Classy Vienna’s diamond Ring
VIENNA may be famous for opera, the waltz, coffee houses, Christmas markets and Ultravox’s hit song, but this year the Austrian capital has had another reason to celebrate – the 150th anniversary of the Ringstrasse, one of the most beautiful boulevards in the world.
The Vienna Tourist Board’s current advertising slogan is Now Or Never, and as I’d always wanted to go the city, now seemed like the perfect opportunity.
I stayed at the Hilton Vienna Plaza, which has just received an Art Decoinspired makeover from a talented British team – architect Robert Angell and designer Chris Webb. Located on Schottenring (Scottish Ring), part of the Ringstrasse, the hotel is within a ten-minute walk of all the main attractions.
Thanks to the tasteful changes, the hotel can once again hold its own among the grandiose properties lining Vienna’s prestigious address.
During the opening party, we were invited to view the plush, top-floor Presidential Suite, with its fourposter bed, kitchen, spacious living area, private balconies and original artwork. Anyone lucky enough to stay here enjoys views over the rooftops to St Stephen’s Cathedral.
Many of the capital’s most important buildings are nearby – the Vienna State Opera, the National Theatre, the City Hall, Stock Exchange, Imperial Palace (Neue Burg) and the Parliament.
The Ringstrasse, first opened by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1865, replaced the defensive walls that were torn down to beautify the capital. From the outset, this road was the city’s most fashionable promenade – the place to see and be seen.
The antique camera on display in the lobby area gave a hint of things to come – we were invited to take a ‘Pola-Walk’ around Vienna’s answer to the Champs-Elysees and search for evidence of its glory days.
Each participant of this quirky tour is given the use of a vintage Polaroid Instamatic camera with film as black and white as the Hilton Vienna Plaza’s eye-catching geometric floor tiles. Limited to eight photos, it was fun deciding which subjects to frame as souvenirs.
Mine included a 1920s car and a ‘fiaker’, the traditional horse-drawn carriage popular with visitors. If you don’t want to end up wandering in circles, hopping on trams is an ideal way to discover and admire the splendour of Vienna’s architecture.
Of course, we made time to visit a typical Viennese coffee house. Established in 1873, Cafe Landtmann is nearly as old as the Ringstrasse itself and has had its fair share of famous customers, such as Sigmund Freud and Marlene Dietrich. I was advised by the helpful waiter to try a melange – a type of coffee, along with whatever calorific cake takes your fancy. A Viennese slice, perhaps?
We had lunch in the Motto am Flus, a buzzy restaurant with 1950s decor and contemporary cuisine. I only wished I still had some film left in my camera as dining at the neighbouring table was none other than Conchita Wurst – Austria’s ‘bearded lady’ who won the Eurovision Song Contest last year.
The nostalgic theme continued as, being a horse-lover, I couldn’t resist trotting along to the Spanish Riding School, now celebrating 450 years in the city. The Lipizzaner horses and riders ‘danced’ to music as gracefully as those at a Viennese ball.
And what better way to end my city tour than on the 19th Century ferris wheel in the Prater park which provides glorious views of Vienna?
I have to admit, this precious city with its remarkable Ringstrasse left me in a spin.