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The best spots to recharge on the weekend in Vienna

There is no shortage of options for relaxation and recharging in Austria's capital. Here are a few suggestions

Published: 4 March 2022 16:42 CET
Updated: 30 December 2022 14:20 CET
The Peace Pagoda in Vienna, Austria. Photo by Dimitry Anikin on Unsplash
The Peace Pagoda in Vienna, Austria. Photo by Dimitry Anikin on Unsplash

Vienna has a number of excellent places for its residents to enjoy over the weekend. 

A government focus on improving the quality of life for the city’s people created a capital with an extensive public transport system leading to several parks, commerce, culture and much more.

Many of these are entirely free to visit, and some have affordable rates.

A walk through Schönbrunn’s gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for example, is free, while coffee in one of Vienna’s most famous and traditional coffee houses, where people like Trotsky and Freud would sit to read the latest newspapers, would set you back €3.80. 

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From parks to cafes, spas and even a Buddhist monument, here are a few of the best places to unwind and recharge over the weekend in Vienna.

Schönbrunn garden, Lobau and Setagaya

One of the most touristic places in Vienna is also one of the best for a hideout, as incredible as it sounds. The parks of the beautiful Schönbrunn Palace the Habsburg summer retreat are free to enter and open all year round since 1779.

It extends for 1.2km from east to west and approximately one kilometre from north to sound. Together with the palace, it is on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.

There are many monuments, fountains, benches, and spots in nature to sit and relax.

The Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria Photo by Akshaye Sikand on Unsplash

The Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. Photo by Akshaye Sikand on Unsplash

Vienna is surrounded by parks and woods, some more famous than others. They all offer great areas for recreation, hikes, and just chilling by their benches.

The Lobau park, located inside Danube-Auen National Park, is also known as Vienna’s jungle. A 2,300-hectare area east of the capital protects one of the last major floodplain landscapes in Central Europe.

It’s an excellent place for biking, hiking, and observing different species of plants and animals.

A smaller and more peaceful option is the 4,700sq/km Setagaya park in the 19th district of Vienna. The area was planned by Japanese garden designer Ken Nakajima almost 30 years ago and is known for its beautiful cherry blossoms, ponds and bamboo gates.

The park, however, is closed in winter and will open in April for visitors – no dogs are allowed. 

EXPLAINED: Everything you need to know about owning a pet in Austria

Indoor nature

Those looking for indoor places but still wanting to be close to nature have many options in Vienna. From the Schmetterlinghaus, where you can walk in the middle of butterflies, to its neighbouring Palmenhaus, where Viennese can enjoy coffee and a piece of Topfenstrudel surrounded by palm trees, there are many options. 

The city’s aquarium, Haus des Meeres, is also a great place to walk among monkeys and birds and pretend like you are in a tropical city. Perfect for the cold and windy Viennese days. 

Vienna is also the city of coffeehouses. You can spend your days roaming through the different and beautiful spots without visiting any of them twice.

A waitress steps out of the Cafe Sperl in Vienna. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER KLEIN (Photo by ALEXANDER KLEIN / AFP)

The Cafe Central is the call for a more famous and traditional option. Those who prefer to recharge in a cosy environment can go to Vollpension, where senior citizens bake delicious treats. When days are cold, Cafe Jelinek offers armchairs by a fireplace. 

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Therme Wien Oberlaa

Austria is famous for its thermal areas, with stunning mountain spas, especially in the Alps. But for Viennese, Therme Wien, also known as Oberlaa, is undoubtedly the place to go to unwind and recharge. There are several zones: spa, sauna, tranquillity, adventure, beauty, relaxation and more.

The complex also offers different options and services for booking, including an “after-work” ticket for around € 30 to explore the various pools, saunas and jacuzzis.

Vienna Peace Pagoda

The Vienna Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist structure located near the water, or better yet, by the Donau in the city’s second district.

https://mobile.twitter.com/lindinger/status/1261202031508893696

The white monument symbolises unity in peace. The Pagodas are created to “spread love and peace” and share a “message of compassion and peaceful coexistence”.

Not a bad message to share, especially in times like this. 

READ MORE: How the New Danube protects Vienna from catastrophic floods

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LIVING IN AUSTRIA

Why internet users in Austria need to be aware of new ‘shitstorm’ ruling

'Shitstorm' is a ubiquitous Anglicism used in Austria referring to public, online and broad harassment people sometimes suffer. And now the country's supreme court is cracking down on perpetrators.

Published: 14 June 2024 09:02 CEST
Why internet users in Austria need to be aware of new 'shitstorm' ruling

The word “shitstorm” officially arrived in German dictionaries more than ten years ago,

Its meaning is different from the English version, which according to the Oxford dictionary is used to a describe “a situation marked by violent controversy”.

However in German the Duden Dictionary explains it as a “storm of indignation in an internet communication medium, sometimes accompanied by insulting statements”.

The word is back on Austrian media after a controversial decision of Austria’s Supreme Court, which decided to crack down on instances of online harassment. According to the decision, simply participating in a “shitstorm” can cost an individual plenty. 

According to the court’s decision, it’s sufficient for a victim of a “shitstorm” to identify one person involved. You can “then assert a claim against this person for the entire immaterial damage that the person has suffered as a result of the ‘shitstorm’ “, media lawyer Maria Windhager told broadcaster ORF. 

READ ALSO: Four reasons Austria is great for women and four reasons why it isn’t

The Supreme Court’s decision means that those who spread hate and fake news online must also accept that they can be prosecuted for it. 

Police officer vilified online

Austria’s highest court dealt with the specific case of a police officer photographed and filmed as he worked in one of the 2021 demonstrations against COVID-19 measures. In a Facebook post, his image was shared with the false accusation that he pulled an 82-year-old man to the ground before arresting and interrogating him. 

According to the police officer, the post had many unpleasant consequences for him. He, his sister, and his mother had been asked about it many times, and even his former post commander had confronted him about it, the report stated. 

He was able to identify several people who shared the post and was able to bring one to court. In an initial trial, the court only awarded him a small portion of the €3,000 compensation he had demanded. 

Austria’s Supreme Court, however, awarded the man a total €3,000. In its reasoning, the Supreme Court stated that a “shitstorm” is defined precisely by the fact that many people participate in it. At the same time, the Supreme Court disagreed with the argument that this makes the individual act of every participant less significant. 

READ ALSO: What to do if you experience online abuse in Austria

Such an argument would have the consequence that the more people who take part in a shitstorm, the “less liable” everyone would be.

“The effect of a shitstorm is all the more violent, the more people participate in it”, according to the Supreme Court. With this, the court said those affected by a “shitstorm” could claim the total damage from a single perpetrator. 

Lawyer Windhager said: “I do believe that the ruling will shake people up and make them think a little more carefully about what they post and, above all, what they share”.

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