KARLSPLATZ AND NASCHMARKT
Karlspl is home to Vienna’s most beautiful Baroque church, the Karlskirche, an eclectic masterpiece combining a Neoclassi cal portico with a Baroque dome and towers on either side, (ill, 2, or 4 to Karlspl. Open M-F 7:30am-7pm, Sa 8:30am-7pm, Su 9am-7pm. Free.) West of Karlspl. along Linke Wienzeile, is the colorful Naschmarkt food bazaar. On Saturdays, the Naschmarkt becomes a massive flea market. (Open M-F 6am-6:30pm, Sa 6am-2pm.)
SCHLOfi BELVEDERE. The SchloB Belvedere was originally the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy, one of Austria’s greatest military heroes. The grounds, stretching from Schwarzenberg Palace to the Siidbahnhof, contain three excel lent museums (98) and an equal number of spectacular sphinx-filled gardens. (Take tram D or #71 one stop past Schwarzenbergpl.)
SCHLOfi SCHONBRUNN. From its humble beginnings as a hunting lodge, Schdnbrunn (beautiful brook) was Maria Theresia’s favorite residence. The Grand Tour passes through the Great Gallery, where the Congress of Vienna met, and the Hall of Mirrors, where 6-year-old Mozart played. If you take the shorter Imperial Tour, you’ll miss these. (U4: Schdnbrunn. Palace open July-Aug. daily 8:30am-7pm; Apr.-June and Sept.-0ct. 8:30am-5pm; Nov.-Mar. 8:30am-4:30pm. Imperial Tour ‚8, students ‚7.40. Grand Tour ‚10.508.60. Audioguides included.) As impressive as the palace itself are the classical gardens behind it, which extend nearly four times the length of the palace and contain the Schmetterlinghaus (Butterfly House) and a hodgepodge of other attractions. (Park open 6am-dusk. Free.)
ZENTRALFRIEDHOF The Viennese like to describe the Central Cemetery as half the size of Geneva but twice as lively. Tor I (Gate 1) leads to the old Jewish Ceme tery. Many of the headstones are cracked and neglected because the families of most of the dead have left Austria. Behind Tor II (Gate 2) are Beethoven and Strauss, and an honorary monument to Mozart, whose true resting place is an unmarked pauper’s grave in the Cemetery of St. Mark, III, Leberstr. 6-8. Tor III (Gate 3) leads to the Protestant section and the new Jewish cemetery. (XI, Simmeringer Hauptstr. 234. Take S7 to Zentralfriedhof or tram #71 from Schwarzenbergpl. Open May-Aug. daily 7am-7pm; Mar.-Apr. and Sept.-Oct. 7am-6pm; Nov.-Feb. 8am-5pm.)
