Pension Columbia Vienna is located in a large typical Viennese building from the 19th century which has been renovated in typical imperial colors: yellow and green.

Our Pension Columbia exists for more than 100 years, there is a picture in the reception showing Pension Columbia at these times.

The Reception is located on the ground floor.

The Bed & Breakfast is on the first floor. You take the elevator to get there comfortably. The other floors are occupied by locals.

At our reception you pick-up the room key upon arrival. We will also give you further information and useful tips for your time in Vienna. 

Surroundings: the city hall (5 min.), the Votiv church (5 min.), the famous Ringstraße (5 min.), the Uni Campus ‚Altes AKH‘ (2 min.), the Stadtbahnbögen (6 min.), the Burgtheater (10 min.), the Imperial Palace, Burggarten and Spanish Riding School (10 min.), the Volkstheater (15 min.), magnificent Palais (10 min.), the Museumsquartier and Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts and Museum of Natural History (15 min.) and of course the landmark of Vienna, St. Stephen's Cathedral (15 min.) and many other sights are within walking distance.

Sights close-by

In case you prefer public transport you find tram and bus in front of the building, underground U2 within 5 minutes and underground U6 within 6 minutes by feet.

Public transport close-by

Breakfast:

We serve a rich breakfast buffet in our wonderful breakfast room for € 6.-/person from 8am - 10am.

This is what we serve for Viennese Breakfast:

coffee, various flavours of tea, milk
orange juice
wonderful fresh 'Kaiser' rolls and whole grain rolls
cornflakes, chocos, muesli
pumpkin seads, sunflower seads
various flavours of marmelade, honey, nutella
liver spread
various flavours of cheese spread
butter
fruit cocktail
assorted sausage and cheese

We do of course offer sweetener and low fat milk.

 
Restaurant Dionysos/Nosh:

You can have dinner at restaurant Dionysos/Nosh on the ground floor. They prepare delicious Greek and Kurdish food. Friendly people and nice food are waiting for you.
During summer months there is a nice garden to sit outsinde and enjoy your meal.

You find the menu in your room.

Fridge with drinks:

We provide a fridge with refreshing non-alcoholic drinks (mineral water, Coka, Coke Light, orange juice), Austrian beer, white wine, red wine, sparkling wine and spirits (Campari, Red Label Whiskey, Wodka, Obstler, Marillenbrand, Gin).
You just insert coins and take-out what you like.

Eat & Drink: There are as well many restaurants close-by for your lunch and dinner which we can highly recommend:

typical Viennese kitchen with specialities from Wiener Schnitzel to Palatschinken:

- Restaurant Hermann Adam: We can highly recommend this restaurant because of the high quality of the food and nice atmosphere, in summer you can sit down in the large beer garden under shady trees.

Greek/Kurdish kitchen with delicious grilled dishes
Chinese kitchen offering a rich lunch buffet for a low price
Fast Food Restaurant with reasonable prices
Mexican kitchen
Running Sushi, always nice and fresh
Italian kitchen with Pasta and Pizza
Mc Donald’s
Viennese Würstelstand (hot dog stand) with typical specialities as Käsekrainer or Burenwurst

and many other possibilities to choose from

Coffee & Snack sit down in the best Cafés of town which are all within walking distance: The famous Café Landtmann at the Ring (10 min.), Café Eiles (10 min.) or Café Hummel2 (5 Min.) and many other Cafés and Cake Shops to try various kinds of coffees and Viennese sweets every day.

- Café-Restaurant Hummel: We recommend this café with a long tradition because of the typical Viennese atmosphere, the nice food and the good location at Josefstädter Strasse pedestrian zone. In summer there is a large garden to sit outside.

Nightlife and & Szene: There are many pubs and bars close-by that are really hip at the moment: Die Wäscherei, cafe màs, albertgasse39, ...

