(Photo courtesy of Palais Hansen Kempinski Vienna, 2013)
Vienna is a cultural hotspot teeming with top museums, architecture and hotels. Here are a few of the cultural happenings and openings taking place this spring in Austria’s capital.
Following major renovations, the Kunstkammer Wien (Chamber of Art and Wonders) at the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Stadtpalais Liechtenstein will re-open in Vienna. The Kunstkammer Wien, which features more than 2,000 exhibits in 300 cabinets, re-opened March 1 with 20 new galleries featuring its collection from the Habsburg emperors. In May, the Liechtenstein palace re-opens with guided tours of the High Baroque building.
In June, more than three million visitors will head to Danube Island in the center of the city for the Danube Island Festival 2013, a free music festival from June 21-23 with over 2,000 artists.
Set in the Bohemian quarter of Vienna in Spittelberg, the new Sans Souci Wein hotel combines modern and classic touches. Located in the city-center in a historical building from 1872, the 63-room hotel features La Veranda restaurant, Le Bar, Le Salon and the Spa Club, which features the fitness center, day spa and pool with chandeliers hanging overhead.
Rooms range from Superior, starting at $285 per night, with golden murals to Jaguar Suite, starting at $782 per night, with separate living and sleeping areas. Rates include buffet breakfast, use of the fitness area and pool, pillow menu and a tea station.
Guests will find dishes featuring local, organic and seasonal produce on the menu at La Veranda, while Le Bar features a luxurious setting to indulge in the bar’s specialty—champagne cocktails.
For more information, visit sanssouci-wien.com/en.
Another new addition on the hotel landscape is the Palais Hansen Kempinski Vienna, following a two-and-a-half-year restoration of a historical building from 1873 in the first district, which is the old town of the city.
The 7-floor hotel features 152 rooms and suites, Kempinski The Spa, two restaurants and two bars, and Vienna’s largest hotel cigar lounge. Rooms and suites feature city views of Ringstrasse, a minibar, complimentary daily newspaper, an iPod station and marble bathrooms. Meanwhile, the spa features saunas, a steam room, a hydro pool and a gym, in addition to six treatment rooms offering season-inspired treatments.
Rates start at $340 per night dbl with breakfast for two. For more information, visit kempinski.com/wien.
Travelers flying Austrian Airlines will also notice a few changes. All 10 of its long-haul aircraft will receive new cabins with modern Economy Class seats; an improved inflight entertainment system; and seats that convert into full-flat beds in Business Class.
For more information, visit aua.com. For more on Vienna, visit vienna.convention.at.
For more on the re-opening of the Kunstkammer in Vienna, see Context Expands in Vienna.
