Vienna - suggestions?

[devon_belle]

I am in Vienna for the next week and a half, does anyone have any rail-related suggestions (for watching trains or short journeys)? My experience with international railways is extremely limited... Thanks!

 

[Egg Centric]

A negative recommendation for you - don't take the City Airport Train - it's a Heathrow Express like scam. Take the local service instead.

How far afield are you happy to travel?

 

[devon_belle]

A negative recommendation for you - don't take the City Airport Train - it's a Heathrow Express like scam. Take the local service instead.

Don't worry, I saved myself €12 and got the local service when I arrived on Sunday!

How far afield are you happy to travel?

Probably not really outside of Vienna itself, because I'm here for work. But I'm open to maybe up to 30-45 mins out of the center (by train). Just so I can get back if called upon

 

[Gloster]

You could try the Mariazellerbahnen, which starts at St Pölten, about half-an-hour to the west of Vienna: around 90 km of 760 mm. gauge electric railway. Unfortunately, you can no longer take the diesel-worked branch through Mank.

 

[SeanG]

It's great just to spend an hour or so at Wien Hbf, especially in the evening, lots of different operators going to different places from as far afield as Paris or Amsterdam in the west to Kyiv in the east

 

[SandsofEss]

It's great just to spend an hour or so at Wien Hbf, especially in the evening, lots of different operators going to different places from as far afield as Paris or Amsterdam in the west to Kyiv in the east

I second this. An interesting variety of rolling stock on display.

Another good thing to do is simply ride the trams.

You can take a normal service tram round the Ringstraße. It's the wide boulevard where the city wall used to be, and good for getting a sense of some of the city's grand buildings. I don't think any route does the full ring now, but route 1 does most of it, and usually in the older and more interesting stock.

Linger on the tram slightly beyond the ring, as far as Hetzgasse, which is the nearest stop to the Hundertwasse Haus (a unique building worth gawping at from the street).

 

[DanNCL]

I spent 5 nights in Vienna last Autumn. I'd never been there before and had very little experience with International trains before then.

I'd third the suggestion of spending an hour or two at Wien Hbf, especially in the evening. The station is busy with both passenger and freight workings. The Kyiv train uses sleeping cars from UZ which carry a Blue and Yellow livery based on the Ukrainian flag. This runs attached to the rear of a Zahony bound EC which is made up of coaching stock from MAV, and if I recall correctly hauled by one of ÖBB's 1116s, departs Wien at around 16:40. There's also a couple of daily trains to Romania which use coaching stock from CFR, whilst the EC to/from Ljubljana consists of a mix of ÖBB and SZ stock. The Nightjets can also provide some variety both with coaching stock and traction. The Amsterdam Nightjet on alternate nights uses an NS Vectron, and the Poland bound sleeper contains coaching stock from PKP. You can also find a couple of diesel shunters making empty stock movements in and around the station in the evening. Really quite the mix of stock you can find at Wien Hbf in the space of just a few hours! I found myself at Wien Hbf for at least an hour every night I was in Vienna and no two evenings were the same, plenty of movements to keep me interested.

The tram network is one of Europe's largests and will take you round many of the city's sights. I'd second the recommendation of taking a tram round the Ringstraße, there's isn't a tram that completely circles it but the full circle can be done with just one change, the way I did it was to take tram 2 from Schwedenplatz to Karlsplatz via Schwarzenbergplatz, then change to tram 1 to return to Schwedenplatz via Schottentor. Seem to recall it took about 20 minutes to do the full circle but I'd leave longer in case there's a bit of a wait for the trams.
There's also Wiener Linien's Remise Verkehrsmuseum located a short walk away from Schlachthousegasse, served by U3 and tram 18. This is open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and is housed in a former tram depot. It has in some ways a similar feel to the London Transport Museum, but to me seemed a bit more interesting as an enthusiast than it's London counterpart.

