Vienna, once the capital of an empire of which it was said that the sun never set over it, is now equally as important as the capital of a newly-invigorated Central Europe that bridges East with West.

Spending summer and winter in Vienna, one notices an entirely different, but equally vibrant, energy.  I’ve been spending time each year in Vienna since my youth.  In 2008, I was in Vienna for a week in June during the Euro 2008 football championship.  At the beginning of last year I returned to attend the annual New Year’s Concert by the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic), broadcast to 1.2 billion people each New Year’s Day.

In late summer, I returned to the city to visit its vineyards (Vienna is the only capital city with a significant wine-growing region (ca. 700 hectares) within its borders).

Regardless of when you decide to go to Vienna, there is much to do and see.

What to do in either season

There is so much to see and do in Vienna that the business traveler might want to consider a cultural guide for a few hours. Even though I know the city inside out, I don’t know the ins and outs of many of the museums, so I used the services of Diane Naar (+43 664 3431588 or delphee@aon.at) and saw more of the Kunsthistorisches Museum (filled with one of the world’s largest and most important collections of Old Masters, as assembled by the Habsburg rulers, including Rubens, Brueghel, Titian) in two hours than I could have covered on my own in two days.

Here are a few basic things to do:

1.) Take the Vienna Ring Tram that runs around the entire Ringstraße (as of April 2009) to get a feel for the city.  Buy a Vienna Card at your hotel to get 72 hours of unlimited public transportation within the city plus discounts at many museums.

2.) Go to the Naschmarkt to nosh or dine.  The possibilities are endless but Umar Fisch is one of my favorites.  On Saturdays, you’ll find a flea market starting at the Kettenbrückengasse, but go early (as you would to any flea market) for the best finds and to avoid crowds.

3.) Do as the Viennese do, sit at a café.  The varieties of Viennese coffee are endless and your waiter will bring your coffee with a glass of superb Viennese water.  (He’ll refill the glass of water without complaining while you sit and read newspapers for an hour or two).  My Stammcafé (regular café) is Café Prückel on the Stubenring. I’ve a regular there since I was very young and it doesn’t get any more authentic.  It is also, like many Vienna cafés, the perfect place for meetings.

4.) Haus der Musik may sound a bit boring but it’s one of the most modern, engaging, and high-tech museums I have visited.  One highlight is an exhibit where visitors can conduct a virtual Wiener Philharmoniker (or should I say, “try” to conduct).  In my case, boisterous members of the virtual ensemble told me that they would have been better off if they played without a conductor after I had a go with the baton).

The author conducts a virtual Wiener Philharmoniker at the Haus der Musik

5.) MuseumsQuartier, something very old and very very new.  In 2001, the Imperial stables and riding school were reinvented as a village of museums.  In addition to the Leopold Museum, with unmatched collections of Klimt and Schiele, works assembled by Austrian dentist Dr. Rudolf Leopold, you’ll find the Kunsthalle, the Museum Moderner Kunst  and the Zoom Kinder Museum.

Summer

1.) Walk through Stadtpark, with its statues of Beethoven, Mahler, Strauß, among others, and then continue through the winding streets of the Innere Stadt, the First District that was until the mid 19^th century surrounded by Vienna’s city walls.

2.) Go to a concert at the Kursalon.  Johann Strauß (both father and son) conducted there.

3.) Visit Schönbrunn, the summer imperial palace built by Empress Maria Theresia, for its gardens.  Walk up to the Gloriette (there is a little train available to take you up as well) and admire the view of both Schönbrunn and the city center in the distance.  Note that some of the flowers are arranged in the red-white-red of the Austrian flag.

4.) The Wienerwald, the Vienna Woods, gave inspiration to Beethoven (the “Pastoral” symphony), Johann Strauß (son) wrote his “Tales from the Vienna Woods” in three-quarter time, and they inspired several of Schubert’s songs.  In Mayerling in 1899, Crown Prince Rudolf shot his mistress and then himself.  Today, the Vienna Woods are easily reachable by tram (the name the Viennese give their streetcars).  Stop at a Heuriger (wine tavern) in Grinzing, and continue to the Kahlenberg or the Leopoldsberg (both mountains are within the borders of the city). You can hike from Grinzing to Kahlenberg in just an hour.  Or go to the Cobenzl, a ledge of the Kahlenberg where, in his own words, “the secret of dreams was revealed to Dr. Sigmund Freud” during his stays at the Belle Vue Hotel (no longer in existence).

