There are few European cities associated with imperial style like Vienna, where hundreds of palaces, gilded monuments and museums attest to a grand past. Today, visitors to the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire can experience that lavish lifestyle for themselves.
Sleeping at a Castle
Relive the life of a Hapsburg empress at the delectable Schönbrunn Grand Suite at Schloss Schönbrunn, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is fully restored and preserved by the state.
Emperor Leopold I, a big fan of Versailles, commissioned a top Baroque architect to build the 1,441-room Schönbrunn hunting lodge in the late 17th century. It was so popular that Empress Maria Theresia made it the imperial summer residence a half-century later.
Thanks to the dedicated restoration in 2014 by Austria Trend Hotels, a private fifth floor apartment in the east wing is available to rent. This ideal family retreat consists of two regal bedrooms, two marble bathrooms with soaking tubs favored by the later Empress Sisi, an elegant fully-stocked kitchen, dining and living rooms, plus enough paneled corridors to wear out the kids.
A Suite with a Royal Provenance
This apartment was once the home of Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria. Granddaughter of Emperor Franz Josef, she was later known as the Red Archduchess because of her Socialist Party ties and activism on behalf of women and children.
The suite exudes a contagious nobility. The elegant décor incorporates the black and white marble flooring, chandeliers and gilded stucco the Hapsburgs loved. The white furniture upholstered in red silk damask with a pineapple pattern is a replica of what’s seen on the must-do Schönbrunn Palace tour.
Check-in at the Hapsburg’s “next door” guest lodge, the Austria Trend Park Hotel Schönbrunn (more on that later), whose gracious staff will happily carry luggage up the 88 worn limestone steps. After an orientation, enjoy the view over 45,000 acres, especially of the Gloriette, a stunning marble monument that was built to enhance the view. Families can visit the palace’s children’s museum, stroll the gardens and 32 outdoor sculptures, and tour Europe’s oldest zoo, the Tiergarten.
An unexpected thrill is opening the hidden apartment door with a golden key, as curious tourists pull out their cameras.
For an extra fee, stock the wine cooler with fine Austrian vintages and arrange for a chef to prepare supper and breakfast. Or, stick to the budget and the hotel’s staff will deliver all the fixings of a gourmet brunch plus fresh pastries before you awake. At night, a few continental cafes within palace grounds remain open so you won’t be caught microwaving a pizza.
Schloss Schönbrunn Grand Suite (+43 1 87804) is located at Schönbrunner Schloßstraße 47, 1130 Wien, Austria. Rates for the two-bedroom suite including breakfast begin at €499 per night.
Sleeping at a Hapsburg Guesthouse
Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn also has a noble past, and at 40% less. Built on the site of a small inn overlooking Schönbrunn, it became a fashionable casino in the 1800s where Johann Strauss senior and junior premiered several waltzes. After closing in 1907, Emperor Franz Joseph I built the luxurious Parkhotel for guests who included Thomas Edison and movie stars. In a yearlong refurbishment, Austria Trend Hotels added modern amenities and environmental efficiency to the classically decorated hotel.
A Posh Budget Alternative
We admire the spacious (palatial at 40 square meters) executive rooms in the main wing, whose floor to ceiling French doors open onto Juliette balconies overlooking the neighborhood. Families can choose doubles with a couch that sleeps a younger child (ages 2-12 stay free), or book a series of adjoining rooms and revel in the chandeliers, hand-crafted armoires and marble parquet floors that the Hapsburgs loved.
In addition, the hotel has a stylish bar, restaurant and a playroom for children. The imperial breakfast buffet is extra.
The Austria Trend Parkhotel Schönbrunn (+43 1 87804) is located at Hietzinger Hauptstr. 10-14, 1130 Wien, Austria. Rates for a double room begin at €294 per night.
The Grand Life of the Hapsburgs
If you can’t get enough of this lifestyle, there are three other main sites dating from the Hapsburg family’s reign between the 17th and 19th centuries. Hofburg Imperial Palace, the largest in the city, is now the residence and office of Austria’s president. Tour three museums inside: the Imperial Apartments furnished in the Hapsburg style; the Sisi Museum about the cult favorite Empress Elizabeth; and the Silver Collection of treasures from past royal families.
The 18th-century Schloss Belvedere belonged to Prince Eugene of Savoy, and is beloved for two Baroque palaces, the Stables and the Orangery which houses Europe’s largest Gustav Klimt art collection. The ornate gardens in between are especially popular during the winter season when a Christmas market is held on the grounds.
Lastly, follow the Hapsburgs to their deaths at the Imperial Crypt, Kaisergruft, which holds 145 sets of bones, including the remains of 12 emperors and 18 empresses. Built in 1633, it has been climate-controlled to protect them.
