13 things to do in Vienna to escape and make you forget everything - Vienna Würstelstand

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13 things to do in Vienna to escape and make you forget everything

1. Grab a blanket and lie down in Stadtpark or Burggarten

As soon as spring has really arrived in Vienna, all the parks will be full of people whenever the sun graces us with her presence for more than five minutes at a time. You might run into people on their lunch break, a bunch of tourists waddling from sight to sight, or some lovers making out in the grass with a serious case of spring love. Vienna’s parks can be an oasis of calm. All you need is a blanket to get comfy on the fresh green grass, close your eyes and listen to the birds chirping in the trees above, and the wind in the leaves.

Here’s a list of places we love to enjoy nature in the midst of the city
+ Prater, 1020
+ Burggarten, 1010
+ Stadtpark, 1030
+ Türkenschanzpark, 1180
+ Augarten, 1020
+ Liechtensteinpark, 1090

Find a complete list of our favourite Viennese parks here.

 

2. Ride a tram to the last stop and back

There’s plenty of tram lines in Vienna that seem to go on forever and will bring you to far away places and corners of the city that you’ve never seen before. And the slideshow of scenery as you weave in and out of the city’s streets will keep your nose to the window for hours. There’s the 49, going all the way up from the Museumsquartier to the end of the 14th district, to parts of Vienna that seem more like a rural area from the 1900s. The whole ride there and back takes about an hour. Or try the 31, that goes from Schottenring to Stammersdorf, taking about 1 hour 15 minutes. 

Just find a quiet spot to sit next to a window and watch the city while passing by, lose yourself in thoughts and forget everything else.

 

3. Have a chat with the wildlife at Lainzer Tiergarten

On the western fringes of Vienna, you can find a nature escape like nowhere else. Only a 20 minute U-Bahn ride from the city center will get you to Lainzer Tiergarten. This last remaining piece of nearly untouched nature in Vienna, that is actually part of the Wienerwald, is hosting some impressive examples of the beautiful things nature has to offer. On almost 2.5 hectares, countless plants – common and endangered species – are growing, and you will occasionally run into some animals, roaming free, like boars, deer and moufflons, if you’re lucky. And if you need to find some shelter from the rain, or to refuel, you can visit Hermesvilla, which offers beautiful exhibitions and a handsome restaurant. 

Just grab a suitable hiking stick (this is essential so you look the part) and stroll through nature, and forget about your worries in the city.

Where: Lainzer Tiergarten, 1130
Opening times: currently 8am–6:30pm, check here for changes.
Free entry! No dogs allowed!
Hermesvilla exhibitions: 7€

 

4. Go to the cinemas and get lost in a film

Go watch a movie at one of Vienna’s cinemas. Grab a friend, make it a special evening with your loved one, or just treat yourself to an evening of alone time with adventures on the big screen, with nothing but yourself, your imagination and the smell of popcorn. There’s nothing like escaping into a well told story that lifts you up into unexpected worlds and experiences. The power of stories!
There are lovely old cinemas all around town, even some that feature old movies from time to time, or have special screenings and events.

Here are a few tips (they also offer movies in English):
+ Gartenbaukino, Parkring 12, 1010
+ FIlmcasino, Margaretenstraße 78, 1050
+ Burgkino, Opernring 19, 1010
+ English Cinema Haydn, Mariahilfer Straße 57, 1060

 

5. Rent a boat and paddle to the middle of the river

The Alte Donau is the perfect place to go and rent a boat and paddle your worries away. You can rent all kinds of boats, like electronic boats, paddleboats, rowing boats, surfboards, canoes, kayaks, etc. And your sailors cap that you’ve bought especially for the occasion will look fitting when you wear it on all of them. Pack some food and drinks, a good book or a friend, row to some nice calm place where there’s nobody else, lie back and let yourself drift and enjoy the calmness and peace out there.

 

6. Act like you’re a giant on Kahlenberg and enjoy the view of the tiny city below where all those tiny worries are

Kahlenberg is always worth a visit for the escape-factor. Especially on a day when you feel the roof caving in on yourself and life getting too tight around your neck. Jump into your car, dust off your bike, or just take the 38A bus up to Himmelwiese. Sit down, look at how tiny the city looks from up here and how good it feels to get some new perspective on things.

 

7. Visit a Salzgrotte and breathe in some sea breeze

Not only highly recommended for people with asthma or allergies, but also very soothing and healing for everyone is a visit to a Salzgrotte (salt cave). What better place to escape the world, than a cave! Here, you can check in, and get comfy in a deck chair for 45 minutes and breathe in the neat ocean-like air. The benefits of salt therapy are vast, and it’s proven to improve our health and mood. So when it all gets to much, burrow underground in a salt cave.

