Music Galore in Vienna

Meet your guide at the airport and head to your new home for the next six nights. Settle into your hotel, take a relaxing walk through the neighborhood, and join your group for a welcome dinner. Prepare yourself for an exciting week of Austrian arts and culture in Vienna!

Your first look at Vienna’s world-famous Spanish Riding School will be a guided tour of the training centers and stables. On the tour, you’ll get to visit the Summer Riding School, the Winter Riding School, and the stables. Learn about the history of the riding school and its cultural significance in Vienna. The tour includes visits to beautiful and historic renaissance and baroque buildings. Not only will you get to see the most important of the school’s buildings, you’ll also learn all about the school’s riding traditions and the Lipizzan stallions. 

After your tour, you and your group will sample Vienna’s traditional street food at a local Würstelstand. Try the variety of sausages on offer, including the cheese-filled käsekrainer, the smoked waldviertler, and the spicy scharfe.   

Wake up early to join your group at a traditional coffee house for breakfast before catching an authentic training session at the Spanish Riding School. The school trains daily and the morning exercises are open to the public. See the horses in action while listening to classical Viennese music. 

After the morning training session, join your group for a tour of the historic Belvedere Museum. The museum consists of two palaces and their gardens. Learn about the palaces while seeing the incredible collection of artwork that they hold. The accompanying garden is also the perfect place for a picnic!

This morning starts at the Schönbrunn Palace. Join your group for a guided tour of the huge palace that dates back to 1600. The palace has over 1440 rooms and it was the residence of the Hapsburgs and other emperors for years. Tour the rooms, examine the Baroque architecture and learn about the history of the palace. 

In the evening, you’ll get to enjoy a live performance at the Spanish Riding School. See the Ballet of the White Stallions in Vienna’s breathtaking riding hall while listening to a live performance of classical Viennese music. 

Your fifth day in Vienna centers around the Vienna State Opera. Take a morning tour of the opera house and learn about the Neo-Renaissance building’s history and the city’s unique opera tradition. After the tour, you’ll grab lunch at a local restaurant before returning to the opera for an evening performance. 

Today you’ll spend some time at the Vienna Natural History Museum. Take a guided tour of the museum’s most important collections before spending the afternoon exploring the museum on your own. Not only is the building itself an impressive sight to behold, but the museum is also home to over 30 million objects!

After the museum, you and your group will head to Naschmarkt for a meal and some shopping. Sample the local produce, cheese and meat while doing some people watching and conversing with your fellow travelers about everything you’ve learned.

Enjoy one last coffee and apple strudel before heading back home. You’ll leave Vienna with an appreciation of the city’s rich heritage and its vibrant arts and culture scene. You’ll return home with some unbeatable memories that will last a lifetime!