My experience in Vienna: the complete guide

Vienna, the capital of Austria, is a big city situated in the centre of Europe, which is characterised by its imperial streets and buildings. It is one of the best cities to live in, and my experience there couldn't have been better. If your next destination for Erasmus is Vienna, don't miss out on this guide so that you don't miss out on a detail there!

Important documents

The first thing to do when you get to Vienna is to go to your Meldezettel. The Meldezettel is the certificate of residence. It is important that you have it, as you need it to get out the weekly public transport subscription or to open a bank account. It is free and you can get this certificate at any registry office in the city. For it, you need your DNI and your signed residence or flat contract.

Accommodation

Most Erasmus students choose a residence rather than a flat to live in. There are so many residences to choose from located all over the city. The most well-known ones are the OeAD y Home4students. In my opinion, the residence in the best location is in Molkereistrasse (OeAD), and the one with the best facilities is the one in Ullmanstrasse (Home4students).

These are the main residences of my friends, as I decided to stay in a flat. I found it through the website Housinganywhere, My flat was in the second district, near to the metro stop Prasternern. From my point of view, it is a good place to live due to how close it is to the train station and the centre. I was really lucky.

However, if you want to save on stress and be sure on where you are going to stay, I recommend that you go for a residence. Don't worry about how near it is to your university, as the public transport is incredible and you can get around the city from anywhere.

Public transport

As I mentioned before, the public transport is incredible. Vienna has a metro, tram, bus and train service which can take you to any part of the city, no matter where you are.

There are metro and tram stops all over the city. Also, the public transport runs until midnight on weekdays and is 24 hours at weekends.

I recommend that you get the Semesterkarte. It is a semester-long subscription for unlimited travel across the whole public transport network (metro, bus, tram and train). It is only 75 euros for students under 26 years old who live in Vienna. To buy it, you just have to present your Meldezettel at any metro station which has an office, like Praterstern.

Supermarkets

The first day that I got to Vienna, I decided to do a food shop at the well-known supermarket under my house, Billa. I wanted to cry when I saw how expensive it was.

However, the next time I went shopping, I was recommended to go to Hofer, which is more well-known in Spain as Aldi. The prices are really cheap and the quality is quite good, especially for frozen foods and pizzas. Also, I learnt a trick to buy cheaper meat: look at the day at the meat expires, and go that same day to buy it, as they take 50 per cent off the price. The only bad thing about Hofer is that there is a very limited variety of products and sometimes you have to stop at Billa or Spar (another supermarket with high prices) to buy some things.

The supermarkets close at 7/8 pm, and at 6 pm on Saturdays. However, the supermarket Billa which is inside Pratestern station, opens until 10 pm, including on Sundays. This comes in handy when you have forgotten to buy something at the last minute.

The other strange thing about the supermarkets is that they don't usually sell many hygiene products like shower gel, shampoo, deodorant, etc. These types of hygiene and personal care products can be found in other kinds of supermarkets like Bipa. This tip is especially directed at women who need tampons or nail varnish remover, as you will not find it in Supermarkets like Billa, Spar or Hofer.

Universities

My experience with university in Vienna wasn't the nicest. I studied English Philosophy at the University of Vienna which was quite a bad experience because it required a high level of English. The type of teaching was very "do it yourself".

However, this depends on the type of degree you choose and the university that you are in. My friends didn't have any problem and they passed really easily. They studied in the TU or in the BOKU.

The grades are different to those in Spain, from the range of grades from 1 to 5: the 1 is a 10 and the 5 is like a 0.

Restaurants and popular places

The gastronomy in Vienna is quite good and abundant. I am a person who is quite fussy with food and I have to say that I loved everything that I tried.

My favourite restaurant in the whole of Vienna is 7SternBräu. It is a welcoming restaurant with typical Viennese food and they also make their own artisan beer. The prices are quite accessible and the quality of the dishes is quite good. There are small and big portions, and I always ordered the small one because they left me quite satisfied.

The typical Viennese dishes that you can try are the Schnitzel which is a fried chicken or pork fillet; Käsespätzle which is a potato pasta with a cheese, onion and bacon sauce (photo); and Gulash, which is a typical Hungarian beef stew, but it is also traditional to eat it in neighbouring countries, such as Vienna.

If you want to eat pizza or go to an Italian, I recommend Pizerria Mafiosi or the restaurant L'Oseteria. The Pizzeria Mafiosi (metro station Gumpendorfer Straße or Längenfeldgasse) is located a bit out of the city centre, but it is worth visiting. A large pizza costs around 4 euros and it tastes incredible. L'Osteria is an expensive restaurant but the quality is amazing. The pizzas cost around 10-12 euros but they are so huge that you can share it with someone else.

Another option if you want to eat cheaply or quickly is to buy a Käsekrainer, a typical Austrian sausage which is full of melted cheese. You can buy it at any fast food stall that you can find in the street. It costs around 3 euros and it fills you up quite a lot.

You can also go to the restaurant Der Wiener Deewan, a Pakistani restaurant which is is a buffet where you serve yourself, and take however much and whatever food you fancy. There aren't prices: you just pay what you wish and what you think it's worth.

Bars, pubs and discos.

In Spain, we are used to paying very little to have a beer or a drink in a bar. In Vienna, it is different. However, there are some bars and pubs where they are quite cheap.

The Look Bar is a pub where during the week until 8 pm, beers cost 1 euro. It is found near to the centre (metro stop Schwedenplatz) and they have parties there in the evenings.

However, the pubs to go out to during the week which are the best are Ride Club and Club Loco. They have really cheap prices for Erasmus students and it is found next to the metro stop Nußdorfer Straße.

Amongst the most popular and well-known clubs, are Praterdome, Saulenhalle and Volksgarten, the first one being techno music and the last two are commercial pop and reggaeton.

Places of interest

You can't go to Vienna without visiting the most typical places in the city such as Stephansplatz cathedral, Hofburg Palace, the Parliament, Schonbrunn, or the Belvedere Palace, amongst many others.

However, in this blog, I am going to recommend you the less well-known corners such as the vineyards in Kahlenberg or some rooftops like Sofitel, amongst others.

Kahlenberg is a hill in Vienna where the Viennese people go on trips when it is good weather. You can see the vineyards where they collect the grapes to make Strum, a typical drink of Vienna which they only drink during September. Also, from the top of the hill you can have a panoramic view of Vienna. If you go, I recommend that you try the Goulash from the restaurant on the hill because it is incredible.

Another place that you should visit, as I said previously, is the rooftop where you can find the Sofitel hotel. This hotel is located at the metro stop Schwedenplatz, which is really near to the centre. Here, you can have a coffee whilst enjoying the incredible views, like the one of the Stephansplatz cathedral. The price is a bit expensive but it is worth going there at least once.

Another place of interest that you should go to is the Naschmarkt, which is the most well-known market in Vienna. There you can find places to buy meat, fish, spices, flowers, souvenirs, and even food to take away. The prices are reasonable and you can go there via the metro, getting off at the stop Karlsplatz or Kettenbrückengasse.

Finally, I recommend that you go to the Opera at least once. The prices are expensive but there is the possibility of going to see a performance for only 3 or 4 euros. You just have to go on the day of the show two or three hours beforehand and ask for the 3 euro tickets. You have to bring a scarf and put it on the railing to mark your spot, as with these kinds of ticket you'll be standing up.