Find more info on prices and opening times at Saltgrotte, here:
+ Oceanum Salzgrotte: Untere Viaduktgasse 6, 1030  
+ Meereskristall Salzgrotte: Tanbruckgasse 12/1, 1120

 

8. Spend hours getting lost in stories at a bookshop

Somebody should bottle the smell of bookstores. Whenever we walk in, an automatic calm sweeps over us as we sniff in the scents of books and magic. They’re like a candy shop where we get our high from the endless possibilities of the imagination and where the books can take us. Go visit a bookstore and spend hours browsing the floor to ceiling high shelves filled with tons of pages of wisdom, fiction and magic worlds that work really well as short reality escapes. Pick a book, get comfy wherever you can and dive into the pages. You might find yourself getting kicked out by the personnel after closing time.

Here are a bunch of great bookstores in Vienna we like to get lost in:
+ Shakespeare & Company, Sterngasse 2, 1010, read about it in our article here
+ Lia Wolf, Sonnenfelsgasse 3, 1010
+ Morawa, Wollzeile 11, 1010
+ Frick am Graben, Graben 27, 1010

 

9. Create something with your own hands


Working with your hands can be very meditative and is good for resting the mind. Vienna has some great craft and DIY workshops on offer. Try out some crafting workshops or just go to one of the pottery places in town, where you can tune out from the other people and get lost in the soothing process of creating something with your own hands – no matter the outcome.

At made by you, you can choose from a selection of ceramic pieces that you can paint however you want (we’re imaging a lot of angry artwork if you’re coming here to escape! Or we know our colleague would end up with some kind of peverse penis covered cup). At Potteria in the 3rd district, you can also take a potter’s wheel course and invite friends to join you on an afternoon of pottery.

+ madebyyou: Schleifmühlgasse 9, 1040 
+ Potteria, Rasumofskygasse 16, 1030
+ VHS workshops

 

10. Swim a few rounds in a public pool

Grab your bathing suit or slip into your speedos, a towel and some slippers, and visit one of Vienna’s public pools. While the outdoor places won’t be open between September and May and will be packed with people during high-season, the indoor pools are often very calm places during work days to find some peace and make some space in your head while swimming lap after lap after lap.

Here’s a list of indoor pools in Vienna (public, they all cost around 5.50€ per entrance):
+ indoor only
+ indoor / outdoor

There are also privately run pools, like the Dianabad or the Stadthallenbad, which are more expensive, but offer more features.

 

11. Treat yo’ self in a spa

If you need to come down from the stress of the week or everyday life in general, treat yourself to a spa experience. And this form of escape doesn’t have to be as expensive as you think! Let yourself be washed by a Hammamci (a traditional Hammam masseuse), get an acupuncture to rebalance your energy circulation, enjoy a couple’s hot stone treatment or a massage. 

There’s plenty of great places for that in our city. For recommendations, you can check out our article on some of Vienna’s best spa experiences.

 

12. Hike up to Häuserl am Stoan for a quiet beer and a view

This little Hütte perched up above Vienna, nestled just off of a path in the Wienerwald, is a cosy little place to escape the world – Häuserl am Stoan. This place, which looks like a typical mountain cabin inside, is serving up traditional Austrian cuisine, however, its major escape-factor is the view from its outside beer garden, and how it’s removed from any major roads. It’s peaceful here, with forest surrounding it. And hiking up here from Sievering is also part of the escapism experience.

Where: Zierleitengasse 42A, 1190
Getting there by foot: Catch the bus 39A from Heiligenstadt to Sievering (last station) and there’s map right where you exit the bus. Follow the Stadtwanderweg (city hike trail) 2.
Opening times: Generally, they’re open from Thursday until Sunday, but be sure to give them a call beforehand to check: +43-1-440-13-77

 

13. Go for a bike ride along Vienna’s harbour

Over the bridge and by the water. Nothing left of the city but a distant hum. The river is brown. The grass is green. A Mick Jagger of an old boat. A seagull. WTF? Where am I? Become increasingly confused. Feel like I’m in a port city. Yes, Vienna has a harbour and when out here, you really feel like you’ve escape the city, and have left it completely for that matter. Going for a bike ride along here, past the random pagoda with a golden Buddha in it, under the towering windmills and all the way to the hyrdoelectric dam will have you forget everything and give you that ecstasy feeling that only traveling inspires, especially if the sun is on your face.
Check out the bike tour along the harbour we made up for you, here. 

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