What to See in Vienna: a Ride through History!, Vienna, Austria

What to see in Vienna was not the question I asked myself when I last visited the Austrian capital. In fact, in April 2019 I visited Vienna for the third time with a very specific purpose: to run the marathon. Vienna, then, in my memory, besides being a beautiful city, is the city where I ran my fastest marathon, just under the three-and-a-half-hour mark. The Vienna Marathon was one of the most beautiful I have ever participated in: it allows you to run through the city center and, in the final part, in the city’s most famous park, the Prater.

Among the things to see in Vienna the Schonbrunn Palace in my opinion ranks first! It is not exactly in the historic center, but it is easily reached by the U4 subway, getting off at the Schonbrunn stop. In the 18th century, when it was built, Schonbrunn was in the open countryside, but now it is part of the metropolitan center. Schonbrunn Palace is a true country residence, and was occupied by Napoleon between 1805 and 1809. Emperor Franz Joseph was born and died at Schonbrunn, which was intended to represent Austro-Hungarian opulence.

The tour of Schonbrunn is divided into two parts, the interior and the exterior. In the interior part, it is possible to admire the private imperial apartments, most notably the Grand Gallery, which was used for social receptions. The park, which can be visited free of charge, is immense in size. In fact, it takes at least twenty minutes to reach the highest part of the park: from here the view is wonderful, as you can admire the whole park and, in the distance, the city. At the end of the park, at the most scenic point, is the Gloriette, a small temple strongly desired by Maria Theresa. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).