City,Breaks,Local,Guide,Vienna travel,insurance City Breaks: A Local Guide to Vienna Part One

Torres del Paine is among the biggest of Chile’s national parks, occupying almost 600,000 acres (242,000 ha) of land in the south on the border with Argentina. It is also among the most important, receiving a significant proportion of domes Like any American, traveling occasionally is just what I love doing and I bet you share the same stuff with me. But traveling does not mean that you would be safe. Escaping from our job and other stressful activities is just something that w

Having lived in Vienna for the good part of ayear, I'd say it's safe to say I've accrued a certain amount of localknowledge. I lived for eight months in the north of the city – thatstrange area that resembles a ghost town full of beautiful houses,rather than part of a capital city. The period of time I stayed meantthat I was always somewhere in-between a tourist and a local, whichleaves me in the elevated position of being able to guide you, thereader, through the labyrinth of mesmerising Gassen (Viennese for laneor street) and hidden treasures of the city, without losing sight ofthe main tourist attractions, which are of course not to be missed! Viennais a great city for a weekend or mini-break and can be adapted to manybudgets. It can be done on a shoestring, or you can go all-out. Thereis a sprawl of hotels and hostels throughout the city, ranging from theluxurious Hilton to the humble Jugendherbergen (youth hostels), whichappear frequently in the outer districts. Depending on yourpreference, the 'main sights' of the city can be done over one or twodays. If you're lucky – and you often are during the Viennese summer –you should be able to walk all the way around what the locals like tocall 'the Ring'. This is the large, uneven loop of streets thatencircle the first district in the centre of the city. Itmatters little which way you walk and where you start or finish, sinceat every point along the way there's something to see. You will pass,among others, the University of Vienna, the Burggarten, the Rathaus(town hall), the Operahouse, the Volkstheater, the Natural History andArt History Museums, along with the Museums Quarter itself. Atany point, it's just a few minutes walk into the town centre itself.The focal point of the city is St Stephen's Cathedral, with itsimpressive gothic architecture. Those of you who are particularlyinterested in history can even take a trip down to its catacombs. Thebuilding you see today was completed in the early years of thesixteenth century. Two older churches occupied the present site andbefore there is evidence of an ancient cemetery dating back to Romantimes. From here, you can either head south-east towards theNaschmarkt, south towards the Palaces of Belvedere and Schönbrunn orsouth-west towards the Hundertwasser Haus or Prater Park, all of whichare worth a visit. For those of you travelling with children,Schönbrunn boasts an impressive zoo and a hedge maze. Equineenthusiasts will also enjoy a trip to the Spanish Riding School, whichstages performances daily. The Naschmarkt and Prater and easilyaccessible (as most sights) by the Vienna U-Bahn, the undergroundsystem. Since they are a bit further off centre, it's worth taking theunderground to reach them – Schönbrunn too, unless you're a keenwalker. The Naschmarkt boasts a mouth-watering array of local andexotic delicacies, tiny, charming bistros, market stalls andbric-a-brac. This is a great place to stop and have a bite to eat,although I'll expand more on eating out in Vienna in part two of thisarticle. Heading on from here, Prater Park is another greatoption if you have children. While it is, indeed, a large park, packedwith locals and tourists on warm days, it also doubles as a theme park.The rides do tend to be rather expensive, so those on a budget may wantto limit themselves, but there are often no queues, which is always abonus. For those of you more interested in art and architecture,don't miss Friedensreich Hundertwasser's Hundertwasserhaus, built an anentirely different architectural plane (literally - watch your step!).Mismatching, multicoloured panels  form an extraordinary fassade thatcaptures the collective imagination of thousand of visitors each day inVienna. The Kunsthaus Wien on the Untere Weissgerberstrasse containsfurther designs from the eccentric artist. You may love it or hate it –most people have a strong reaction to it – just don't miss it. Both ofthese sights are just a short walk away from the Prater Park, but areless easily accessible by U-Bahn. Finally, the Viennese Palaces.It's mostly based on personal taste, but I consider the Belvedere themost attractive of the two, although Schönbrunn is arguably far moreimpressive. Both Palaces house exhibits – the Belvedere focuses mainlyon art, often by Art Nouveau painters or sculptors, with Gustav Klimtas a firm favourite and permanent exhibit. If you're a history buff,take a guided tour through Schönbrunn and possibly take the longer,extended tour too, if you have time, as it is very informative. So!While many of you might argue that there are other sights I've missedout, there are the main ones. If you have no interest in extendedvisits and tours, they can be easily done in one rather action-packedday. Still, by this point, you'll probably be wanting a good meal,maybe a strong coffee, which leads me on to part two, where we will belooking at the lesser-seen side of the city... (part 2: City Breaks: A Local's Guide to Vienna Part 2)