Vienna

Eyewitness Travel Guides

by Stephen Brook

The guide that shows you what other travel books only tell you! No travel guide captures the scenic and cultural phenomenon on the Danube River like DK's Eyewitness Travel Vienna. Containing more than 500 full-color photographs, the city of waltzes is simple to explore using precise street-by-street maps and 3-D aerial views that easily direct you to all the sights. Visit Stephansdom Cathedral in the Stephansdom Quarter of Old Vienna, the National Library in the Hofburg Quarter, and the world famous Vienna State Opera House. Follow four distinctive walking tours that highlight landmarks and the city's architecture. Experience the savory cuisine of the region and the amazing local beers. With Vienna's rich history, cultural heritage, and traditions this is the perfect guide to make sure you won't miss a thing.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, History

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 1994

About the author

Stephen Brook has been a contributing editor to Decanter since 1996 and has won a clutch of awards for his writing on wine. The author of more than 30 books, his works include Complete Bordeaux, now the definitive study of the region and in its third edition, and The Wines of California, which won three awards. His most recently published book is The Wines of Austria. Brook also fully revised the last two editions of Hugh Johnson’s Wine Companion, and he writes for magazines in many countries.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but I got overwhelmed

[Rosie Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

DK Eyewitness Vienna.

Set in the heart of Europe, Vienna is steeped in history and culture. It makes a great holiday or short break destination and is on many people’s travel wish list.


This non-fiction travel guide has the city covered for you with maps of the city quarters, places to visit, what to see, eat and drink, even things off the beaten track and what to do in the ‘great outdoors’; it doesn’t all have to be about the vibrant city centre.

If your trip is only short, the book has various ‘must see’ places highlighted and there are plenty of practical tips on getting around. There’s even ideas for places to visit if you make Vienna your base and you want to travel further afield.
Packed with beautiful coloured photos of Vienna, this was easy to read and it inspired my plans to visit this part of Europe soon. Very good; would recommend this.

[Snooty1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing about this book that just knocks it out of the park are the color photos and illustrative maps.
I love that the first chapters are dedicated to the history of the city with times lines and even MORE color photography to go along with it.

[Tim Verstraete · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like capital travel guide for city trips but not for countries ... and again this city trip book is excellent!

[Kristof Claes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelously illustrated and detailed guide. Also very convenient to use and not at all biased. Sisi is not even mentioned in the history section, rightfully so.

[JoJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

As ever these guides give a great insight to the area they cover, and with the pictures help you plan an enjoyable visit.

[Roland Haertl]

A great review of one of the greatest cities of the world

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of the Eyewitness Travel Guides, and an even bigger fan of Vienna, perhaps my favorite continental city. I've spent days wandering the city, drinking in the sights, so it's a joy to have such a visual guide at hand to remind me of the sights I love best and to guide me on future explorations.

The Eyewitness Travel Guide format is visually appealing -- a lavishly illustrated introductory section expounding on the history and key features of the city followed by color-coded sections, each devoted to a different area. Those in a hurry should go straight to the introductory section for a quick historical overview and then a "cut-to-the-chase" guide to the city's "best" features: the best museums and galleries, historic houses and palaces, churches, jugendstil architecture (an aspect of the city I adore), and coffeehouses (ditto).

The rear of the book is devoted to practicalities such as transportation, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment. Since it heavily relies on pictures rather than words, it's easy to pick up a guide, thumb through it, and let a striking photo serve as inspiration for where to go or what to do. The text on even the major sights is succinct, so if it's the full monty you're after, supplement this guide with something more substantial like a Blue Guide. However, if you want to get a quick sense of what a destination has to offer, an hour or so spent with one of these guides is probably one of the most effective ways to do background research.

One quibble is that since the Eyewitness Guides are printed on nice, heavy stock, they're not that light. Perhaps in the future another format - digital? - will get around this problem.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed being able to 'see' the sights before arriving in Vienna. I was able to recognize many places, there are also helpful layouts of the insides of the buildings. Think twice about taking this book to Vienna because it is heavy, the paper is high quality. That being said, I did take the book with me and am glad because I was able to find buildings without knowing the name, just by recognizing a photograph.

[Alina Manevskaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good book for people interested in architecture. As usual, DK publishing house provides with illustration of many interesting buildings (in this case - churches in Viennese baroque style). However... On page 72 Stephen Brook says, that Mozart composed Haydn's quartets in Figaro house...

[David]

I've booked a ticket. Grief has precipitated a cultural renaissance. Every cloud has a silver lining. If the Habsburgs and Mozart can't do it then nothing can.

[Miloš · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!!

[Tolga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viyana'daki sanat eserlerini anlamak için uygun bir başlangıç kitabı da sayılabilir bu gezi kitabı. Uzun lafın kısası bir sanat tarihi kitabı ile desteklenmeli.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, clear travel guide. Great graphics. Maps aren't the best, but I thought everything else was very helpful.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

We used tons of the tours in this book on vacation. It was really helpful and quite informative.

[Paoleletta · Rating 4 out of 5]

sempre precisissime le guide mondadori

[Katie (BooksRUs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there's an updated version of this, I'd like it. I think the version I got was a few years old by the time I got it (2016).

[Brenda Conry]

A comprehensive guide to all the things I missed when I was there. I will be able to plan much better next time.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t typically add guidebook to my Goodreads, but this one was excellent, and I would like to be able to remember the title for future trips to Austria.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read all of the 2010 edition but it is coloful information book about Vienna.