A few years ago, I was in Vienna, Austria, while river cruising on AmaWaterways. While I love river cruising, It soon became clear that one day would not be enough to see all that Vienna has to offer. River cruising had given me a taste of this great city, but I vowed to return for a full-course dinner.

That visit came last week, and while I was technically “on vacation,” I couldn’t resist to urge to search out the best of the best in Vienna and relay my findings to Avid Cruiser readers.

In Search Of The Soul Of Vienna

Vienna is an easy city to tour but not an easy city to get to know. As a friend of mine put it back when I talked to him on that AmaWaterways’ river cruise: “The soul of Vienna is behind doors that you don’t easily find and in hidden cellars that aren’t so apparent.”

With that thought in mind, I came here during the winter on a quest to discover the soul of Vienna. My goal was to allow Europe’s Most Livable City to envelop me. I came to breathe in Vienna and to see what it could offer me and other travelers.

Following, in a series of posts through photos, captions and narrative, are what I consider to be some of the best Viennese experiences that are easily accessible to travelers, especially river cruisers who may want to consider staying in Vienna before or after their river cruises.

Of course, there’s a lot more that could be added, but that will have to wait for the spring and another visit.

Next… We found it, the Best Vienna Hotel: Ritz-Carlton Vienna.

Can’t wait to go through the posts in succession? Go ahead then, click away to see all of our Best of Vienna posts:

• Best Of Vienna: Where To Find The Best Wiener Schnitzel, Best Café, Best Cake & Best Vienna Hotel
• Best Vienna Hotel: Ritz-Carlton Vienna
• Inside Ritz-Carlton Vienna: Europe’s Best Hot Chocolate
• Vienna’s Best Sacher-Torte: Café Sacher
• Best Cafes In Vienna
• The Best Wiener Schnitzel In Vienna
• Best Romantic Moment In Vienna