List of the hippest bars and pubs close-by

VIENNA - EXCITING ALL YEAR ROUND:

Spring time:

When Spring is in the air life returns to all the large and small parcs of the city. Forsythia is the first to blossom in wonderful yellow colors everywhere in town, followed by tulip, narcissus, primrose and hyacinth, soon after Magnolia and Lilac are in full blossom as well.

On every corner in Vienna you find a small or larger green. This large number of trees and plants in the city creates the wonderful fresh air for which Vienna is well-known. Vienna was elected several times as the best city to live, not only because of the fresh and healthy air, but this is part of it.

Easter is celebrated in Vienna with the traditional Easter egg hunt. There are many Easter markets where you can taste juicy Easter ham and many sweet specialities. Children love the chocolate Easter bunnies that look too cute to eat them.

The two nicest Easter markets in town are within walking distance from our Pension Columbia:

Uni-Campus/Altes AKH (2 min. by feet): is a small and very nice Easter market just down the road, ideal to drop by quickly or to stroll around some time. You can buy wonderful hand painted Easter eggs and Viennese specialities such as Strawberries coated with chocolate sauce.

Freyung (15 min. by feet): Here you find Europe's largest number of Easter eggs, there are many stands to buy hand made Easter eggs and taste delicious Austrian food, a puppet theatre and music program is taking place for the children.

Summer in the city:

Uni-Campus/Altes AKH: In sommer the restaurants at ‚Altes AKH‘ (Uni-Campus within a large park, 2 min. by feet) provide shady places under large trees to eat and drink, there is as well a large playground for children and a nice lawn to lay down and relax.

- Uni-Campus

 
City hall: The Filmfestival at Rathausplatz (5 min. by feet) takes place from end of June to end of August. It is an unique event: Music films (operas, concerts, musicals) are shown at an outsized videoscreen at the front of the City hall, entrance is free.

You can either sit down on one of the chairs or benches or just lay-down in the green grass of Rathauspark and listen to the music.

When you are getting hungry there are many food stands offering refreshing drinks and delicious food from around the globe.

- Rathausplatz-Webcam

Autumn = it's time for the 'Heuriger':

"Heuriger" means a typical Viennese kind of restaurant which you should discover in summer or autumn.

Thanks to the location of our Pension Columbia you reach the best Heurigen restaurants in town very easily by tram or bus.

Taste the traditional 'Heuriger' wine, the 'G'spritzter' (white wine and soda) and 'Sturm' or 'Most' in autumn. Listen to the traditional Heurigen music ('Schrammel' music is traditionally performed by 2 violins, 1 accordion and 1 contra-guitar which is worth seeing: it is a mix of guitar and bass with 2 fingerboards, the bass consists of 7 strings) - or sing 'Wiener Lieder' together with the locals and musicians.

Go and get yourself delicious food from the counter such as 'Liptauer' spread and pretzel, 'Kümmelbraten' (roasted pork with caraway seeds), deep fried chicken, 'Schinkenfleckerl' (noodles with ham), salad of black salsify or any other Heurigen speciality.

Grinzing: Grinzing in the 19th district is famous for its Heurigen restaurants and is very easily reached by public transport: You take tram 38 or night bus N38 either from Rathausplatz/Burgtheater (7 min. by feet) or from Schottentor (10 min. by feet).

Nußdorf: You reach Nußdorf quickly from Pension Columbia: to get there you take tram D either from Rathausplatz/Burgtheater (7 min. by feet) or from Schottentor (10 min. by feet).

Ottakring: You take tram 2 at Lederergasse/Josefstädter Str. (5 min. by feet) to Ottakring and get off in front of the Heurigen restaurants. At the famous '10er Marie' you will see many locals, but Elizabeth Taylor or the Rolling Stones have also been there.

- Heuriger 10er Marie

Winter in Vienna:

Vienna is very romantic around Christmas, there are numerous Christmas markets, four of them can by reached by feet:

Rathausplatz: the largest and best-known Christmas market in town, this market offers so many different stands and children can post their Christmas wishes at a special "Christkindl" Post Office.

