The Ringstraße is truly a magnificent boulevard: The State Opera, Hofburg palace, stately museums, Parliament, the Rathaus (city hall), the Imperial Theater … heads swivel left and right hoping not to miss any of the sights crowded one next to the other.

To give your neck a rest, we’ll travel to the Prater park to see the Riesenrad, the giant Ferris wheel, continue across the Danube River to the modern quarters of the city, past the UNO-City (UN headquarters) and the Danube Tower. Back across the Danube, the once great monarchy seems to be in full splendor again in the imposing palaces of Schönbrunn and the Belvedere. Along the way, we will pass many structures in the Art Nouveau style known in Vienna as Jugendstil: The Secession building, with its gold-leaf dome, as well as urban railway stations and buildings along the Naschmarkt designed by famous architect Otto Wagner. There will be two stops with short walks at the Hundertwasserhaus and the Belvedere.