Vienna's Ringstrasse Project walking tour with a historian

Free cancellation

Place: Vienna

Duration: up to 3 hours

Language: English

Availability: See calendar

Mobile voucher accepted

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Guided Tour

Group tour

Do this because

Travel along the one-and-only ring-shaped boulevard of Vienna
Learn about the Ringstrasse's social and geographical impact on the city
Admire the dramatic styles of its buildings
Discover more with an accomplished historian

What to expect

Explore past and present of Vienna's Ringstrasse on this 3-hour walking tour.

The ring-shaped boulevard known as the Ringstrasse was originally announced in 1857 to show off Vienna's wealth and power to the modern world by imitating the grand avenues and sweeping vistas of 19th-century Paris and Berlin.

Your guide will take you along this marvelous boulevard and help you explore its political and philosophical intricacies. You'll start in front of the impressive City Hall (Rathaus), an important landmark along the Ring. Many public buildings were built for the project and you'll learn about their individual styles and roles. Your guide will describe the difficulties faced in funding its construction, with hesitant long term investors and well-established Viennese nobility suspicious of potential nouveau riche neighbors.

Despite these pitfalls, the Ring became an important place to see, and be seen, in Vienna. People visited it often after its completion, prompting the construction of several cafés and restaurants along the boulevard. Your guide will take you to Café Schwarzenberg to show you the thriving café culture of late 19th-century Vienna.