Vienna, Austria Vegan Travel Guide
The first stop on my celebratory post college graduation Europe 2018 trip was Austria! Enjoy my Vienna Vegan Travel Guide!
My boyfriend’s family all live in Austria, so we thought it would be great to stop by and visit. For the first few days we spent our time out in Taufkirchen an der Pram, which is a small town out in the country, where we got to stay with his grandparents and meet his aunts, uncles, and cousins.
It was a breath of fresh air to wake up each morning and look out into the endless rolling green hills. I was treated with fresh fruits and vegetables each day from the garden along with freshly baked bread and cookies. It was the perfect start to my Europe 2018 trip and made for a perfect segway into Vienna.
I took the train into Vienna and immediately arrived in Stephansplatz, as I was staying in a hotel just a half block away from this fun and highly populated area. Walking up the stairs from U bahn, I was immediately amazed and infatuated with the beautiful architecture of the buildings and was ready to start my Vienna adventure.
Breakfast/Cafes
Gerstner
I will admit when I was trying to find cafes for some morning coffee each day I searched “cute cafes” into Google and this café was highly recommended by multiple blogs that I stumbled upon. I 100% agree that this café meets and exceeds the requirement of “cute” and even better it is conveniently located right across the street from the Vienna Opera House. I showed up to the Café right at opening, which was a great idea because it became packed fairly quickly after opening. I found a perfect spot on the second floor right by the window looking out at the Opera House. The seating was comfortable and cozy and exactly what I wanted to enjoy my morning coffee.
Kleines Café
This café is a bit off the beaten path, and I found this café came up on a multitude of blogs for having great coffee. I showed up right at opening because I am an early riser and I slowly learned that isn’t the case for majority of Europe haha. But, I took a seat at a table outside and peacefully enjoyed the best cup of coffee. I enjoyed this café more because it was less crowded and mostly had locals coming in and out, which is always a good sign.
Lunch
Simply Raw Bakery
I didn’t have a chance to try this place out because there are only so many meals in a day and although I have a decently large appetite, especially for anything with sugar, I couldn’t possibly fit this into our schedule let alone my stomach haha. I wanted to mention this place though because they have great vegan “healthy” options such as a Stuffed Avocado dish and my favorite, desserts. From the pictures I saw on various blogs, the place is decorated very cute and modern with marble tables. The next time I visit Vienna I will definitely make it a mission to try this place out!
Vegetasia
I can’t remember how I found this place, but I am so glad that I did because to this day this is the best vegan Chinese food I’ve ever eaten. I did have to take an U bahn and walk a bit to get here, but it was well worth it. The price was extremely reasonable and there was a great buffet spread filled with Chinese classics like Crispy Seitan Kung Pao, Fried Rice, and Dumplings. I highly recommend trying this place out for lunch!
Dinner
Tian
I looked up best vegan/vegetarian restaurants for dinner and came across two higher end restaurants with amazing reviews, so I decided to check them out since I was on vacation and why not. The number 1 rated restaurant was Tian, as a disclosure it is very expensive, and they only serve a 3 course meal; however, it was beautiful, delicious, and well worth the money. The appetizers they were offering were Asparagus salad and Carrot Rhubarb. The entrees were Barley and Mushroom and Edamame Grains. As you can see everything was beautiful and I guarantee you’ll find it delicious as well.
Lebenbauer
The second best rated vegan/vegetarian restaurant was Lebenbauer and this was also a very nice fine dining type of restaurant. I definitely showed up underdressed at both restaurants, but I was on vacation and I was backpacking through Europe. This place was great because you just order an entrée and their portions were larger than I was expecting, close to United States portions in fact. The two entrees I got to try were Seitan with chiliragout, capers, bail and brown rice and Wok-vegetables with tofu, herb sauce and mashed red sweet potatoes. The atmosphere was great, the service was fantastic, and the food was delicious!
