Explore the natural beauty of Austria!
We have been lucky enough to visit Austria twice, once to the charming town of Feldkirch and once to Vienna. We feel like we just scratched the surface of all we want to explore in Austria!
Vienna
Starting off with the capital city of Vienna!
Vienna might be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Around every corner is another stunning building & amazing architecture. We were constantly amazed! We only had about 1 day in Vienna and we opted to just explore it by walking around the main city center. Vienna is a super walkable city with a ton to see. One disclaimer about our time there – it was late into a 2 week trip and our kids were a bit museumed out and we were hoping to stick close to the hotel and not travel far. What we did was perfect for us, but we know there is a ton more to see in Vienna!
We used our IHG points to stay for free at the Intercontinental Vienna – right in the center of the city. The rooms had nice views, the staff was wonderful and the hotel itself, aside from being stunning, is in a perfect location. (If you want to know how we got this super nice hotel for FREE, reach out!)
Right across the street from our hotel is Stadtpark. It’s a wonderful city park with playgrounds, walking paths and more. We were there primarily for the basketball court.
We made our way towards the bustling pedestrian streets and some of the iconic churches in Vienna. Along our way we made a stop for a light lunch… and then saw the ice cream creations and had to get that too! We ate at Cafe de l’Europe. The food was pretty good, but the ice cream was super fun. It was gelato that looked like spaghetti. We enjoyed sitting right in the center of the city and people watching.
After lunch, we visited the 2 main churches. They were very crowded but for good reason. St. Stephens Cathedral is truly incredible. Built in 1137, it towers over the city with it’s huge steeples and intricate tile work on the roof (over 200,000 tiles!). Inside, you’ll see the impressive gothic architecture and can sit in the peaceful sanctuary or walk around. If you wanted, you could pay to visit the top as well. We chose to just admire from the main cathedral floor.
Just a short walk away is St. Peter’s Church (Peterskirch). We thought this church was equally as beautiful. It was built in the 1700’s and modeled after St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
We spent a bit of time in Volksgarten which is famous for having thousands of rose bushes. It’s a really peaceful park.
After the gardens, we mostly just wandered by some of the famous buildings. We walked outside of the Hofburg Palace which was build in the 13th century and served as the residence of the Habsburgs for over 600 years and today houses the Austrian president’s offices.
There are many museums in the area, all of which are in impressive buildings. The Parliament Building was also along our walk. Truly, every building was stunning.
Our evening came to a close when it got very cold and rainy! We opted to go to an escape room ‘First Escape’. Not very Vienna specific, but the kids loved it and it was cheaper than we are used to paying in the US. We also enjoyed an incredible dinner at Chinacy – which serves ‘elevated’ Chinese food.
Overall, we loved our time in Vienna – even though we didn’t see that much! It makes for a great jumping off point to explore other areas too, like Bratislava, Slovakia which we visited the day before, only an hour away!
Feldkirch
We visited Austria for the first time as part of our week in Switzerland. We were sad we only had a short time in Austria, but it made a big impression and we can’t wait to get back and explore more.
Check out our full vlog here:
Feldkirch is a charming town on the very western end of Austria, right over the border from Switzerland, and next to Lichtenstein.
We drove across the border from Switzerland near Meiningen. There was no border crossing, other than a small little stall with no one in it – super easy.
The town itself is very cute with a castle and nice scenery right on a river. Our first stop was the Wildpark – a free animal park! This was a great stop for the kids because they could get out and stretch their legs, see some animals, and play on the playground. There were some cute animals, but also amazing views of the town from above.
After our visit there, we went back to the center of town to get some lunch and stock up on groceries for our overnight in the tiny home back in Switzerland. The town was nice and walkable, and we got some pizza alongside the river.
Unfortunately, that’s all we got up to in Austria because moving onto Lichtenstein and then back into Switzerland. If you are around this area though, Feldkirch is a great stop to make.
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