It will be most probably be very cold in November/December, could even be snow on the ground, so wrap up warmly.

It's easy to get around on foot but the underground (U-bahn)is easy to use as are the trams and buses.

Vienna is renown for it's coffee shops Café Sacher in the Hotel Sacher http://www.sacher.com being the most famous though I find it pricey and there are often queues to get in, but do have a look inside even if you don't stay. You will be able to try one of the enormous range of coffees at any coffee shop (or tea if you don't drink coffee).
You can find the largest Wiener Schnitzels at the Figlmueller restaurant http://www.figlmueller.at in the Backerstrasse. You must also try a piece of Apfelstrudel during your visit.

Check out http://www.Vienna.world-guides.com/ for lots of information on the city.

Thanks Judith. I appreciate it will be cold but my daughter who visited Vienna for a conference earlier this month and saw very little of the city (!) wants to go back in time for the Christmas Market.

Rosalyn

enormous range of coffees

- you're telling me! If you just ask for coffee you may be considered to be either/or an ignorant foreigner/peasant or a philistine. Coffee isn't a drink, it's an institution in Vienna. Some homework to revise http://european-culinary-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/30_names_for_your_coffee_in_vienna

the official Vienna Tourist site is at http://www.wien.info/en and note there will be more than one Christmas (or Advent) market. They look best as it goes dark and they switch all the lights on. During daylight consider visiting the Prater ferris wheel as featured in The Third Man and still going strong.

How are you getting there? Vienna isn't well served by low cost airlines, Bratislava airport used to be a good option but then SkyEurope went bust.

Vienna is one of my favorite cities in Europe. It dose not mater that you are visiting it in winter it's still a beautiful town with lots of things to do. Be sure to visit Schoenbrunn and just enjoy the architecture of the city.

When my daughter went early in August she flew via Frankfurt. However, having just booked a rather expensive cruise for the beginning of February I might have to have a major re-think about Vienna

I've not given up the idea of a few days away, but it may well end up being a lot closer to home! (Perhaps I could persuade my daughter to pay for me in return for all the holidays we paid for her )

Just to let you know that Vienna has become Prague and we are booked and paid!!

Any recommendations for hotels in Vienna within walking distance of restaurants and city centre? We are hoping to go in December. Don't need 5* luxury as long as it's clean and comfy.
Thanks
Gail

Sorry no, but I can tell you that Vienna is made up of numbered districts (like Paris) called Bezirks and if there's a cluster of hotels there will be local pubs/restaurants - it doesn't all hinge on the city centre like Salzburg for example. I would try http://www.hrs.com where the hotels get ratings by customers who have stayed there (unlike Tripadvisor, allegedly!) - under the stars there is a coloured band, go for one with a bright green ( a green 3 star is better than a yellow 4 star). Read it in conjunction with the tourist office website linked earlier. If you book with HRS you normally pay at the hotel when you get there and they are quite flexible on cancellations.

Thanks, I'll check out HRS. I've never used them before and I'll have a read up on the different districts.
Gail

forget to say, HRS prices are always set in local currency so anything outside UK quoted in £s will be subject to exchange rate variations at the time of payment.

I lived a few years in Vienna, so if anybody has any other question..