Hollerei
Walking over from the Schonbrunn Palace to meet up with my boyfriend’s cousin, we arrived at Hollerei. I fell in love with the restaurant as soon as we walked up to the entrance, as it was covered in green vines. We were seated outside in their cute little courtyard area. A couple of their entrees that I would highly recommend were their Roulade im Brickteig vom Grill, which was a pastry filled with seitan, vegetables, and roulade with avocado, and a type of Gnocchi dish, which I can’t remember the full name, but it was something along the lines of Hausgemachten Barlauch. Both entrees were nothing I have ever tasted before and exceeded all my expectations.
Sweets
Eis Greissler
The first of many gelatos I had on my Europe 2018 trip started at Eis Greissler, which was a cute and decorated like an old fashion ice cream parlor. They had delicious vegan options such as Pistachio, Almond Chai, and Poppyseed. I was thoroughly impressed with their creative flavors and the gelato was perfectly creamy and a great way to wrap up a night of amazing food.
Veganista
This delicious gelato spot was conveniently located right across the street from Vegetasia and served up some delicious vegan gelato. I myself got the Dirty Banana flavor after sampling each of their flavors and I loved each lick of it!
A couple of other places I didn’t have a chance to check out were Vidoni, which has ice cream, and Demel, which has small desserts. I’ll have to try these places on my next visit, but if you happen to stumble upon them and try them out, please let me know what you think!
Places To See and Things To Do
There are endless places to visit while in Vienna such as palaces, cathedrals, and museums; however, my favorite thing to do was get lost and roam the streets. I stumbled upon the best architecture, narrowest alleys, and most interesting shops by just randomly turning corners. I tried to walk to places as much as possible to be able to see more of Vienna, but I highly recommend utilizing the U bahn because their transportation system is the best I’ve experienced. Here’s some places I managed to visit.
Stephansplatz
This was a great area to stay in because there was a major Ubon station that I could easily utilize to jump around Vienna, as it is a great central location to all the different places you will want to explore. St. Stephan’s Cathedral is conveniently located here, and I spent some time walking around the inside for free. All the major shops are also here for you to shop your heart out. I also did a little more shopping at Mariahilfer Strasse because my beloved Pull & Bear was located over there. There are endless cafes and restaurants conveniently located here as well, but I would highly recommend venturing out to get food and drinks that are off this beaten path.
Opera House
The Opera House was a short walk away from Stephansplatz and as much as I would have loved to see an Opera I didn’t make much of an effort to get tickets. I explored the outside of the building, but if your dream is to see an Opera, then by all means I highly recommend getting some tickets. I have heard that you can buy relatively inexpensive tickets for the standing room the day of the Opera!
Belvedere Palace
I visited the Palace on my first full day in Vienna and bought a ticket to explore the inside of the Palace along with all the artwork. I quickly learned that I am not that interested in looking at artwork and prefer just exploring the grounds of the palace, so this was the only place I actually bought a ticket to see the artwork and museum. I loved exploring the grounds and enjoyed sitting outside in the courtyard to soak up some sun and fresh air.
Schönbrunn
I needed to take the U bahn to get out to this Palace, but I showed up at the perfect time right before sunset because the grounds were starting to empty out. It was beautiful to explore the Palace during golden hour and I got lost in the courtyards. I wish I was able to spend more time walking around the Palace, but dinner was next on the agenda and my stomach was growling.
Der Dachboden
I didn’t partake in the night life because I didn’t want to waste a day recovering or sleeping in, so for only one night I went out to a bar. It was a great bar and within walking distance to Stephansplatz. To make it even better it was a fun roof top bar and it had all the hipster vibes, in a great way! Their cocktails were amazing and fresh. I ordered the Lychee Mango Spritzer and enjoyed every sip as I looked out to the amazing view of the city.
Vienna was the perfect city to start my Europe 2018 trip and there is still so much more I want to see and do. I will definitely plan another trip back to Vienna. I still can’t get over the beautiful buildings and creative architecture. I loved how there were old and new streets all perfectly dispersed throughout the city. I only had great experiences and I can’t wait to explore and have new experiences on my next visit.
– Janelle