Vienna, for the most perfect Christmas
Christmas traditions were very important in my family, but anyway I once decided to break up with the customs. This was last year. I decided to go for a Christmas week holiday in Vienna, and that was the best decision in my whole life. I stayed comfortably in a beautiful Vienna hotel in the city centre.
I returned back in time, suddenly I became guest in Princess Sisi Court, and discovered the splendour of the Imperial Austria, learning waltz in the Schönbrunn Palace...
A perfectly cute Christmas Market took place at the forecourt of the Palace, selling traditional gifts and decorations in a incomparable celebration ambiance. Either if you chose this one or the Christmas Market in front of the Rathaus (City Hall), do not miss this enchanting tradition on the festive season. Having roasted chestnuts, Victorian-style candies, traditional ginger bread or strawberries in melted chocolate simply brings you to heaven. Winter is probably the most charming season in Vienna, as the city is caught into an unique and lively ambiance, full of this Christmas spirit we all love, till the very end of the year. Imagine the multicoloured lights hanging everywhere in the trees, the smell of spices and mulled wine in the air, and you can have an idea of what a magical Christmas wonderland Vienna can be.
Meet the imperial grandeur of Vienna by visiting the Emperor's winter residence, Hofburg, or the Belvedere Palace (where Gustav Klimt's legendary painting "The Kiss" is exposed), which baroque architectural beauty was meant to show the world the magnificence of the Hapsburg dynasty. A look at St Peter's Church's breathtaking dome, and you will definitely be lost in time and history... Stroll around in the Ringstraße, and you will find so many attractive things to do and to see, such as the Parliament and City Hall, but also some museums that are worth seeing. The Museum of Fine Arts and the Natural History Museum especially are places to stop and visit, for their own beauty, but also for masterpieces like Raphael's "Madonna in the Meadow", Vermeer's "The Allegory of Painting", the Infanta paintings by Velazquez, masterworks by Rubens, Rembrandt, Dürer, Titian and Tintoretto are housed in the paintings gallery. If you are still hungry for more art, the Albertina will satisfy it, with a collection gathered by Duke Albert of Saxony-Teschen: prints, drawings, and also exposes major works from European history. Last but not least, Sisi's Museum celebrates Empress Elisabeth and lets us enter in her private life and universe, with hundreds of her personal belongings...
As a home of Mozart and Strauss, Vienna is inseparable of music. So why not blend into the Viennese crème de la crème and enjoy some opera in Staatoper? If Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte or Salome make you indifferent, you may love to see a performance of the Spanish Riding School, one one the most appreciated riding schools worldwide.
You wish to stay for the New Years Eve? Do it, and invite yourself in the magical ball in Hofburg Palace, the first one of the the Vienna waltz season. Then you can participate to the general hangover breakfast on the Rathausplatz, and watch the broadcast of the New Years Eve concert by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Vienna. Remember to reserve your Vienna accommodation early since the Christmas and New Year are the busiest seasons in Vienna hotels.