If you're interested in riding loco hauled trains there's several local trains that are loco hauled. On the Schnellbahn the REX1 and REX3 services are Taurus hauled Dostos, between the two services there's a loco hauled train on the Schnellbahn roughly every 10-15 minutes in each direction, stopping at all the same stations in the city centre as the S Bahn. If you're after something other than a standard OBB Taurus I'd recommend heading over to Franz Josefs Bahnhof. The REX services are mostly loco hauled there, the majority of them by 1144s, but the odd MAV Taurus appears too (there are booked workings for these on the Franz Josefs Bahn). There's also a REX on certain days made up of CD stock which eventually works through to Prague, but leaves Vienna as a REX and makes the stops at Wien Spittelau and Wien Heiligenstadt on the way out from Vienna.
Regular transport tickets in Vienna are valid on any train (apart from the few sleepers that are compulsory reservation) between Wien Hbf and Wien Meidling, so plenty of opportunity to travel on Railjet or EC workings for the short 5 minute hop, there's also a few ICEs too which unlike in Germany are covered by local transport tickets in Austria.
There are loco hauled trains out of Westbahnhof too but I only made a brief visit there and didn't take any trains from there so I'm not sure what the variety is like there.

For stuff outside of the City I would recommend two railway museums that are both a short journey from the City on the S Bahn.
The first of these museums is Eisenbahnmuseum Strasshof "Das Heizhaus", which is a short walk from Silberwald on the northern end of the S1, about a 30 minute journey from the City Centre. This museum is only open at weekends but is well worth a visit. The site is massive and they have an incredible range of stock there in various conditions (from newly restored through to rusting away with trees growing out of them!) and varying in ages from Austro-Hungarian Empire era steam through to 1990s electric locos. They have steam days where they'll offer rides behind a steam loco (through the open museum yard whilst the public are not only free to but expected to walk across the operational tracks!) and several others lined up will be in steam. This was a favourite of mine from my entire Austrian trip, I think I ended up spending 4 hours there in total, the variety and the level of access is unlike anything we have in the UK. It's mostly outdoors however, so best done in good weather. I've attached some photos of this museum from my visit last Autumn.


The other museum is Eisenbahnmuseum Schwechat, located adjacent to Schwechat station about a 20 minute ride out of the City on the S7 and the REX7, both heading towards the airport but not quite as far out. It's not anywhere near as big as the other museum but nonetheless was still interesting. I think I spent around 1 hour there. It's only open on limited days however so you'd need to research this before making a trip out to Schwechat for it.

Finally something that may be worth considering when you head back to the airport is the Railjet. Railjets run from Wien Hbf to the airport non stop every 30 minutes and any ticket that is valid on the S Bahn or REX to the Airport is also valid on the Railjet. The journey is just 15 minutes and much nicer than taking the S7 out to the airport, although I can see the benefit of taking the S7 if you need to travel direct from somewhere like Praterstern.

I hope this gives you some ideas of things to do

 

[devon_belle]

Thanks all for your suggestions! I only had a few hours free today, but I still got a fair bit of use from my Wien core travel pass! I spent some time at Stadlau, Praterkai, Simmering, and (briefly) Wien Hbf. I caught various REX8 and S80 services between them. Beneath Praterkai there runs a freight line, on which I also saw plenty of action. So far - very impressed with European trains. It is my first experience besides Eurostar and a couple of trips in Switzerland.

I like the idea of riding the trams around the Ringstraße, I will definitely do that. I am not German speaking, so if I was to do a 5 min hop on a RailJet, for example, how can I be sure it doesn't take me outside of the core zone? I've heard the fines are quite severe in this part of the globe...

Fortunately the weather has been better than forecast. The city certainly is beautiful.

