Vienna

In Vienna, home of the cream of Europe’s coffee houses, you can glide through palaces and medieval streets in a horse-drawn carriage. We’ll be visiting all the blockbuster sites in this one-time capital of the Hapsburg Empire, such as the Hofburg and Schönbrunn Palace, but also investigating the city’s idiosyncratic side, from Freud’s couch to Hundertwasser’s quirky architecture. We’ll explore its fabulous artistic and musical past and ‘meet’ a host of the city’s most famous past residents, real and fictional, everyone from Empress Maria Theresa to the Third Man.

The 14 episodes in our City Break Vienna series bring you all the background history and culture you need to fully understand this elegant city. In short, here is all the research you’d do yourself if only you had the time.

Each episode centres around a podcast, available here or on all the usual providers. As a minimum, you’ll also find an introductory summary plus useful links and ideas for further reading. Eventually, there’ll be full blogpost with lot more information and pictures.

Vienna : HISTORY & CULTURE

St Stephen's in Vienna - Photo by Marian Jones

EPISODE 1: Introduction to Vienna

This introduction to our Vienna series brings you information to help you get your bearings and pick up the basic facts which underpin everything. So, first a little geographical and historical context, then below that links to all the episodes in the series, followed by reading ideas and other useful links.