5 Highlights in the winter

What you simply mustn't miss in Vienna this winter: Tips for visiting new restaurants and exhibitions, for sightseeing, ice skating, and cocktails. A winter day in Vienna doesn't get any more perfect than this.

1. A vegetarian start to the new year

Restaurant Pure am Praterstern: interior shot

After the overindulgent Christmas holidays, a detox is needed all round. It needn't be a full on Veganuary – sometimes laying off the meat for a while is enough. A tip for vegetarian cuisine is the new Pure am Praterstern. A feel-good ambience for cold winter days, good vegetarian cuisine from organic products – Pure am Praterstern accompanies diners throughout the day, from breakfast via a healthy lunch to the after-work drink.

2. Skating at City Hall Square

A bit of movement can't do any harm. A winter highlight in Vienna is the annual Vienna Ice World on City Hall Square. An 8,500 m² ice rink is set up in the city, and 2,000 pairs of skates are available to rent. Pop your shoes and bag in the locker and hit the ice!

3. Exploring Parliament

The Parliament building on Vienna's Ringstrasse could not be visited for a few years due to a major remodeling project. That project is now finished and the renovated Parliament building was ceremoniously reopened on 12 January 2023. The renovation is a real success story – the architecture of Theophil Hansen alone is impressive. There's also a big bunch of artworks to marvel at. You absolutely mustn't miss the Kelsen restaurant and bistro on the top floor with its sensational view of Vienna.

4. 300 years of the Belvedere

Picture by Gustav Klimt, The Women Friends, Water Serpents I (1904)

The Belvedere is celebrating its 300th anniversary this year with a series of outstanding exhibitions. The exhibition "Klimt. Inspired by Van Gogh, Rodin, Matisse..." opens on February 3. It focuses on the question: Who inspired the Viennese Art Nouveau figurehead Gustav Klimt (1862–1918)? The Belvedere owns the world's largest collection of Klimt, including the world-famous work "The Kiss". So there's quite a bit to see...

5. Ending the day in a cocktail bar

We end a perfect winter's day in Vienna in a cocktail bar. Vienna has a bunch of cocktail bars worth recommending. A newcomer to the lively bar scene is the cocktail bar Fitzcarraldo. The speakeasy bar is well hidden like during America's Prohibition era, and accessed via a drinks vending machine on Neubaugasse. Inside is a world of Art Deco furniture and wallpaper with fantastic jungle plants that create a visual link to the bar's name. Klaus Kinski was out and about in the Peruvian jungle in his hit role as Fitzcarraldo… The drinks in the bar as just as eccentric as Fitzcarraldo was. At Easy Spice, the kitchen steams away like in the best times of molecular cuisine, other drinks emerge with edible soap bubbles and clouds.

Pure

Praterstern
1020 Vienna

https://pure-restaurant.at

Opening times
- daily, 06:30 - 21:30

Map Points of interest in the area

Vienna Ice World

Rathausplatz
1010 Vienna

http://www.wienereistraum.com

Vienna City Card
- Your benefit with the Vienna City Card: -17%
  Additional information on the offer: Standard ticket for 7,00€ instead of 8,50€ (January-March 2023)
Opening times
- middle of January to the beginning of March
- daily, 10:00 - 22:00

Map Points of interest in the area

Parliament

Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring 3
1010 Vienna

Opening times
- Mo - Fr, 08:00 - 19:00
- Sa, 09:00 - 17:00
- Registration necessary:
  www.parlament.gv.at/en/services/access/registration/index.html
Accessibility
- Main entrance
  - no steps
    Wheelchair-accessible via an opening of the ramp wall left of the statue of Athena.
- Car parks Main entrance
  - 4 Parking spaces for people with disabilities
- Further information
  - Seeing eye dogs allowed
  - Wheelchair accessible restroom available.
- Special offers for people with disabilities
  Guided tours for more than 5 persons with wheelchairs: by prior reservation.
- Comments
  Entire visitor's center is free of barriers: elevators, multimedia stations, shop, café, toilets.

Map Points of interest in the area

Kelsen in the Austrian Parliament

Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring 3
1010 Vienna

Opening times
- Restaurant Mo - Fr, 11:45 - 23:30
- Restaurant Sa, 10:00 - 23:30
- Bistro Mo - Fr, 10:00 - 23:30
- Bistro Sa, 10:00 - 23:30

Map Points of interest in the area

Fitzcarraldo Bar

Neubaugasse 38
1070 Vienna

Opening times
- Tu - Th, 18:00 - 01:00
- Fr - Sa, 18:00 - 02:00

Map Points of interest in the area

Belvedere

Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27
1030 Vienna

Opening times
- Upper Belvedere daily, 09:00 - 18:00
- Lower Belvedere & Orangerie daily, 10:00 - 18:00
Accessibility
- Main entrance
- Car parks Main entrance
  - Parking spaces for people with disabilities
    Parking space for visitors with disabilities in front of the entrance at Prinz-Eugen-Strasse 27, Parking: 10 am – 6 pm
- Further information
  - Seeing eye dogs allowed
  - Wheelchair accessible restroom available.
- Special offers for people with disabilities
  Reduced admission for persons with disabilities and their escorts. Tours in Austrian sign language, "seeing differently" (tactile tours) for the blind and visually impaired in groups are possible in the Upper and Lower Belvedere. The following topics can be booked at all times: • A palace to touch – the new touching model of the Upper Belvedere • Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller and his time • Gustav Klimt’s main work “The Kiss”
- Comments
  People with visual impairments can be collected from the nearest tram station. Please provide information on this when making arrangement. Trained seeing-eye dogs (with ID) may be taken into all areas of the collection. A wheelchair is available at the cloakroom for visitors who have difficulty walking. Some seating is also available in the exhibition rooms or will be provided during the tours.