 

[JGurney]

- Definitely the trams.
- The Wiener Lokalbahn, a tram/light rail service to Baden which uses part of the city tram network https://www.wlb.at/
- the two minature railways in the parks, both long enough to be interesting tours:
- Liliputbahn in PraterPark (tram 1) https://prater.at/attraktionen/liliputbahn/
- Donauparkbahn https://www.liliswelt.at/portfolio/donauparkbahn/
- could go out to Perchtoldsdorf in the south-western suburbs to see the Kaltenleutgebner Bahn. A preservation group are trying to reopen the line, which had survived for freight traffic to a cement works until 2021. There will probably only be static exhibits at Perchtoldsdorf station, but check their website in case of any short-notice trains running. https://www.kaltenleutgebnerbahn.at/
- the elevated section of the U6 U-bahn, from Burggaße-Stadthalle to Jägerstraße, might be interesting

 

[DanNCL]

I am not German speaking, so if I was to do a 5 min hop on a RailJet, for example, how can I be sure it doesn't take me outside of the core zone? I've heard the fines are quite severe in this part of the globe...

The screens will usually show key calling points. Look for anything that's showing Wien Meidling as a calling point at Wien Hbf - the vast majority of westbound trains stop there. From Wien Meidling all eastbound trains stop at Wien Hbf, including those that are travelling onwards to Prague or Budapest. Online journey planners show the long distance trains for journeys between Wien Hbf and Wien Meidling, using them is akin to using LNER or Avanti between Waverley and Haymarket. The ÖBB Scotty app is useful for this information, as is the transit option on Google Maps. For arrivals and departures at stations I generally use DB's website, this link works with live times for stations in both Germany and Austria, and scheduled times for most stations in the majority of Europe - https://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/bhftafel.exe/en?country=DEU . Clicking on the train number will show you the calling points for the service in question.

 

[317666]

If you're enjoying the trams in Vienna, be sure to check out the tram museum - nearest station/stop is Schlachthausgasse (U3, 18). Open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

If you do end up getting the chance for a full-day trip, I'd recommend visiting Graz - a lovely city, and a scenic journey over the Semmeringbahn to boot.

 

[daglondon]

I'd second the trip on the U6 and also a visit to some of the stations built in Secession style by Otto Wagner, which can be found on that line (the stretch between Nussdorfer Strasse and Gumpendorfer Strasse) and on the U4. Highlights there include Stadtpark, Friedensbrücke, Schonbrunn (where there is an imperial waiting room) and Karlsplatz (some of the old surface buildings have been repurposed, so they're best seen from the square itself).

The Westbahnhof might be worth a visit for its postwar interior, though alas the Cafe Westend - famed meeting place of spies in the Cold War - opposite is no more.

 

[Wolfie]

- Definitely the trams.
- The Wiener Lokalbahn, a tram/light rail service to Baden which uses part of the city tram network https://www.wlb.at/
- the two minature railways in the parks, both long enough to be interesting tours:
- Liliputbahn in PraterPark (tram 1) https://prater.at/attraktionen/liliputbahn/
- Donauparkbahn https://www.liliswelt.at/portfolio/donauparkbahn/
- could go out to Perchtoldsdorf in the south-western suburbs to see the Kaltenleutgebner Bahn. A preservation group are trying to reopen the line, which had survived for freight traffic to a cement works until 2021. There will probably only be static exhibits at Perchtoldsdorf station, but check their website in case of any short-notice trains running. https://www.kaltenleutgebnerbahn.at/
- the elevated section of the U6 U-bahn, from Burggaße-Stadthalle to Jägerstraße, might be interesting

I'd second the Wiener Lokalbahn suggestion not least because Baden itself is interesting.

I also agree about the trams. The ring is great and l was lucky enough to spend a lot of time in Vienna for work purposes when both the number 1 and 2 trams completed the whole thing running in opposite directions. Only a tourist vintage tram does so now.

The D tram to Nussdorf (Wiener Wald foothills) is worth doing as is, if you have the time, the walk from there to Kahlenberg. Going through vineyards with lovely views of Vienna and the Danube valley.

A day trip to Bratislava is also worthwhile.

