Lady’s 2 Days in Vienna Itinerary

Today I want to bring you my itinerary for 2 days in Vienna. The Austrian capital is rife with world-class attractions and sightseeing opportunities, and it’s one of the best cities to visit in Europe.

2 Days in Vienna

My last trip to Austria was years ago. I hate to admit it, but many of my memories of sightseeing in Vienna have faded since then.

I remember little of Schoenbrunn Palace, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and the State Opera House, and even less of the museums and galleries I visited.

I needed a trip back to to the city to create some new memories. Coincidentally, I was recently invited on a press trip to spend 2 days in Vienna.

London to Vienna

On Sunday afternoon I headed to Heathrow and met my fellow travelers at the check-in desk. After going through security, we settled into the lounge for some food and drinks before our flight to Austria.

The flight went smoothly, and when we landed at Vienna airport it was snowing. We found a cafe and warmed up with whipped-cream-laden Viennese hot chocolate as we waited for our driver. It set a good tone for our 2 days in Vienna.

The Amauris Hotel in Vienna

After a 20-minute drive to the city center, we arrived at our hotel, The Amauris. It’s located right on the ring road in central Vienna. Housed in a refurbished former bank, The Amauris is a beautiful place to call home-away-from-home.

After we arrived, we had a bit of time to get settled into our rooms for our 2 days in Vienna. As soon as I walked in, I wanted to dive into the fluffy duvets on the bed and sleep forever.

Instead, I checked out the walk-in closet, which was one of the biggest I’ve ever seen, and the bathroom, which had twin sinks and a large tub for relaxing bubble baths.

Back in the main room, there was a desk upon which I set up my laptop and other work items. But it wasn’t time for work. It was time to hit the bar.

The bar was an intimate area of The Amauris where my fellow travelers and I gathered for a pre-dinner drink with our guide.

As we sipped our cocktails, he told us about the hotel and the restaurant across the street in which we were about to have dinner.

Unkai Restaurant in Vienna

The restaurant was called Unkai and was located in the Grand Hotel Wien. It specialized in traditional Japanese cuisine, which on this cold night in Vienna meant shabu-shabu.

Upon arrival, we ordered some sparkling sake and a smattering of sushi and sashimi, which came on huge trays and tasted every bit as good as it looked.

This was followed by the shabu-shabu, which is somewhat like beef and vegetable fondue.

I’d had it occasionally in Japantown when I lived in San Francisco, but have never eaten it in London. It was nice to warm up with it in Vienna.

After our huge meal and a few more drinks back at The Amauris, we got as much sleep as we could before our 2 days in Vienna continued with a marathon day of sightseeing.

Vienna Sightseeing Tour

A guide met us at the hotel at 9:30am and we started a walking tour of the city center.

I figured the tour would refresh some of my memories from my last trip. It did, and it also focused on a lot of exciting new places to visit in Vienna.

Our Vienna sightseeing tour started out at the famous Hotel Sacher, home of the Sachertorte cake for which Vienna is famous.

Not far from there was another historic Vienna institution: Lobmeyr. Specializing in all things glass, the shop was gleaming with beautiful objects.

From the iconic Starburst chandeliers that hang in the Metropolitan Opera in New York City to drinking glasses designed by early 20th-century architect Adolf Loos that were used in the nearby American Bar, there was a lot to admire.

From Lobmeyr our 2 days in Vienna continued with a visit to Muhlbauer, a famous millinery that makes hats for the likes of Brad Pitt. After trying on some of their pieces, we walked up to the cathedral and over to the Hofburg Palace.

There we toured the Sisi Museum, which was dedicated to the popular 19th-century Empress Elisabeth. We also visited the adjacent state rooms and apartments, which were preserved as they were in Sisi’s time.

Leaving the palace, we headed to lunch, getting hungry as we passed by Demel, a chocolate shop where Sacher himself learned how to make his famous cake.

We also passed by Adolf Loos’ famous building on the Michaelerplatz. I was particularly interested in it after studying the building in a modern architecture class I took in college.

It was great to finally see it in real life, and it still amused me that its relative plainness and lack of ornamentation caused such a stir in its day.

Shortly thereafter we passed through a small Christmas market, one of over 20 in Vienna, on our way to lunch at Hidden Kitchen, a casual restaurant in the city center. We met the owner and a member of the Vienna Tourist Board there for a meal.

The food at Hidden Kitchen hit the spot. Heaping plates of quiche, saffron rice, broccoli with lentils, lavash bread, and sweet potatoes with beets warmed us up and restored our energy for more sightseeing during our 2 days in Vienna.

And there was a lot more sightseeing to be done. After lunch we took the subway to the Museums Quarter, an area that used to be the Imperial Horse Stables but is now home to a number of art and design museums.

The one we visited was called the Leopold Museum, which held a collection of works of famous modern Austrian artists.

Our short tour focused on the works of Egon Schiele, but also had a segment on Loos and other early 20th-century architects like Josef Hoffmann.

Moving on from the museums, our 2 days in Vienna continued as we made our way to Vienna’s trendy 7th District, where the focus was on fashion.

The historic streets were full of independent shops featuring the designs of young Austrian and international designers, and the area was the perfect place to spend an afternoon (and a lot of money).

In need of some more warmth, we ducked into Cafe das Mobel for some tea and hot chocolate. The stylish cafe was spacious and featured funky wooden furniture. It was a great spot to warm up before our Vienna sightseeing tour ended.

Restaurant in Vienna

Back at The Amauris, I dove into my duvets and took a much-needed nap before dinner. The meal was at the hotel’s restaurant, and the chef impressed all of us with a multi-course meal.

Vienna Christmas Markets

After dinner we continued our 2 days in Vienna by once again braving the cold to head out for a bit more sightseeing in the city.

This time we were headed to the Christmas markets. Vienna’s markets range from the traditional to the contemporary, and we were off to see the latter.

Located in the city’s Votive Park, the Christmas market looked like a giant stack of Rubik’s Cubes that lit up in the night. The area inside the cubes was a bar where visitors could order mulled wine and other drinks.

It was a far cry from the wooden handicrafts of the traditional Christkindlmarkt just down the street at city hall, and we liked the contemporary take on the historic theme.

After the market we found ourselves at a nearby wine bar called Wien & Co, and then we found ourselves in bed.

Vienna in 2 Days

The next morning was an early one, as our 2 days in Vienna were coming to an end. We were off to the airport right after breakfast.

I was happy to see that we were upgraded to business class on our flight back to London, and even happier that despite the first snowfall of the year, we were only delayed by 50 minutes landing at Heathrow.

By the time I got home, I felt like I had experienced a week’s worth of sightseeing in just 2 days in Vienna. My desire for new memories was certainly sated, but my appetite for more of Vienna’s good food, fashion, art, and history wasn’t. I’ll just have to keep visiting.

In fact, I have. If you want to see more, take a look at my Vienna Christmas itinerary.

Find this post helpful? Buy me a coffee!

New here? Join thousands of others and subscribe to the A Lady in London blog via email.

Some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links. At no cost to you, I earn a small commission when you click on them and make a purchase. It doesn’t affect the way you shop, and it’s a great way to support the A Lady in London blog.

Pin it!