The Cradle of Vienna - Downtown Walking Tour

The Cradle of Vienna is a free walking tour exploring Vienna’s extraordinary past and fascinating present.

Recommended if you like:
traveling back in time and learning more about Vienna and its history, the idea of seeing a city behind-the-scenes, watching documentaries and reading books talking about past and contemporary societal issues, being outdoors and walking in sunshine, rain or snow

On this free downtown walking tour “The Cradle of Vienna", we will walk through the former Roman military camp Vindobna, the first settlement in Vienna, and sail through more than 2,000 years of the city’s history, exploring Vienna in Roman times, Vienna in Middle Ages, Jewish Vienna, Vienna around 1900, Vienna in the Third Reich, and modern Vienna as the world’s most livable city!

The walking starts at the place popularly known as Schwedenplatz (a small park opposite the McDonald’s - Rotenturmstrasse 29). It goes through the city’s oldest party mile while passing next to the oldest synagogue, the oldest church, and the first man cave. We will take short breaks next to the Ankeruhr - music clock, St. Josef fountain, and old City Hall. Next, we will explore the Jewish Square, once the center of Jewish life in the middle ages, and today home to the first holocaust memorial in Austria. Ultimately, we will walk through the two most expensive streets in Vienna to reach our last stop at the very center of the city, the famous St. Stephen’s Cathedral.