Introduction to Vienna Tour: 1st District Tour

Your essential primer on historic Vienna

Tour Details

About the Tour

Category: History, Orientation, Small Group Tours, Four Days in Vienna
Duration: 3 hours
Location: Vienna

Photos & Highlights

Get acquainted with Vienna's remarkable historical center
Led by an expert in history or local culture
St Stephen's Cathedral and Hofburg exterior

Tour Description

In this 3-hour introductory tour we will visit Vienna’s First District with an expert in local history. We’ll explore its spectacular monuments, quiet streets and unique elegance, gaining a broader view of the city and the many forces that have shaped this remarkable area. As we walk, we’ll see the remnants of this ancient neighborhood’s many past occupants, including the Celts, Romans, Babenbergs, Habsburgs, the Ottoman Empire, and the Nazis.

Sites Visited

Ruprechtskirche
Maria am Gestade
Freyung
Ringstrasse
Hofburg
Stephansdom

Included

3 hours with a PhD or MA-level guide

Itinerary Details

We’ll begin our tour in the most ancient part of the city, overlooking the Danube Canal, at the romanesque Ruprechtskirche, Vienna’s oldest church. Passing through the original Roman settlement area and center of the medieval city, we’ll visit the Gothic church of Maria am Gestade with its intricate, lattice-like style tower. As we continue to follow the chronology of the city’s development, we’ll stroll through the tightly compacted area once inhabited by the Babenberg court all the way to Freyung, an area of recently restored 18th-century palaces, where we’ll get our first hint of great imperial power: the mighty Habsburgs. While many of the streets of the First District are quiet and narrow, the Habsburgs carved out an enormous area and created an astonishing architectural display of their wealth and power. We’ll head briefly along the famous Ringstrasse, past the Hofburg, the huge structures of Habsburg authority where the Parliament building meets the grounds of the great imperial palace.

As we turn back toward the city’s heart, we’ll discuss what drew artists, musicians, and authors to Vienna, and introduced a strong sense of Viennese culture. Our final stop will be at the Stephansdom, Vienna’s cathedral, an architectural marvel of Gothic design and an icon of the city’s centuries of survival in the midst of political and religious upheaval. By the end of our time together, we’ll have a sense of the many layers of history that have built up over centuries and make the city what it is today.

For a deeper look at the opulence of the Habsburgs, join our Schonbrunn Palace Tour. Or, for a closer look at music in Vienna, consider our Vienna Opera Tour.

FAQ

Where do we meet? Where does it end?
The tour starts and ends within the First District. Your confirmation email will have the exact meeting point.

Do we go inside the venues?
Since this is an introductory tour, we'll see the exteriors of the buildings mentioned.

Can this walk be booked for other times of day? For example, in the late afternoon?
Yes, certainly! This walk can be booked on a private basis for any day, any time. In winter (November-February) it's better not to start later than 1:30-2:00 pm because it gets dark by 3:30-4:00 pm.

Where You'll Start

Tour Experts

Gilles

Swiss artist Gilles Gubelmann studied piano and dance at the Geneva Conservatory. He then worked for many years as an expert for arts and antiques in an important Swiss Auction House (Koller Auctions) where he was director of the Department of Antique Furniture and Decorative Arts. He realised a dream and moved to Venice where he started working as a painter and as an opera set and costume designer all over Europe, and also deepening his knowledge of art history and architecture. Settled now in Vienna, Gilles continues his artistic activities, works as a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts and highly enjoys uncovering the rich cultural and artistic heritage of Vienna to curious travellers.

Alexa

Alexandra Brauner is a Vienna-based art historian and psychological counsellor. With expertise in modern and contemporary art, architecture, design and human development, she leads bespoke tours in Vienna. Alexandra has been passionate about art and architecture since high school. She graduated with a Master of Art History from Vienna University, where she specialized in Viennese Architecture of the Eighteenth Century and Venetian Renaissance Painting between 1440 and 1580. Alexandra looks forward to showing you the many facets of her hometown in the walks Introduction to Vienna, Art Nouveau in Vienna and Crash Course of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

Piroska

Piroska Mayer-Sebesteyén has been living in Vienna for over 20 years, after spending her childhood in Santiago de Chile and subsequently receiving a diploma in architecture in Barcelona from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura Barcelona (ETSAB). Originally drawn to architecture because of a love of buildings and an interest in the different styles and functions they offer to people, she has been sharing her passion for Vienna's history and architecture with travelers for over 10 years. As a licensed Vienna guide, she enjoys opening up both Vienna's past and more recent modern history, especially using architecture and art history to discover how different artistic approaches and design concepts reflect the changing criteria that were important in different periods, depending on the historical, artistic, and sociological context of that time. She has a special interest in Viennese modern architecture, particularly Jugendstil, and counts visiting the Kunsthistorisches Museum and hiking in the Vienna Woods among her favorite things to do in her city.

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207 Reviews – (4.75)

Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.

Our guide was excellent, very knowledgeable and engaging.

Jean pierre

Feb. 12, 2023

Stephan was a great guide for our family. He was very knowledgable, patient, engaged, and flexible.

Katrina

Jan. 1, 2023

Marlene was a very interesting guide with lots of historical information to share with my husband and myself as we walked through Vienna. Not knowing much about Vienna’s past, we came out of the experience a lot more knowledgeable and informed. Thank you for a very interesting morning walk.

Marita

Nov. 29, 2022

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