New Year's Day Concert in Vienna

Austrian equivalent of The Last Night of The Proms

Advantages: Great sampler, excellent recording.
Disadvantages: Not quite as memorable as being there in person.

The Vienna New Year's Concert is a tradition somewhat akin to the "Last Night of the Proms" apart from the fact that obviously it is Austrian music that is played, and there is not the same atmosphere. The concert has happened annually since 1939, although originally it used to take place on New Year's Eve rather than New Year's Day, because a poor attendance was feared, after the traditional Austrian "Silvester" revelry. One other difference is that the New Year's Concert is even more exclusive than the Last Night of the Proms, as you have to apply for tickets two years in advance, and they are exceptionally pricey. Indeed applications for the 2003 concert closed on 2nd January this year. It is an event to be seen at, and is also a musical highlight of the Vienna music scene. Each year since 1987, when the late Herbert von Karajan ...

Morgenhund 13.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Vienna 2001 New Year's Concert

Excellent hotel in Vienna

Advantages: Large rooms, clean, with firendly staff.
Disadvantages: 10 minute walk to shops and cathedral

The Hilton Vienna Plaza is an excellent hotel located on the Ringstrasse in Central Vienna, I will talk more about the hotels location later on. Before I arrived at the hotel I emailed the manager with a few questions about the local area and the hotel etc. The hotel staff are incredibly friendly and I received an email back with all of my questions answered which was helpful. It took around twenty minutes to get to the hotel from the Airport, although on my way back to the airport at the end of my stay it took about thirty minutes because of heavier traffic. Check-in was fast and very efficient, the hotel staff were friendly and gave me a map of the local area. I booked to stay in a standard king room, the rooms at the hotel are a very nice size. The bed was very comfortable and there was a chaise longue, desk, television, safe, tea ...

jack2794 22.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Hilton Vienna Plaza, Vienna

Small, but perfectly formed hotel in Vienna

Advantages: Classy, comfortable, fantastic breakfast
Disadvantages: Not overly expensive, but the rates match how nice it is

In October of last year my husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. Astounded at how quickly the years had passed and determined to reward ourselves for our staying power, we looked for a suitably romantic/memorable way to mark the occasion. It was my husband who hit on the idea of getting the night train to Vienna (must write about this too) and I was tasked with selecting the hotel. Well, I really wanted to make sure I picked something special for the occasion. I work away quite a bit (only in the UK - nothing special) and get to stay in Hiltons and Crowne Plazas, and, whilst these are really good quality chains, I was really hoping to find something different so that I wouldn't feel like I was on a work trip! I found the Altstadt Vienna on tripadvisor where it was the 5th most popular hotel in Vienna. Well ...

sonic0209 09.01.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Altstadt Vienna, Vienna