Winter

1.) Go to a concert at the Musikverein, one of the world’s greatest concert halls, at Bösendorferstraße 12 behind the Hotel Imperial (if you are lucky, the Wiener Philharmoniker will be in town). Vienna is also known for the imposing Opera house on the Opernring (where else?). For lighter fare, try the Volksoper, where recent productions included My Fair Lady and operettas such as The Merry Widow.

2.) Go to a Christkindlmarkt (Christmas market) from late November through Christmas.  There are several in the city, including one at the Rathaus (city hall) and another at Schloß Schönbrunn.

3.) Take a ride in a Fiaker, a horse-drawn carriage, starting at the Hofburg (Imperial Palace).  Dress warmly; but the driver will provide blankets.  Consider bringing liquid warmth as well.

4.)  Attend the New Year’s Concert (Neujahrskonzert) in 2011. 60,000 people vie for the 3000 tickets available for what are actually three concerts.  The dress rehearsal takes place on the December 30th, followed by the New Year’s Eve concert.  The big event takes place the morning of January 1st.  You can register for the drawing for tickets to the 2011 concert here.

Viennese specialties to try

Wine – In addition to its own wines, Vienna is near several large wine producing regions, including the Wachau region in Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), and the Burgenland.  Try a Grüner Veltliner (white) or Zweigelt (red).

Desserts – Salzburger Nockerl is a vanilla dessert soufflé, so heavenly it inspired at least one song.  Sacher Torte is a chocolate cake so important to the city that a lawsuit dragged out over 50 years about rights to the name.  Powiderltascherl are pockets of sweetened potato dough filled with plum jam and covered with roasted breadcrumbs.  Marillenknödel are curd cheese dumplings filled with apricot, covered in breadcrumbs and roasted in butter.  Palatschinken are crèpes (thicker than the French variety) filled with Marmalade, curd cheese, chocolate, or nuts.

Main course – Wiener Schnitzel, made with veal, should cover the plate and you should be able to cut through it like butter.  Wiener Zwiebel Rostbraten is steak smothered in onions.  For lighter fare, try a pair of Frankfurter wurst (sausage), which, in a strange twist, Germans call Wiener.  A bowl of Frittatensuppe (broth with sliced up Palatschinken) or Grießnockerlsuppe (with little dumplings) is quite satisfying.  Although technically a dessert, Kaiserschmarrn, literally the Emperor’s Nonsense, are thick pancakes shredded and sprinkled with raisins and sugar, served with plum kompott, is a marvelous main course as well.

Bier – Gösser and Stiegl are my favorites and you’ll probably want to find a source for them when you get home (same goes for the Austrian wines, I should add).  It is increasingly easy to find a selection of Austrian beer and wine in the States both at restaurants and in shops.

Kaffee – In the 1300+ cafés in Vienna, all coffee in Vienna is served with a small glass of Viennese water on the same tray.  Großer and Kleiner Schwarzer or Mokka, large or small espresso black.  Großer and Kleiner Brauner, the same but served with milk, by custom in a tiny jug on the tray. Wiener Melange, half espresso, half hot frothy milk.  A Fiaker, black coffee with rum, named after Vienna’s famous horse-drawn carriages.  A Kapuziner is a small Mokka with a few drops of whipped cream, making the coffee the color of a Capuchin monk’s robe. An Eiskaffee is cold coffee with ice cream and whipped cream served in a tall glass, perfect for a hot summer day.

How to get there

You can connect via Austrian Airlines from almost every major city in Europe and the airline has direct flights from New York and Washington to Vienna.  Upon arrival, “fly the CAT,” the City Air Train, into the city center (Landstraße) in 16 minutes.  Roundtrip fare is  €16.  And keep your boarding pass as it’s good for free or reduced admission or other benefits at museums and shops around the world.

–Jonathan B. Spira is the Editor of Executive Road Warrior and Chief Analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm.