Travelling with kids. This is a sensitive subject which touches many „fresh“ parents who were used to travelling a lot before having kids. Most of the families with kids below 10, tend to choose resort-type holidays, but there are also many families who do not to travel at all, or not more than once a year with their children, and that not even far away from their home. Nevertheless, there are still parents who do not want to give up their travel habits and therefore continue with their travels…Maybe not at the same rate as before kids, but they definitely do it, 3-4 times / year. This article is for these parents, who do not want to give up their passion for travelling and choose to live new experiences together with their kids.
One of the biggest challenges, when deciding to travel with kids is finding the right location. This refers to finding a kids-friendly cities, which is able to keep the kids busy and amazed and their parents happy and relaxed. Having this in mind, one of the best locations you could travel to in Europe is definitely Vienna. The tips at the end of the article will definitely give you an insight why, but before, let’s get you introduced to our 3-day itinerary with kids in beautiful Vienna.
Vienna, Austria’s capital, lies in the country’s east on the Danube River. It has a rich artistic and intellectual legacy, shaped by residents including Mozart, Beethoven and Sigmund Freud. Home of the Habsburg Empire, Vienna has a leading majestic architecture style, which can be found not only in historic monuments but also in the contemporary buildings.
In May, my sister and her husband decided they needed a break from their daily routine and decided to visit us, together with their 2 kids (1,5 Larissa and respectively 5 years old Alessia), for 3 days, in Vienna. It was by far the best idea. Let me present you the best travel itinerary in Vienna to enchant both the parents and the kids.
Day 1 - Small city tour and the Prater Park
After having breakfast at home, we started the day around 11 o'clock with a small city tour. We took the tram no 71 for 10 minutes, from our home in the 3rd district, station St. Marx to the station Am Heumarkt. From here, we started our small walking city tour, trying to "hit" some of Vienna's architectural monuments and attractions. We walked for approximately 1,5 hours and passed by:
Karlskirche (my personal favorite spot in Vienna),
the Viennese State Oper, Stephansplatz (Vienna's city center), where we admired the Stephansdom,
the Hofburg, which is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty,
Maria-Theresien-Platz, where we admired the two mirrored-museums: the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Museum of Natural History Vienna,
Last but not least, Museumsquartier, which is Vienna's place of art and creativity
After the small city tour, as Alessia was already becoming impacient, it was already time for a short break. We decided to refresh ourselves which a small bruch and a coffe at Dschungel Wien, which was just around the corner. The restaurant is children-friendly and Alessia had a lot of fun here with the other kids, at the children's corner.
After 1 hours break, around 15 o'clock we headed to the Prater Park. Alessia was absolutely fascinated about all the lights, the carussels and the rides. She tried a lot of them, as rides for children below 6 are in many places free. We spend there 3 hours and it was hard taking her out of there...she liked it so much that she did not want to leave. We tried hard to convince her to leave and head to dinner. Luckily, the austrian restaurant we chose for dinner, Kolarik Luftburg Wien was just 3 min away from Prater, and it had its own children playground. We loved the restaurant a lot and I can only recommend it, when travelling with kids, as it offers: kids playground, children chair, children restrooms as well as a lot of space.
Day 2 - Haus des Meeres Aquarium and walk on the Danube River Shore
We started the second day relatively late and went out for lunch at Ni Jo, my favorite asian restaurant in Vienna, which is situated just minutes away from where i live. If you happen to come by, through the 3rd district of Vienna, near Fred-Zinnemann-Platz, stop here for lunch or dinner. The place has a nice terrace during summer, exactly in the plaza, the staff is very friendly, as the owners of the restaurant work here daily to make their guests feel welcomed and the food is always fresh and tastes absolutely divine. I took all my friends here and they all shared this though. Hint! Asian restaurants are something very common in Vienna, and the food is most places tasty. Because i am a huge asian food fan, i would like to recommend here, my second favourite choice of an asian restaurant, which is, an extremely small Thai restaurant with only 5 tables, called Krazy Kitchen. The Wok’s there are just divine!
After lunch at Ni Jo, we went with the girls in one of the many playgrounds, which can be found by walking through the building blocks in the area. About an hour later, we headed to Haus des Meeres. Since she was a baby, Alessia was fascinated about the underwater world, so we figured out that a day at the Aquarium, would make her happy. Haus des Meeres Aquarium, is meters away from Mariahilferstaße, which is the longest shopping street in Vienna. Therefore, as we were 4 adults and 2 kids, we split up, so that 3 went shopping and I went with Alessia at the aquarium. This amazing place, houses over 10.000 aquatic beings on an area of around 4,000 square meters (43,000 sq ft) on 11 floors, inside a tall concrete flak tower built during World War II. On our 3, 5 hours visit here we enjoyed watching different fish species, sharks, monkeys, crocodiles, parrots, turtles and others. I must say, this experience was much more than I expected and Alessia was left speachless! On the 11-floor of the building, there is beautiful rooftop restaurant - the 360 Ocean Sky which offers amazing views over the city, tasty cocktails and delicious food. A reservation in advance is always needed here, as the restaurant is full at most times.
As it was already getting late after visiting the aquarium and dinner time was approaching, we thought it was a good idea to go to dine at one of the greek restaurants on the Danube River Shore, as the place has everything it takes to satisfy both aduls and children. If you want to visit this place, then keep in mind the following metro station from U1 Line - Donauinsel. This will bring you exactly there.
Day 3 - Schönbrunn Palace, Children Museum and the Zoo
The plan for the 3-rd day was to spend it all at the Schönbrunn Palace. The Palace is very kids-friendly and spending a full day here is a very good idea when travelling with kids. Schönbrunn Palace was the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers. The name Schönbrunn means “beautiful spring” and this is exactly what the palace is! It is absolutely echanting for both kids and adults, offering a range of activities like: making a palace tour, visiting the children museum, the zoo, the maze, going to the theater or simply enjoying the traditional Viennesse Sacher Torte cake, at the beautiful restaurant situated up on the hill in Gloriette.
USEFUL TRAVEL TIPS:
1. Vienna has between the best public transportation networks in Europe and travelling with kids or strollers here is not a problem at all. Almost all transportation (metro/tram/bus/train) have friendly entry options for strollers, as well as dedicated „parking“ spots for strollers. Moreover, all stations are equipped with big lifts which will ease your life completely. Children below 6 do not need a ticket. Attention! Travelling with public transportation in Vienna is highly advisable, as car parking on the street is hardly to be found and even then, it costs €2,2 / hour. An hour in a parking garage can reach up to €8/ hour.
2. Vienna offers a large number of parks with playgrounds where your children could just play and enjoy the nature, while you take a break. All these parks are free. Few of them are: Alfred-Grünwald-Park, near Naschmarkt, Andreas Park, Gutenbergpark near Spittelberg, Votivpark, etc. but they can be found literally everywhere.
3. The Prater Vienna Park is one main attraction which you must not miss if you are travelling with kids. Many playing attractions, carussels and rides are free for children under 6.
4. There are a lot of museums and attractions which kids will enjoy to the maxim. Examples are: Vienna Museum of Illusions, Zoom Children Museum, Children Museum in Schönbrunn, The Chocolate Museum, House of Music and many more. For more information about these museums just click on their names. In Vienna Museumsquartier, just in front of the Zoom Children Museum exists even a Tourist-Info Point for Children, which offers all the information about various activities and places you could visit with your kid. The info point is open mondays and tuesdays between 14-18 o'clock and on weekends between 10-17 o'clock.
5. The Schönbrunn Palace offers a range of attractions for children like the award-winning Schönbrunn Zoo, The Maze and the Irrgarten, the Children's Museum, where children can learn about the lives of the Habsburg Imperial Children and the Marionette Theatre (Puppet Show) with its charming Rococo marionette shows and quadrille dancing lessons.
The Schnönbrunn Zoo is the oldest zoo in the whole world, but do not get mistaken by this. Your kids fall in love with this modernly equipped zoo and the very friendly pandas, the playful koala bears, the magnificent polar bears, penguins, the beautifull flamingos and many more. The zoo offers free entrance for kids under 6. Tickets for children between 6-18 costs €14 and for adults €24. The tickets at the Children's Museums are free for kids under 3 and above these age it costs €8 / pers. The ticket for a Puppet Theather depend on the show and the tickets for the Maze and the Irrgarten cost €4,50 for both adults and children.
6. If you want to offer your kid an unforgettable adventure in the nature then Waldseilpark is the perfect choice. Together with your kids, you can enjoy a climbing adventure in this biosphere forest rope park! The adventure park contains treetop ropes, bridge courses & zip-slides for all ages & abilities. Tickets for kids costs between €12-€22, depending on their height and for adults €30.
7. Haus des Meeres or the 11-Floor Aquarium. If your children are fascinated about the underwater world, then do bring them here. You can spend at least 3-4 hours here and they will absolutely love it! There is no entrance fee for children below 3. Between 3-5, tickets costs €6,50, between 6-15 €9,80, between 15-18 €16,40 and for adults €21,90. I personally found this place a bit expensive, but considering the time you can spend here, it is probably worth it. Moreover, the place has a very beautiful rooftop restaurant - the 360 Ocean Sky which offers amazing views over the city, tasty cocktails and delicious food.
8. If you are travelling with a baby, then note that, in Vienna there are plenty of restaurants having "mum and baby" restrooms. Moreover, there are also a lot of kids-friendly restaurants who offer different activities or playgrounds to entertain your little ones. In addtion, note that, a lot of restaurants offer colouring papers with pencils for children. Just ask the waiter. In addition, restaurants often offer children chairs and also kids menus. Examples of restaurants offering different playgrounds, eating menus, designated chairs and designated restrooms for kids are: Kolarik Luftburg Wien (traditional austrian restaurant, inside the Prater Park), Dschungel Wien (European, austrian restaurant in Museumsquartier, near Zoom Children Museum), L'Osteria (italian restaurant, in the city center), Yamm (offers bio-high-quality products - perfect for breakfast or lunch, 15-min away from city center), KinderCafe Lauserpause (in the 2nd district) etc. For more restaurants for children, grouped by the district where they can be found inm check this Link.
9. Even though the following link is in German - BabyMamas , i leave it here, as here you can find more tips, when travelling through Vienna with kids. If you have a browser to translate it, then you will definitely find here more interesting information, useful for your following trip with your kids in Vienna.
Safe travels, dear traveller!
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