Gretl Guides: Vienna's FREE audio tour

This tour begins on Stephansplatz—St. Stephen’s Square—at the center of Vienna’s first district and reachable by the U1 and U3 metro lines. After a few tips on navigating Vienna, this episode explores the importance of bread in the medieval diet (and the fate of dishonest bakers), divulges some secrets hidden beneath the square, and relates the legend of the “Stock-in-Irons.” A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link. Find me on Instagram—I love to hear from listeners! This content is free because of donations from users like you. If you’d like to donate, head to https://ko-fi.com/gretlguides or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GretlGuides. Thank you!

After a walk through one of Vienna’s most charming “Durchhäuser,” our next stop is the triangular Lugeck. Once you’ve had your fill of Austria’s most renowned main dishes (like Schnitzel, Goulash, and Tafelspitz), stick around for dessert! A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link. Find me on Instagram—I love to hear from listeners! This content is free because of donations from users like you. If you’d like to donate, head to https://ko-fi.com/gretlguides or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GretlGuides. Thank you!

Located just a few steps away, the busy Schwedenplatz junction lies at the heart of Vienna’s former largest market. Here we address some historical issues of child hunger, hear what Richard the Lionheart has to do with the construction of the Ring Wall, and learn how the humble potato became a staple of modern Austrian cuisine. A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link. Find me on Instagram—I love to hear from listeners! This content is free because of donations from users like you. If you’d like to donate, head to https://ko-fi.com/gretlguides or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GretlGuides. Thank you!

At Vienna’s oldest bakery—in business since 1536—we get a chance to pick up some pastries! Along with a few recommendations, I guide you through how to order in German. A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link. Find me on Instagram—I love to hear from listeners! This content is free because of donations from users like you. If you’d like to donate, head to https://ko-fi.com/gretlguides or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GretlGuides. Thank you!

Vienna’s two Turkish Sieges left some major culinary marks on the Austrian capital. Here at Am Hof, we explore the two most celebrated legacies of these flashpoints with the Ottomans, examining both the legend and historical facts surrounding Kipferl and Kaffee. A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link. Find me on Instagram—I love to hear from listeners! This content is free because of donations from users like you. If you’d like to donate, head to https://ko-fi.com/gretlguides or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GretlGuides. Thank you!

At one of the capital’s most iconic coffee houses, this episode tracks coffee as it spreads across Europe over the past 400 years or so. We then narrow our focus to the phenomenon of the Viennese coffee house itself: a unique cultural institution nearly synonymous with the art, philosophy, and literature of the fin-de-siècle. A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link. Find me on Instagram—I love to hear from listeners! This content is free because of donations from users like you. If you’d like to donate, head to https://ko-fi.com/gretlguides or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GretlGuides. Thank you!

From the elevated terrace overlooking the square, you’ll hear about the Albertina Museum and its revolutionary original admission policy, learn about the political turmoil in Austria during the period leading up to the Second World War, indulge in some of Vienna’s most beloved street food (with tips on how to order a sausage in Viennese dialect), and hear about the origin of the famous Sachertorte: Vienna’s most iconic dessert. A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link. Find me on Instagram—I love to hear from listeners! This content is free because of donations from users like you. If you’d like to donate, head to https://ko-fi.com/gretlguides or https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GretlGuides. Thank you!

This brief introduction contains information on the Gretl Guides: Vienna’s Must-Sees Tour, including the length of the route, possible fees, nearby restrooms, and other logistical concerns. A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link. Find me on ⁠Instagram⁠—I love to hear from listeners! This content is free because of donations from users like you. If you’d like to donate, head to ⁠https://ko-fi.com/gretlguides⁠ or ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GretlGuides⁠. Thank you!

We now take a stroll down the "ditch," Vienna's most majestic downtown pedestrian shopping street. Here you'll learn how the area went from Roman moat to modern thoroughfare, encounter the stunning Pestsäule (commemorating the city's survival of the Black Death), meet Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and discover the origins of his "Habsburg Lip," and get the opportunity to use a pretty one-of-a-kind subterranean restroom. A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link.

Enter the Hofburg imperial complex through the domed archway, and make your way onto the enclosed square. Here you’ll meet the last ruler of the 1000-year-old Holy Roman Empire, trace the growth and expansion of the palace complex as it hosted nearly seven centuries of Habsburg rulers, see the chapel where the renowned Vienna Boys Choir performs, hear about the mysterious artifacts of the Imperial Treasury (and learn why Hitler was so keen to get his hands on them), get to know the enigmatic Empress Elisabeth, and see where the renowned Lipizzaners of the Spanish Riding School perform (as well as getting the scoop on hassle-free tickets). A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link.

Cross the multi-laned Ringstrasse (being careful of tram, bike, and car traffic) and head toward the imposing monument seated between the two museums. Here, you’ll meet Empress Maria Theresa and her extensive family, hear about the extensive holdings of the Natural History Museum (including the world’s oldest-known human-carved statuettes), get the run-down on the collection at the Art History Museum (the crime scene of one of history’s biggest art heists), and grab the opportunity to see the city skyline from above with an optional free trip to a rooftop patio in the MQ. A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link.

Cutting through the park, exit at its east corner (near the Palmenhaus) and make your way up to the large terrace overlooking Albertinaplatz (the directions at the end of episode 07 include the option to take an elevator). From this vantage point, you’ll hear about the Albertina Museum collection and its revolutionary original admission policy, see Vienna’s Monument Against War and Fascism (the city’s first memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust), learn about the political turmoil in Austria during the period leading up to the Second World War, indulge in some of Vienna’s most beloved street food (with tips on how to order a sausage and beer in Viennese dialect), and get the scoop on one of the city’s iconic deserts with the origin legend of the famous Sachertorte. A map of the entire route can be found at the embedded link.