The Ringstrasse

The Ringstrasse is Vienna's grandest single sight, and it costs nothing. In 1857 Emperor Franz Joseph ordered the old city fortifications to be demolished, and in their place, on the wide glacis that had separated the inner city from the suburbs, Vienna built a monumental boulevard, opened in 1865, lined with the great public buildings of a modern capital and the palaces of the new rich. Some 5.3 kilometres long, the Ring wraps around the Old Town on three sides, with the Danube Canal closing the loop, and every major building speaks its own historic style, chosen for its meaning. The State Opera is in Renaissance style; the Parliament, by Theophil Hansen, is a Greek temple fronted by a statue of Pallas Athena, a nod to the birthplace of democracy, and it reopened in 2023 after a major renovation with a visitor centre and tours; the City Hall is Gothic, recalling the free cities of the Middle Ages; the University is in the style of the Renaissance, the age of learning; and the Burgtheater, one of the most important stages in the German-speaking world, faces it across the street. Between them are the twin museums of art and natural history around the Maria Theresa monument, the curving Neue Burg wing of the Hofburg on Heldenplatz, the twin-spired Votive Church, the Stock Exchange, and later, the Museum of Applied Arts and Otto Wagner's Post Office Savings Bank, a landmark of modern architecture. Parks punctuate the loop: the Volksgarten with its roses, the Burggarten with its Palm House, the Rathauspark, and the Stadtpark, where the gilded statue of Johann Strauss plays his violin. In winter, the square in front of City Hall hosts the most famous of Vienna's Christmas markets and an ice-skating trail. A walk or a tram ride around the Ring is the best introduction to the city's layout and its nineteenth-century ambitions.

How to see the Ring: trams 1 and 2 run along most of the boulevard and are the simplest way to get the overview with a normal public transport ticket; sit by the window and hop off where something catches your eye. A dedicated yellow sightseeing tram with recorded commentary also circles the Ring, at a higher price but with explanations. The finest stretch to walk is from the State Opera past the Burggarten, Heldenplatz and the museums to the Parliament, the City Hall, the Burgtheater and the University, which takes about an hour at a gentle pace. The Ringstrasse is also lined with historic cafés, such as Landtmann by the Burgtheater and Pruckel by the Stadtpark, which make natural stops.

The history behind the facades: the Ringstrasse era, from the 1860s to the First World War, was Vienna's golden age of growth, when the city became one of the largest in the world and its bourgeoisie, many of them Jewish families who built palaces along the Ring, poured their wealth into culture. Many of those families were persecuted and dispossessed after 1938, a history told in some of the palaces today. The Ring has also been the city's stage for parades, demonstrations and the annual Pride parade, and for the Vienna City Marathon finish.

Practical notes: the Ring is a busy traffic artery with separate bike lanes and wide sidewalks; keep out of the cycle lanes, which are well used and fast. Free audio walks of the Ringstrasse are available from the city's official tourism channels. The Parliament offers free visits and guided tours when the house is not in session. Combine a section of the Ring with any of the museums along it, or with the Christmas market at City Hall in Advent.