And if you really Love Baroque or Neo-classical architecture? After seeing these, visit some of the more than 135 palais, smaller palatial residences of the local nobility, that Vienna Tourism can guide you to.
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I poured my heart and soul into this!!! Hope you people enjoy! =)
Wow, this is wonderful! You are so lucky to have gotten this opportunity. You looked absolutely gorgeous at the show and the red carpet. Thanks for sharing this, it really made me smile. I used to have the biggest crush on Joe Jonas.. hahah!
Amazing trip!
I hope that my story will inspire and enrich your lives; even if it doesn’t touch you as much as it has touched me. I hope that this will be passed on and that people will take a few minutes just to read what I had to say and try to be in the mind of these children. Try to change your day and see your house, your possessions, your income, and those many great things that you possess and find a way to share them with others. We all need a wakeup call sometimes, a message to straighten us out and look at the life we were given. I hope to go back next year to repeat the experience all over again and try to change myself even more, I love those children and I love their compassion and selflessness. Words can’t fully express what I felt or what I witnessed but my words are clear, these people see the world much differently than us, they treat possessions differently and they know how to work as a community.
This is about when my family and I took a trip down to Central Florida for our Family Vacation.
Hope you enjoy!
This was a vacation that taught me a lot about how my religion is organzied and gave me more appreciation for it.
I will never forget the time I spent in Germany.
I hope you guys enjoyed my story!
Best luck.
South Africa is this amazing country that not only is beautiful for its animals and scenery but for its people and for its ability to overcome the greatest oppression: apartheid, the discrimination of the majority. I am so glad I was given the gift of traveling to South Africa. It is an experience I will never forget!
It was a great trip!
I hope everyone who takes the time to read The Awakening enjoys learning about my bus ride to reality.
My typed essay about my vacation in Vietnam. It seem poorly written or should I say typed :\
Bryan Gray Europe Tour.
My vacation to Panama became suprisingly meaningful, contrary to what I had initially expected.
Thank you
This was a fun and yet difficult project i truely have enjoyed sharing my vaction with you.
Mahalo,
Have you ever been to Maine? What did you like best?
This is such an amazing story and essay!!
Their were many more memories from this trip that impacted me as much as the ones that were included, but I just didnt have enough room. So, I shortened it and tried to write the best description of the trip without exceeding the word limit. But the trip was, indeed, as remarkable as I said it was.
Washington is a really nice place. It has many museums and historical places. it also has very delicious foods. Chinatown was my favorite place to eat.
Thank you for this scholarship opportunity!
IB York was a great experience, and a great opportunity to explore new ideas and innovations
So now I head to college without my classmates but i will always have this wonderful experience.
🙂
This is one of my many travel adventure stories from my trip to Europe in the beginning of the summer. Besides Prague, I traveled to Berlin, Munuch, and Nuremberg in Germany, Innsbruck in Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and France. My favorite place was Switzerland, but my favorite story was the one I shared. I hope you enoy reading it as much as i enjoyed experiencing it!
I want everyone to be able to expericence something like I did.:) Everyone desevers happines!
I hope you enjoyed my travel blog and I hope you plan to take your mom to the Peaks of Otter Lodge for the best brunch you will ever eat. For more information click on this link:
http://www.peaksofotter.com/
Finished product. I love PERU!
This eye-opening opportunity has shaped my conviction toward making change and developing the community. It is a great pleasure to meet all those Leadership Award Honorees and other49 ANNpower fellows from 24 states in the U.S. I will continue to make change and build a dynamic community, excursively to ethnic, social, political gender aspects of advantage, as my milestone to become a great leader!
This eye-opening opportunity marks the culmination of my junior year. I am so glad to meet all those wonderful women leaders from all around the world and 49 other ANNpower fellows from other 24 states. I will continue to explore the world and make change with eagerness and confident, and overcoming disadvantage exclusively toward the milestone of a great leader!
I hope everyone enjoys my trip to Catalina and Ensenada!
This trip was the best trip regarding family time. It is unforgettable.
To see more photography from the trip, check out my photojournal: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Photojournal-of-My-Grecian-Travels/213497035367351.
What a testimony!! Thanks for posting. You don't know how impactful this is. Let Jesus keep using you for His glory. 😉
I was saved in August of 2009. I was in my parents's room and we all prayed for m, becuase I was tired of not having a desire for God. There I gave my life to Him and let Him be my Lord. I already excepted Him as Savior, but though it was a license to sin. Thatt day, though I wanted to repent of my sin and let God lead me. Lord and Savior go hand-in-hand. My life is changed. Now I have convictions and am learning so much about seeking God, because He is seeking me. It's awesome to live in the security and hope of knowing I will see Him one day in heaven. I am so glad He lives in me, because my goodness outside of Him is nothing. I don't know what I would do without Him.
