 EUR with Vienna-Card, nice to warm up)

Vivarium Vienna (Esterhazypark, U3 Neubaugasse)

- reconstructed anti-aircraft tower (2,5m thick walls)
- on 4 floors you can take a look at many kinds of fishes and reptiles (from sharks up to crocodiles)
- in the tropic area you can walk through a rainforest with apes and birds
- high entrance fee (8 EUR/ 6,1 EUR student), but don't miss it

Museum of Torture (Esterhazypark, U3 Neubaugasse)

- reconstructed air-raid shelter
- many objects show the methods of torture (some kind of horror)
- entrance fee 4,5 EUR with Vienna Card

Theater an der Wien (U4 Kettenbrückengasse/Karlsplatz)

- Musicaltheater at the river Vienna next to the Naschmarkt (food stands)
- we attended Jekyll&Hyde, a gloomy musical about a doctor who likes experiments - difficult for the actors but cruel plot
- 1 hour before start you can buy standing rooms for 2,5 EUR, otherwise 10-95 EUR

Raimundtheater (U3 Westbahnhof)

- Musicaltheater behind Hotel Ibis Mariahilf
- we attended Wake Up, a musical with nice melodies and an unsurprising plot, but it is no fault to visit it
- 2 hours before start you can buy standing rooms for 2,5 EUR, otherwise 10-95 EUR

Food:

Vienna is expensive. You have to pay at least 10 EUR for a main dish in normal restaurants. But there are some self-service restaurants with lower prices e.g. Pizza-Bizi in Rotenturmstrasse next to Stefansdom and at Mariahilfer Strasse, the Marche in the Ringstrassen-galery next to the opera and a cutlet bar at Naschmarkt. Typical Vienna Cafes are not cheap, too. You have to pay about 3 EUR for a hot chocolate.

Traffic:

Use your car only for your arrival, you will have problems to get a parking lot in the inner city. There are subway, tram and bus stations all over the city. With your Vienna Card you can use them for 72 hours.

Hotel:

We booked a room Ibis-Hotel Mariahilf, about 300m away from Vienna West Station. It is located next to subway and tram station and not too expensive, but large (600 beds on 13 floors). The breakfast is always the same, but it is large enough to get some choice.

Summary: