Wiener Rathaus

Hosts special exhibits of contemporary Austrian art.

Each day, weather permitting, you can watch an opera on a huge open-air screen. On another part of the square, there are plenty of food stalls (maybe a little overpriced) which offer Viennese, as well as international food. On pleasant summer evenings, the atmosphere can be quite relaxing.

Every year from late January until the beginning of March a section of the park is transformed into an outdoor ice skating rink, with music. Ice skates can be rented directly onsite, and a baggage check is available. There are also a number of food and drink booths offering warm drinks including punch, mulled wine, and tea, as well as traditional Austrian food.

The park is symmectric with a big square in the middle in front of the city hall. The park has on each grassy side a varied selection of woody plants a Japanese pagoda tree or umbrella tree and an old ginkgo.

The building was completed in 1888 and is home to one of the most respected German-language theaters, as well as the second-oldest theater in Europe. Non-German speaking visitors will find the building itself worth visiting, as the foyer contains paintings by Viennese artists Gustav and Ernst Klimt, and Franz Matsch, which can be viewed with a tour.

The university was founded in 1365, and is the oldest university in the German-speaking area, as well as one of the largest in Europe with more than 90,000 students. It consists of 15 faculties amongst them are Law, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology and Translational Studies. The main building (Hauptgebaeude) on the Ringstraße was designed by Heinrich von Ferstel, and formally inaugurated in 1884 by the Emperor Franz Joseph I. Guided tours are offered in German and English, featuring such highlights as the Main Ceremonial Chamber with copies of the ceiling paintings by Gustav Klimt, and the library's Great Reading Room.