 

[dutchflyer]

Well-you could, if the time for it is there, even make a fairly short 4 country circle trip in just 1 day: into HU-ngary, first stop is Hegyeshalom, then to Bratislava,SK=Slovakia, then into CZ=Czech (Breclav) and back to Wien. SK also uses €, the others still have their own money. And if willing to savour some private run and quite good train service: book 1 leg on RegioJet, the yellow trains from CZ. Just buy normal tickets, that will not be overly expensive.
Note that Wien-city is a major zone in a provincial zonal fares system VOR that also offers daytickets for a wider area, based on these zones-it runs till both borders.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Very good tram museum (gives good social history of the city since the 19thC) , also explore some of the "heurlingen" (sic) locally white wine vineyard taverns which also serve stunning Schnitzel. (and trimmings)

 

[30907]

Very good tram museum (gives good social history of the city since the 19thC) , also explore some of the "heurlingen" (sic) locally white wine vineyard taverns which also serve stunning Schnitzel. (and trimmings)

I second the Heuriger - tram to Grinzing, bus 38a to Kahlenberg (great views) then walk down to the riverside at Kahlenbergerdorf. Can't remember the name of the place we visited (Googlemaps not jogging the memory) but it was slightly off the tourist trail and excellent.

 

[rvdborgt]

Very good tram museum (gives good social history of the city since the 19thC) , also explore some of the "heurlingen" (sic) locally white wine vineyard taverns

Heuriger (that will improve search results

 

[Wolfie]

Very good tram museum (gives good social history of the city since the 19thC) , also explore some of the "heurlingen" (sic) locally white wine vineyard taverns which also serve stunning Schnitzel. (and trimmings)

Yup re heuriger. For excellent schnitzel try Figlmuller (a couple of locations, a bit of a tourist trap) or Schnitzelwirt in Neuberg - very definitely a locals place.

 

[duesselmartin]

I am in Vienna for the next week and a half, does anyone have any rail-related suggestions (for watching trains or short journeys)? My experience with international railways is extremely limited... Thanks!

Staying in Wien I recommend the Westbahnhof. Although its trains are less interesting, it still has its 1950s architecture and that loveingly restored

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Yup re heuriger. For excellent schnitzel try Figlmuller (a couple of locations, a bit of a tourist trap) or Schnitzelwirt in Neuberg - very definitely a locals place.

I wondered out to see the iconic Karl Marx Hof (splendid "art deco" social housing development) of the inter war years and a little further north there were some fine places to eat at the end of one of the tram lines. A splendid run out .....

 

[peterblue]

You can a train to Muerzzuschlag which is about 45 minutes out of Vienna. Very picturesque scenery across the 'semmeringbahn'!

It is also possible to then catch a bus to Mariazell to then follow @Gloster's suggestion back to St Poelten and Vienna to complete a circular journey. Though, I haven't been on that route myself so I can not comment.

 

[30907]

You can a train to Muerzzuschlag which is about 45 minutes out of Vienna. Very picturesque scenery across the 'semmeringbahn'!

It is also possible to then catch a bus to Mariazell to then follow @Gloster's suggestion back to St Poelten and Vienna to complete a circular journey. Though, I haven't been on that route myself so I can not comment.

An excellent suggestion, though its 90min not 45, and the bus to/from Kapfenberg or Bruck is more frequent.
I planned to do this (in reverse) last summer, which is why I know all this, but ran out of days
It is pr3tty much a whole-day trip

 

[peterblue]

An excellent suggestion, though its 90min not 45, and the bus to/from Kapfenberg or Bruck is more frequent.
I planned to do this (in reverse) last summer, which is why I know all this, but ran out of days
It is pr3tty much a whole-day trip

Ah, I didn't realise it was so long. My apologies. I took the train all the way to Salzburg (via Leoben) so I didn't get time to go via Mariazell

 

[Austriantrain]

if you want to have a really quaint railway experience, you could take a train from Wien Hbf running to Traiskirchen Aspangbahn. It is going to be a quite old - if a bit boring - single class 5047 DMU running over infrastructure that has hardly seen any modernization over the last century.

Traiskirchen Aspangbahn itself (where you can return on the same train immediately) is a good example of how rural stations used to look like and be operated.