Strandbar Herrmann , Danube Canal Photo : WienTourismus / Peter Rigaud
Vienna Opera Ball Photo : WienTourismus / Peter Rigaud / Couture Vivienne Westwood Vienna
Riding School Hofburg Palace . “ A Tribute to Vienna ,” combines the “ Ballet of the White Stallions ” with the ethereal harmonies of the Vienna Boys ‘ Choir , which resonate magically in the ornate , Baroque setting of the winter riding school .
STROLL IN SPITTELBERG
No romantic trip to Vienna is complete without an arm-in-arm stroll under the glowing lamplight of the old town . Almost anywhere within the Ringstrasse will do , but just outside the southwest boundary at Maria- Theresien-Platz , is the fairytale . Spittelberg , the perfectly preserved “ village in the city ” of cobblestone lanes , Biedermeier townhouses , and idyllic squares , is Vienna ’ s second largest pedestrian zone and home to arts and craft shops , seasonal markets , art galleries , restaurants , design studios and small music clubs . It ’ s made to be taken slow , warmed from the inside out in winter with a cup of mulled wine .
SIGMUND FREUD MUSEUM
Sometimes a museum is just a museum , except when it ’ s dedicated to famed psychiatrist Sigmund Freud . The good doctor ’ s former office and apartment , where he developed his revolutionary theories of psychoanalysis and lived until the Nazis forced him to flee , now tells his remarkable story in an exhibition documenting the life and work . Many of the furnishings and accouterments , particularly in the waiting room , are original , donated by Freud ’ s youngest daughter , Anna . She also supplied films from the private life of Freud and his family . Additional galleries host exhibitions by artists exploring similar boundaries of consciousness and unconsciousness .
SCHONBRUNN PALACE
If your jaw doesn ’ t drop at sheer size of this 1,411-room Baroque palace at the outskirts of Vienna , perhaps it will at the fact that it was merely the summer getaway for the Hapsburg family . Built to rival Versailles , it certainly made every effort , stuffing each room with an exhausting amount of frescoed ceilings , grand staircases , herringbone floors , crystal chandeliers , wall-sized tapestries , huge mirrors , and gilded ornaments . It was in the Mirrors Room that a six-year-old Mozart famously sprang upon the lap of Empress Maria Theresa and got a kiss from her . The surrounding 435-acre grounds are equally astonishing , with embroidery-like flower gardens , marble statuary , a hedge maze , fountains , an orangery , zoo , and botanic garden . Multiple tours inside and out are available according to your imperial appetite .
FLYWASHINGTON . COM 26 SPRING 2017