The gorgeous baroque city of Vienna which served as the seat of power for the powerful Hapsburg Empire for decades was founded in 500BC as a Celtic settlement which went on later to become one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire. Vienna has a rich cultural heritage and this city which is the capital city of Austria is most commonly associated with several great composers like Strauss, Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart who all made Vienna their home at one time or another. This rich musical tradition continues to be kept alive today by organizations like the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the State Opera House which offer numerous classical music performances all year long.
If you have an affinity for the arts especially for classical music, then Vienna is one European destination you cannot afford to miss. However if your journey originates in the US, then you might want to consider business air travel to Vienna for the trip for it is bound to be a long haul flight that extends approximately over ten hours. Luckily for you a plethora of European and American carriers offer business flights to Vienna from the US and at any given time a carrier that operates on this route may have business class deals to Vienna which you can then take advantage of for your dream holiday to this spectacular destination for the arts.
Now before you balk at the cost of business class tickets to Vienna which may perhaps make you rethink your vacation plans, you should be aware that there are ways and means to procure business class cheap to Vienna if you ar...Read Moree savvy enough to spot the business class deals that are periodically promoted by airlines who offer connections to this destination. At other times, last minute bookings with most airlines can also afford you deep business class discounts to Vienna. However if all this seems too confusing for you because you want a certain amount of flexibility in order to plan your journey, you may want to consider using the services of your friendly travel agent who despite all the doomsday predictions has not yet been made extinct by online booking sites.
Travel agents often have access to a wealth of business class deals to various global destinations and these business class discounts often add up to rebates of up to 70% when compared to regular business class airfares. Travel agents have this access to cheap business class tickets by way of their personal connections and relationships with airlines which have usually been cultivated over the years.
These relationships are usually mutually beneficial as they ensure airlines regular, repeat business through these travel agents who are often high volume sales agents. It must be mentioned that these cheap business class airfares are by no means inferior to regular business class airfares for they afford you all the amenities that are usually associated with full price business class fares like priority check-in, fast track immigration, enhanced luggage allowance, fully flat beds and limitless good food and wine along with great personalized service.
These discount business flights though sometimes have certain terms and conditions associated with them like advance purchase requirements and restrictions on certain travel dates but these are minor inconveniences when compared to the tremendous savings that they afford. Moreover they also often come loaded with additional perks like mileage accrual and pre-flight seat selection which is considered absolutely essential for a long haul trek.
Once you have decided on Vienna as a vacation destination, you now need to plan the timing of your trip though this is usually decided by the conditions attached to your cheap business class ticket to Vienna, it is useful to know that Vienna has a temperate continental climate which is characterized bys warm, sunny summers and cold, frigid temperatures. The hottest month is Vienna is July when temperatures usually range between 60oF and 75oF (15oC and 25oC) and are in fact quite ideal for sight-seeing in this gorgeous city. Accordingly then the summer season is the most heavily tourist trafficked season in Vienna.
If July is the hottest month in Vienna, then January is its coldest month when temperatures here usually range between 23oF and 34oF (-4oC to 1oC) with much snowfall. In fact winter sports enthusiasts often head to Vienna during winter for the city affords easy access to several excellent ski resorts like Lilienfeld, Riechenau an der Rax, Rußbach and Semmering. Many tourists actually consider spring, autumn and the beginning of summer as the best times to travel to Vienna and if your discount business class airfare permits you to visit this gorgeous city during these seasons you should perhaps regard yourself immensely lucky to have snagged such an attractive fare.
Vienna is usually accessed by most visitors via the Vienna International Airport which lies 11 miles (18 km) to the southeast of Vienna. The airport is connected to the city center by local trains, taxis and buses as well as a City Airport Train which provides an express connection to the city and links with other modes of transport in the city like the underground, bus and tram networks.
Transport within the city is provided by Vienna’s excellent public transport system which is made up of old world trams, buses, a fast U-Bahn (underground) and S-Bahn (suburban railway). Tourists would do well as to invest in a Vienna Card which is available at hotels and tourist information centers and offers more than 210 discounts at attractions, restaurants and stores and carries a validity of 72 hours. Taxis are also easily available but are quite expensive though if you are on a romantic break in Vienna you may want to indulge your other half with a ride on a a horse drawn carriage which is available as a mode of transportation in the city.
Other practical information for Vienna includes information about electrical standards in the city which are of 230 volts and 50 Hz while Schuko plugs and European round 2 pin plugs are both used in the city. As for currency, Austria is a member of the EU and has accepted the Euro as legal tender; the city like any other major tourist destination is well equipped with banks and bureaux de change to meet the currency exchange needs of tourists.
Vienna’s many splendid tourist attractions are concentrated on it largely pedestrianised city center which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. These attractions include magnificent palaces, more than a hundred museums, gardens and unique cultural attractions like the Vienna Boy’s choir and the Spanische Hofreitschule (Spanish Riding School) which is renowned for its Lipizzaner horses.
The gargantuan Schönbrunn Palace is one of the prime attractions in Vienna. This huge structure served as the summer residence of the Hapsburgs from the 18th century onwards. Schönbrunn Palace is an imperial palace which is set amongst spectacular gardens and its boundaries also encompass the world’s oldest zoo, the Tiergarten Schönbrunn along with a maze and a labyrinth, the Privy garden, the Orangery and a children’s museum called the the Kindermuseum. The Kindermuseum offers guided tours for children where they learn about the lives of the imperial children and how they differed from other middle class children. On these tours they get try their hand at setting the imperial table and play dress up by donning the robes of a royal child.
Yet another popular attraction in Vienna is its Giant Wheel, which is located in a wooded playground and park known as the Prater. The ancient Ferris wheel which is a precursor to the London Eye was built in 1897 by an English firm. The Giant Wheel is equipped with fifteen gondolas which afford breathtaking views of the city.
Vienna is home to nearly hundred treasure filled museums which are said to attract over eight million visitors a year. Some of its most famous museums include the Albertina (this former Hofburg residence hosts one of the largest and greatest graphic art collections in the world which is composed of drawings, old master prints and modern graphic works), the Belvedere( a museum which consists of two imposing Rocco mansions that face each other and host a collection that contains fantastic specimens of Austrian art that dates from the Middle Ages to modern times and includes works by masters such as Klimt , Schiele and Kokoschka, Renoir and Monet) and the Kunsthistorisches Museum which is regarded to be best fine arts museum in the world which is housed in a spectacular building that is topped by a 197 foot high dome and boasts of an interior that is adorned with marble, gold leaf and stucco trimmings. This museum hosts a collection that represents some of the greatest art treasures collected by the Hapsburg rulers and includes artworks that range from Egyptian, Greek and Roman arte-facts to medieval art, and Renaissance and Baroque paintings.
Other attractions include Vienna’s many magnificent churches like the St Stephen’s Cathedral, the Karlskirche , The Deutschordenskirche, the Jesuitenkirche and others as well as sites which are associated with Vienna’s many famous residents like Beethoven’s residences and grave at the Central Cemetery and Mozart’s memorial grave at the Hapsbur Hide