The trees of Rathauspark are decorated with lights that shine in the dark in all kinds of shapes and colors.

Food stands offer mulled wine in various tastes and specialities from all parts of Austria.

Altes AKH: when you rather like it quiet, this is the place for you, arts and crafts are offered here, delicious roasted chestnuts are as well offered as potato fritters. Children have fun at the carrousel. This market is very romantic and the closest to reach from our Bed & Breakfast (2 min. by feet).

Freyung: this small Christmas market is only 15 min. by feet and a must-see, the gingerbread a must-taste.

Spittelberg: this market is located in narrow side streets with cobblestones, one stand is next to the other, arts and crafts are offered, Christmas cakes and the famous baked potatoes need to be tasted. This Christmas market is the local's favourite because of the idyllic location.

New Year's Eve is a special event in Vienna, the so called Silvesterpfad leads from the City Hall through the old town to St. Stephen's Cathedral and is an exciting way to start into the New Year.

Our apartments are ideally located since the starting point of the Silvesterpfad is only 5 min. by feet.

You walk along the various stations of Silvesterpfad (music stages, palmistry, fortune-tellers, Waltz dancing course, food and drink stands to name a few) to St. Stephen's Cathedral. At midnight you hear the large bell of the cathedral (Bummerin) ringing and people dance to the famous Waltz "An der schönen blauen Donau" of Johann Strauss son.

When you have had enough of the bustle you head back to your quiet room and enjoy a wonderful sleep.

Ice-Skating in front of the City Hall: When the New Year has begun Rathausplatz turns right into the next attraction: a 5.400qm ice-skating area opens in front of the City Hall with ice-skating rinks across the Rathauspark.

It is a stunning set, the city hall bathed in various colors, the music that is played, the people, the atmosphere. You enjoy your rounds on the ice or stroll through the Rathauspark and get yourself something to eat and drink at one of the food stands.

Shopping: No matter what you want to buy, you will surely find the right shop in the surroundings.

Food, toiletry, pharmacy, bank:

You can buy food or toiletry in Alserstraße (2 min. by feet). There you find supermarkets (Billa, Spar) and drugstores (Bipa, Dm). A larger supermarket is at Uni-Campus 'Altes AKH' (2 min. by feet). You find many small shops in the surrounding streets as well (crocery, bakery).

The small bakery 'Nubia' ist right at the corner Laudongasse/Kochgasse, a large choice of fresh bread, cakes and sweets is offered at 'Der Mann' at Alserstraße/Lange Gasse.
Sweets, candy and chocolate is next door to this bakery. Many of those Austrian specialities you will not find somewhere else.

Newspapers, magazines and cigarettes you get at the tobacconist's around the corner.

There are flower shops, toy shops, stationery shops, a photo- and video shop, electrical stores and book shops close-by.

Banks (Bawag, Bank Austria, Raiffeisenbank, Erste Bank) are down the road, all with ATM.

There are two pharmacies in Alserstraße (2 min. by feet) and one in Florianigasse (2 minutes by feet).

Beauty:

Hair dressers you find on every corner, two of those are just down the road where you find nail design as well. Pedicure and beauty salon are in Skodagasse which is 2 min. by feet.

A Wellness Oasis is only 10 min. by feet in Lenaugasse where you can enjoy various beauty treatments, massages or just relax in nice and calm atmosphere.

City Wellness

Shopping, gifts and souvenirs:

Small boutique shops are located only 5 minutes by feet in Josefstädter Straße. The locals love those shops for the good quality and unusual pieces one can find there.
This is also the right place to search for nice gifts and unique souvenirs to bring home.

Vienna's famous shopping streets are 'Mariahilfer Strasse' and 'Kärntner Strasse', both can be reached quickly from our Bed & Breakfast, either by bus, underground or tram.

