– Concerts in Vienna –

Athena in front of Austrian Parliament

Vienna, the capital of Austria, is only 2 1/2 hour away from Budapest, with nice highway all the way from Budapest till Vienna. So, if you have time and money, it is easy to visit Vienna while in Budapest, or Budapest while you are in Vienna.

As most people know Vienna is the capital of Austria, a nation with a bit more than 8 million inhabitants. Approximately 1,7 of those live in Vienna, and if you include the urban area more than 2,3 million Austrians live in the Vienna area. It is the political and cultural centre of the nation, and the 10th largest capital in the European Union.

In 2001, the city centre was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In 2005 a study of 127 world cities ranked it first equal with Vancouver for the quality of life.

Vienna is known to be one of the most important cities in Europe when it deals with culture and music, and it is especially well-known for its classical concerts. Both Beethoven and Mozart lived in Vienna, and several venues offer concerts where you can hear pieces and music they composed. The Hungarian composer Franz Liszt also lived for a long time in Austria and Vienna.

Vienna is full of attractions, and below you can read more about some of them:
- The imperial palaces of the Hofburg and Schönbrunn and the Riesenrad in the Prater.
- Cultural highlights include the Burgtheater, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Lipizzaner horses at the spanische Hofreitschule and the Vienna Boys’ Choir, as well as excursions to Vienna’s Heuriger districts.
- More than 100 art museums, which together attract over eight million visitors per year.
- Sites associated with composers who lived in Vienna including Beethoven’s various residences and grave and Mozarts memorial grave at the Habsburg gardens
- Vienna’s many churches also draw large crowds, the most famous of which are St. Stephen’s Cathedral
- Modern attractions include the Hundertwasserhaus, the United Nations headquarters and the view from the Donauturm.

Some Vienna pictures: