A Romantic Tour of Vienna

One of the most romantic, well hidden and isolated parks is the park behind the Lichtenstein Museum

Vienna is known worldwide as one of the most romantic cities in Europe. Some say it is not only located in the heart of Europe, but many have lost their hearts to this beautiful place! With all its different faces, a tour in Vienna, the imperial city, is all the better when shared with a loved one.

There is a whole world of romance to be found here: great scenery, wonderful nature and wood landscape surrounding the city, the famous river Danube, countless romantic hotels, intimate restaurants and special Vienna sightseeing tours for couples, etc. Visitors looking for some unforgettable experiences will find it all here!

Of course, there are many ways to enjoy romance in Vienna – one of the most obvious is feeding your senses with an outstanding glass of wine, or savoring some delicious food in an exquisite environment. A Vienna restaurant tour is guaranteed to be top class due to the fact that Austria’s long tradition in gastronomy and hoteliers has made Austria one of the world leaders in the tourism industry. Today Vienna is in a class of its own, not many places in the world will be able to compete with our excellence in this respect!

A wide variety of memorable romantic restaurants are to be found here, some of them with an imperial setting in the city centre, some of them in the lovely vineyards surrounding the city, some of them upscale, some of them more local and low key; they are all to be visited at one point during your stay.

The inner city of Vienna is known for its imperial setting. The architecture and atmosphere in the streets gives you a good feeling about how it must have been to live here in the time of the Hapsburg Empire - when you dine, you dine in style! A good example of how Vienna managed to keep this traditional ambiance alive but still adjust it to our modern needs and expectations is one of the most famous hotels around the world: the Sacher Hotel. Here, you will be treated as guests have been treated for centuries. The hotel hall is stunning, the restaurant is known for one of the best Viennese cuisines in town, the doorman greets you by touching his hat as he opens the door, the horse carriages hold just outside the hotel, the famous Sacher Cake is served next to a Viennese “Melange” (sort of a cappuccino coffee) while reading your paper surrounded by red velvet walls with waiters wearing tuxedos.

But Vienna is far from only being imperial. Right outside the city, just 15 minutes away from the center, you will find yourself in the middle of the vineyards of the so called “19th district”. Vienna’s wine tradition dates all the way back to the 16th century when wine makers started growing their own wine in the surrounding hills of the city. Since then locals hang out here during summer and the winemakers sell their absolutely delicious local wine. Today almost all the vineyards are small, produce limited amounts and have been operated by the same family for centuries and most of them are strictly bio-dynamic - this is why Austrian wine production isn’t really suited for export - there is too little to sell, and Austrians drink most of it themselves! Have a look to the Vienna outskirts - a tour of at least one of the so-called “Heuriger” (wine tavern) is a top thing to do!

Something REALLY out of the ordinary and unique is the “tour in the air”. You can “reserve” yourself a “table” in one of the wagons of the Giant Ferris Wheel in the Vienna Prater - a wagon just for yourself and your sweet (or for more people if you want - the wagons are spacious!). Here, you will be served a three course meal that is really quite delicious - but it is not the food that is important here, it is the view that awaits you; the fact that you are floating in the air with your loved one; and that the Giant Wheel is really a famous venue - after all it was THE location during the shooting of the film “The Third Man” after the 2nd world war.

One of our favorite restaurants in Vienna is the award winning Kristians Monastiri, - you cannot get it much more romantic than here. It is located within the walling of a beautiful abbey in the trendy "Spittelberg Area", right in the city center. Monastiri is known among locals for its excellent food creations, its regional wine selection and its romantic and unique ambiance.

But this is not all: although food and wine are very important in your romantic experience, there are many ways of spending an unusual and unforgettable weekend in Vienna. The city offers perfect date locations during the day.

If you want to see Vienna like Lords and Princes did in former times a ride along the famous Viennese boulevard “The Ring”, on one of the famous Viennese “Fiaker”(horse drawn carriages) is really the winner! You can find the Fiaker at various locations right in the inner city. There is one right next the Stephansdom, one to the Michaeler Platz and one next to the Albertina Museum. Make sure you discuss the price beforehand - prices vary from €50 to €100, depending on the route and the length of the journey.

Perfect dates in a city usually take place while taking strolls in parks. Vienna is full of beautiful parks that still remain from the imperial period. One of the most romantic, well hidden and isolated parks is the park behind the Lichtenstein Museum. Here, tall old trees and small ponds will create the perfect atmosphere for a romantic stroll. This is a place where locals go if they want to be on their own. The Lichtenstein Museum Cafe is a wonderful place to have a cup of coffee or light lunch.

If you prefer something more down to earth (literally!), why not have a picnic in one of the many green areas here? A very unique one to go to is the “Burggarten”, the imperial park - owned by the imperial family in the old days. Here, you will be surrounded by tall impressive buildings and can join other couples sitting down on the grass around you. Your best option would be to buy some food in the gourmet store Julius Meinl am Graben - here you will find the best delicacies in town. And for those who cannot do without our famous confectionery - the Demel Confectionery will make every wish come through.

In the Burggarten you will also find one of the coolest restaurants in Vienna, the Palmenhaus. This restaurant is housed in an exceptional Art Nouveau building with high glass walls, brass and iron decorations and creepers hanging from the glass ceiling - you will be transported into the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) reality immediately. The location is stunning, the ambiance a bit of an “amazon adventure” suggested by the huge plants hanging from the ceiling. Right next to the restaurant you should visit the “Schmetterlingshaus ” - butterflies house, a unique place in Vienna. While you can dive into a “tropical, jungle atmosphere” that has been recreated inside of this glass sierra, thousands of butterflies fly all around you and if you are lucky you will get the chance to take a picture while some of them sit on your shoulders!  Dress lightly, the inside temperature is quite tropical!

Another top suggestion would be one of our many open air events taking place in Vienna: like the open air cinema at Augarten Park, our particular favourite. A romantic movie in a beautiful park, right in the inner city. Many Open-air Events take place here during the summer and are really well worth attending - you will not find many places in the world where the surrounding ambiance or scenery is as memorable as in Vienna. Another hot tip is the open air viewings that take place in front of the opera, city hall or concert halls - performances are covered live on huge screens and are accessible to anyone for free. Viewers bring their own chairs, or sit on benches and listen to beautiful music. We suggest you have a look at our Vienna events section, you will be in the loop about what romantic events are on in Vienna at all times!

And finally, romance during winter. Vienna is a place of its own in the cold season! Not only because of the fabulous buildings covered in snow, or the horse drawn carriages leaving their tracks on the streets, the romantic scenery, etc. but also because of its unique Chriskindlmarkets (Christmas markets)! On the contrary to other cities these markets have remained very traditional, fairylike and absolutely sweet and pretty. You will be able to wander the squares filled with little wooden huts and illuminated by tons of golden lights. Many of these small stalls sell you regional delicacies as the Punsch (sweet, hot wine), that you should accompany by a slice of Strudel (cake) or a hot Würstl (sausage)! There are several of those Christmas markets of all shapes and sizes in Vienna. Some are bigger and more commercial, some smaller and really cozy; our Christmas Markets section will give you all the necessary information. For those of you who are into skating, many markets have an ice skating rink “attached”. Right in front of the City Hall (Rathaus ), during the coldest months of the year, a very large ice-skating ring is built. The rink extends to many little alleys and branches that guide you directly into the City Hall Park, and you will be skating under huge trees and long alleys, and you will feel like you are skating inside the woods rather than in the city center, possibly one of your most romantic experiences of the year. You do not need to bring your own skates - renting them out in front of the ring is possible, but expensive.