Mariahilfer Strasse: bus 13A from Lederergasse (1 min. by feet) or underground U2 from Rathaus (5 min. by feet)
Kärntner Strasse: underground U2 from Rathaus (5 min. by feet) or tram 2 from Rathaus/Josefstädterstrasse (7 min. by feet)

Sightseeing Tour by 'Bim':

Our Pension Columbia is perfectly situated to enjoy a sightseeing tour by tram, which is a special experience you should not miss.
The Vienna-Ring-Tram (the locals call it 'Bim') operates daily from 10am - 6pm (July and August until 7pm) every half hour along Ringstraße.
You can either buy a 24h ticket and hop on and off at any marked stop or a ticket for only 1 round. During the drive you will hear many interesting things about Vienna. The stop at Rathaus is only 5 min. by feet.

Exhibition Center Messe Wien: Our Pension Columbia is the ideal place for you when you come to Vienna for an exhibition.

Our location at underground line U2 (stop Rathaus: 5 minutes by feet) guarantees a quick and easy connection to Messe Wien.
Underground U2 takes you there in only 8 minutes. The first underground leaves Rathaus at 5:06 am, the last at 0:35 am.
In case you need to return later in the night a taxi will drive you back in only 10 minutes.

When you stay in Vienna for business you will love our large and bright rooms with large writing desk, desk lamp and of course highspeed wireless-Lan. 

Prater/Giant Wheel: next to the Fairgrounds you find 'Wiener Prater' which is an amusement park within a very large park with many possibilities for sports and fun.

Next to the entrance you find the world famous Giant Wheel ('Riesenrad'), you should take a ride to enjoy a wonderful view of the city.

You reach Vienna Prater from Pension Columbia by underground U2 in ony 8 minutes which is very useful when you are travelling with children: U2 stop Rathaus (5 min. by feet) directly to stop Prater.

The so called 'Wiener Wurstelprater' offers a lot of fun - even for the smallest:  carussell, playground, pony riding, slides, balloons, trampoline, puppet theatre and many others.
For larger kids there are various thrilling roller coasters, pony riding, star flyer, go-kart and so much more.
Adults enjoy thrills like beeing shot in the air with 95km/h.
Beside of that you can as well discover the old ghost train or an very old roller coaster which is worth seeing.

When you are hungry you should enjoy the typical 'Stelze' (rear knuckle of pork) at the famous restaurant 'Schweizerhaus', Stelze is eaten with mustard, horseradish and fresh coleslaw salad. The Viennese love this restaurant because of the best 'Stelze' and the best beer in town. 
You should as well have candy floss, roasted almonds or cucumber pickled in brine, but there are as well hot dog stands, other restaurants, Cafés or Mc Donald's at Wiener Prater.

- Schweizerhaus

The large green around the 'Wurstelprater' is a bit quieter. You can enjoy a train ride with your kids either with the 'Liliput-Bahn' or with the 'Praterzug' which both lead  through the large park along Prater Hauptallee all the way to Lusthaus.
There are as well Tandems and Rikschas to rent together with your children (up to 2 adults and 2 children).

- Liliput-Bahn and Praterzug

To relax and lay-down on the green this is the ideal place, but there is also a large choice of activities: playgrounds for children, tennis courts and a large outdoor pool ('Stadionbad'). During the whole day until late at night you can see people running along Prater Hauptallee and everywhere through the park.

Stadium/Stadthalle: You reach Ernst-Happel-Stadion by underground U2 from stop Rathaus (5 min. by feet). This underground line brings you there in only 10 minutes. (stop 'Stadion'), from there it is only a few minutes to walk to the stadium.
You enjoy your concert or football match and take the easiest way back to Pension Columbia: U2.

'Wiener Stadthalle' is reached from Pension Columbia by underground U6 (stop  Josefstädter Strasse: 6 min. by feet) which brings you to Stadthalle in only 3 minutes (stop Burggasse/Stadthalle).
From there you walk through the park to Stadthalle and enjoy the event (concert, exhibition, circus, sport competition,..)