Jesus used that park to bring you and your dad back together. How beautiful 🙂
Each place I go, I leave a peice of myself. And everyplace I go leaves a peice of itself in me. The people I have met along the way have changed me in the deepest way. Their lives have touched mine and I can never return to life as was usual. Likewise, my life has touched many along the way. It is my hope that nobody I meet along the way may return to life as was their usual. This is how each thead pulls coth and fabric together as we the people of the world cover it like a quilt. We must double stitch each peice so not to fall apart or leave holes. We need one another.
To whoever reading this, I am the person wearing blue shirt and white shorts, sligtly leaning on the panda bear statue.
My essay that talks about my experience traveling to Lima, Peru aims toward encouraging others who are not too familiar with it to visit and appreciate the fun life changing experience they're gauranteed to get.
What a great contest! Hope to see lots of terrific teen travel stories here!
It was difficult for me to type a 600 word blog about an amazing experience I had in the month of July. It was also difficult for me to choose certain pictures from the ones that I have chosen, so I uploaded the pictures of my time at NeiHu elementary school. I really wished that I could have used more sightseeing photos, but unfortunately, those were too big to upload.
This trip was amazing and it also tested who I am becoming as a person. Seeing the woman in Central Park living out her dream, to the woman selling fruit throughout the day; New York is made of dreamers and hardworking people. I loved it. Hope I get the chance to go back.
This was an amazing experience! I am so grateful for everything it taught me!!
From research, I believe the ice cream shop was called Eisdiele Eddy. More information about the exchange program can be found at http://www.aatg.org/study-trip-faq as well as at the bottom of the page at http://www.aatg.org/NGE-awards.
These Picutures are both of my own creation (one being an acrylic painting). When I took this picture at the western wall in Israel, the man in the photo was crying his heart out wearing a tattered down bath robe, I thought it would make for an intersting picture. So it did, it also inspired to me to create a painting in which I showed the world what I believe he really is. A man who is down on his luck but seems to still find peace in his life.
My sophomore year of high school I went to Donner Pass in California with a group called The Woods Project (www.thewoodsproject.org) . I had to apply to go , I was really anxious and scared that I wasn’t going to get. When I got my acceptance letter I was excited. I was also nervous because I had never been away from home for more than a week and The Woods project was going to last for two weeks. I had chosen to go to Donner Pass because I wanted to experience something new. I was going to go backpacking for one week and hiking the other. I had never gone backpacking before. When I told my friends that I was going backpacking they started to laugh because I am the smallest girl in my whole school and they didn’t think I was going to make it. Getting that response from my friends made me super scared of going to the trip. I thought I was going to die while backpacking!
My dad went to go drop me off at the airport and then he left. I was already scared and freaking out at the fact that he had just left me there and I did not know anybody! . I got in the plane to California and I was already regretting going on the trip. I was going to be with complete strangers for two weeks! When we got to California we all got split .There were three groups going to different places, one to Yosemite, another to Marine Headlines and then mine, to Donner Pass. I got in a van and that’s where I met the people who I was going to spend two weeks with. We were in that van for hours! When we finally got to our cabin we had to go up a hill to get to the door.
The first cabin we stayed in was named Clair Tappan Lodge. It was really nice . It was made out of wood, had a pool table, personal chef, jacuzzi and hot water in the showers. I loved it there! Too bad it only lasted for two days then it was time to go backpacking. They gave us our backpacking materials. I tried on the backpack and almost fell over. My backpacking week had started. We went up and down mountains, through rivers and lakes, and I thought we were never going to set up our tents. When it started to get dark we finally started cooking. The food we had was not good at all. We couldn’t bring a lot of food because of the bears and other animals. My second day of backpacking went better than the first. Everybody in my group started to know each other better and soon we became really close. We would sing while backpacking to make time pass faster and at night we didn’t want to sleep because we would play games. While backpacking I got to experience many things I hadn’t before. Even though I was the smallest girl going backpacking I was always the leader of the line because of my stamina.
When our backpacking week ended it was time to hike. I had gotten the hardest part of the trip over with so I knew hiking was going to be a piece of cake. We would hike in the morning and hanged out at night. It was the best experience I had ever had! When it was time to go back home I didn’t want to because I knew I would miss my friends.
To watch my video go to : http://youtu.be/FLd7W71EnyU
My experience as a first time camper.
i hope i win