EGU’s General Assembly (GA) has been in Vienna for over 15 years now. There are practicalities that make it a suitable choice, such as Vienna being able to accommodate 15-20 thousand on-site participants and its location allowing many EGU members to travel there by ground-based transportation. Still, the GA’s experience also encompasses what is outside what’s outside the conference center. Although the city might feel familiar after so many visits, in this blog I’m going to argue that the unique qualities of the location make it well worth exploring and share a few tips on what to do in the city outside the sessions to see something new.
Before moving to destinations, let’s talk about how to get there. I enjoy having a journey as a goal and spending more time outdoors. If you too, a good way to see the city might be to rent (e)bikes, which is possible less than five minutes from the conference entrance (Bike rental @ CopaBeach). Vienna has a dense network of cycling paths; many are wide and separated from other traffic, so they feel safe even for beginner cyclists. And if bikes aren’t floating your boat, well, how about boats? Around 10 minutes from the EGU25 are services renting them, along with kayaks and SUPs (e.g., Kukla @ Alte Donau).
Boating on Alte Donau.
Finally, while perhaps not as adventurous, walking in combination with the free pass for the extensive Vienna public transportation included in EGU registration can be a great combination for exploring the Austrian capital. But where to start?
1) Spots to chill
Going from session to session all day can be overwhelming. EGU25 has multiple quiet rooms, but should one prefer more natural settings, there are neat places for a picnic (or to take a dip in the river) within walking distance.
Evening relax across Vienna’s Millenium Tower.
Moreover, Donaupark, just northeast of the EGU25 venue, offers plenty of greenery to unwind. The park also features the Danube Tower with a panoramic vista over the city. That segues to the next section…
2) Outlooks
Even closer than the Danube Tower, less than 350 meters from EGU25, is Austria’s tallest building, the DC-1 Tower. It has a restaurant/bar at the top, serving the views as a dessert.
DC-1 tower.
More captivating places to score bird’s perspective are the towers of Stephen’s Dome and Karlskirche. When on the topic of towers, there are plenty! Not all are accessible to the public, but they are interesting and document different periods of the city – and are fab for orientation!
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- Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.
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- Flak tower 7, Augarten.
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- Vienna-Arsenal radio tower.
3) Attractions
One of the most popular ones is the Riesenrad in Prater, which also provides an outlook on the city, but it can be crowded. However, just across the Riesenrad is Vienna’s planetarium. Besides being an immersive place where one can gaze at a starry night sky and learn about the universe, it is also attractive for planetarium nerds like me: it combines optomechanical and digital projections, with the former being facilitated by Zeiss’ Universarium IX.
Other places deserving attention are the city’s museums, namely the Natural History Museum. Still, even without entering any building, getting around Vienna and observing the structures can feel like a museum visit. The imperial past left a plethora of unique properties, the Hofburg, Belvedere, and Schönbrunn, to mention a few. Given their scale, there might be something new to learn even if you’ve been already.
Schönbrunn Palace.
3) Surprises
It is easy to follow guides, but I would suggest allowing yourself to get purposefully lost for at least 30 minutes. Just wander around and let the city dictate where you go. I try to do that each year, and the city always surprises me with something fresh. Sometimes, it is a new building that wasn’t there before, but mostly, it would be details and compositions that I just did not notice before. These personal finds often lead to a more rewarding city experience.
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- Historic and modern…
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- …contrasting and complementing.
3) Bonus: Get away from the city
Vienna is a stone’s throw from the Alps’ foothills, and some spectacular locations are accessible during a day trip from the city. My suggestion would be to plan a hike from Semmering or Puchberg am Schneeberg stations. Both are around 1.5 hours away from Vienna (one-way) and give access to a great deal of scenic options.
Views like this ’20-Schilling-Blick’ are only a relatively short hike away from the Semmering station.
What is your favorite place in or around Vienna?
Photos: author’s archive.
