24901AUS
City Sightseeing
Opening days/times, entrance fees, etc. are listed in Yellow Pages.
Morning sightseeing with local guide, free afternoon, an evening excursion to the Prater, a concert or a free evening (check the Teacher Itinerary). Or an immediate departure following the city tour to Salzburg (this occurs on a number of itineraries, but you will most usually face it during an AAE).
· NB The procedure for Schönbrunn has now changed and on all core trips you will no longer visit it with your city guide. Instead the group will have an audio-guided tour on their own and the guide will be booked for after this. On Encore itineraries check your vouchers – Schönbrunn may not be included at all, or you may have the guide accompany you.
· You need cash or ACIS card for entrances to Schönbrunn (except on Encore itineraries). The tickets are bought in the Visitors’ Centre, which has moved and is now in the bus park on the opposite side of the road to the palace. There will be a confirmation in your TM envelope. The audio guides are collected just inside the main palace entrance.
· You may need an official signed and stamped letter from the school to prove the ages of the students – the office should have arranged this, so ask the GL(s) for it at the teacher briefing.
· If there is no time for the Belvedere, St Stephen’s or the Hundertwasserhaus, these can be suggested for free time activities
· If your city tour is in the afternoon, call your local guide to arrange a meeting point
· NB Buses are NO LONGER ALLOWED to drop off at St Stephen’s, or to enter the old town (including just behind the Opera), except with a local guide and special permit. It is also forbidden to drop off at the Musikverein, which used to be possible (the former stop is now taxis only)
· Therefore your only two viable main drop off points in the centre of town are by the Natural History Museum (“Kunsthistorisches Museum”) and at Schwedenplatz. In the summer attendants operate at the latter to make sure it is only a 5 minute stop, so your group must be punctual for any pick ups. The Schwedenplatz paid bus park is prohibitively expensive and is best avoided.
· If you have an included evening excursion to the Prater, the bus driver should do the transfers but it is not difficult to get there on the U Bahn (U1 to Praterstern). Two hours at the park is sufficient.
In early Spring, check opening times for the Riesenrad. Be aware that the rides are all independently run and are often closed in bad weather or during the Easter season. If your driver takes you to the Prater, it is easy to stop briefly at the Hundertwasserhaus (en-route to Prater).
· If your included excursion is to a concert, check the location carefully (the same company may have different venues according to the season) and ensure that the driver’s hours permit him to collect you afterwards. If he cannot, you should have little difficulty returning on public transport.
Sightseeing includes:
· Schönbrunn palace inside visit
· A drive around the Ring
plus one or more of the following (time and traffic allowing):
· The Belvedere gardens and view over the city
· The Hundertwasserhaus (no entrance)
· A view of the Danube and the modern UNO City quarter
TIMES
08.30 Plan to arrive at Schönnbrunn a minimum of 30 minutes before your booked entrance time – this is normally 09.00 but obviously double-check the reservation. It is imperative that the timed entrance time is strictly adhered to. Tell the group to leave their backpacks on the bus as they have to check them in otherwise. This takes a lot of time, due to the seemingly disorganised nature of the entrance system. Warn them that photographs are forbidden inside the palace, though outside shots are allowed.
Also tell them what time to be back at the bus (they should make their own way back to the bus park across the road). You should allow one hour total for the self-guided tour and your city guide will have been booked accordingly. Warn them that they must enter the palace all together through a turnstile. You will have the one ticket for this – plus sometimes a “kontrollkarte” for each pax. A security person may ask you to distribute these to each group member, directly after collecting the audio guides. They will then check them before allowing guests to proceed the 100m to the turnstile. They are not valid for entry through the turnstile: your one group ticket is the only thing that works for this. You must make sure no one else pushes in between your group, and no one turns the turnstile twice!
Lead your group from the bus and ask them to wait outside the visitor centre. Collect the tickets and then proceed across the road with everyone into the courtyard and on to the main entrance, where you collect the audioguides and they can use the (pay) toilets. If required, hand out the “kontrollkarten”. Make sure everyone is together waiting at the entrance turnstile 5-10 minutes before your allotted entry time. They return the audioguides at the end of the tour and will make their own way back to the bus park at the time you have told them.
NB-Schönbrunn inside visit through the apartments involves a lot of walking without opportunity to sit down. It can get extremely hot inside during the summer. The group should ideally have a little time in the gardens. You should discuss the organisation of the rest of the tour together with your guide. There are (pay) toilets both inside the visitors centre and inside the main entrance to the palace. Make sure they are prompt and the driver knows what time to pick you up.
12.00 End of city tour. With a local guide and permit on board (the driver can be fined €300 otherwise!), you can set down behind the Opera; however, this is not recommended when driving straight on to Salzburg, Bratislava or Budapest, as the coach cannot return here to meet the group for the transfer. Otherwise drop off points are Schwedenplatz or by the Kunsthistorisches Museum (see above). Schwedenplatz is the closest and easiest access to Stephansplatz (10 minutes by foot). Point out lunch places–e.g. along Kärtnerstrasse and the area around St Stephen’s. Give free time suggestions and be sure everyone is able to get back to the hotel and knows how to use the public transport system, if not using the touring bus for the return.
If people seem uncertain you can fix a meeting time and accompany them back to the hotel. If you are using your bus to return to the hotel, go to the authorised pick up points at Schwedenplatz/Kunsthistorisches Museum. It’s usually best to meet the group for example in front of St Stephen’s and walk them to the bus. Of the two, Schwedenplatz is considerably closer (10 minutes’ walk).