Claudia Gabriel
Everyone knows Vienna as a beautiful, regal and often pricey city. Save yourself a few pennies by following my 3 money-saving travel tips when visiting Austria's magnificent capital.
Food is a huge part of Austrian culture and that's why you're never far from a local eatery. Equally, the locals love a good tipple and if you're looking to combine both of these but don't want to spend a fortune, then you can enjoy traditional, buffet style meals at the local 'Huerigen'. Huerigen is essentially another word for 'pub' or 'tavern'. Locals flock to these establishments for their weekly fill of staple Austrian foods such as meat, cheese, bread and most importantly; wine. Heurigen are generally found slightly further out of the city centre so it may be worth purchasing a rail pass (see my next tip) to get you round easily. Alternatively, if you prefer to stay close to the centre, Vienna has a lot of local delis or food stands (Würstelstände) which serve delicious Bratwurst, Schnitzel or Lebekäse - all with lashings of fiery mustard.
Vienna has an excellent 'U-Bahn' underground tube system. This means it is incredibly easy to travel around the city and hit all of the main tourist hot spots. If you head to any ticket machine, usually close to one of the many U-Bahn entrances, you can purchase a single trip ticket for a cost of €2.40. Alternatively, you can save yourself the hassle and buy a weekly underground rail pass which costs €17.10. The only caveat is that this ticket is used for travel from Mon-Sun and not 7 days from the date of purchase. However, even if you plan to visit Vienna for only a few days, purchasing this Mon-Sun ticket will cost you the same price as a 72 hour rail pass - definitely worth it! For other U-Bahn ticket prices, click the link here.
The beauty of being in a city full of architecture means you can spends your days sightseeing for free! Vienna has plenty of buildings to admire including favourites such as Stephansdom, the Hofburg, Schloss Belvedere, Das Rathaus, Schonbrunn Palace, Hundertwasserhaus and the list goes on! You could easily spend a few days moseying around the city, using your unlimited trip rail pass and munching on a Bratwurst. All of this will probably cost you just a few Euros!
For some more detailed travel information on Vienna, please see my other post here.
