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| General Information
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Thanks to the numerous pompous buildings from the Roman-German and Austrian imperial time, the diversity of activities and the reputation being the musical capital, famous for its classical musicians as Beethoven and Mozart, Vienna became worldwide famous and a popular destination for tourists. Fiaker drive visitors through the city centre whose central place is the Stephansdom (Stephan’ Cathedral). Close by you can find the State Opera House, the Kärtner Straße, the most frequented street of Austria, colourful pastry shops and hotels and last but not least the pompous Ringstraße, which goes around the old city. Since 1980 a very lively and diverse scene has developed in Vienna, hosting galleries, cabarets, pubs and bars, jazz bars and different events. A lot of tourists visit Vienna in December when the city comes up with its Christmas markets, the “Silverpfad” through the old town and the “Kaiserball”. But most of the attractions in Vienna can be visited all year, for example the Castle Schönbrunn, the Hofburg, the Belvedere or the MuseumsQuartier. That’s why about 60% of the visitors come during the summer.
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| Weather
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Vienna's weather can change quickly due to the continental Austrian climate. Winter highs can be at as warm as 55°F/13°C and the low can fall below freezing. Summer highs can reach 90°F/32°C and also fall to 50°F/10°C. Heavy rain is most prevalent in the May-August months. The best times to travel are spring, summer, and fall, although the lines tend to be longer for the tourist attractions. If your main interest is skiing, it would be best to wait till the middle of winter.
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| Language
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German is the official language spoken in Vienna, although there is still a difference between standard German (Hochdeutsch) and Viennese German. It also differs to other Austrian dialects. English is widely understood and spoken in most of the touristy places.
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| Religion
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The highest amount of people belongs to the Roman Catholic Church but there are also other religious communities as Protestants, Jews and Muslims and some free churches and small denominations.
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| Currency
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The currency used in Austria is the Euro. Notes come in denominations of €100, €50, €20, €10 and €5 and the coins in use are €2, €1, € 0.50, € 0.20, € 0.10, € 0.05, € 0.02 and € 0.01.
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| Tipping
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In restaurants in Vienna, usually the tip is included, but it is customary to round up the bill (ie €2 on €1.90.). The same for taxis. In hotels, it is normal to leave €1 to €2 per room/night. For other services, such a haircut, it is normal to leave €2 or more
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| Taxes
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The VAT of 20% can be reclaimed by visitors from outside the EU. In order to do that you have to fill a tax-cheque by the time of purchase. At the airport your purchased items need to be taken to the customs clearance where the customs official will provide a tax stamp which can be cashed at any of the airport banks in a variety of currencies.
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| Telephone
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To call Vienna from abroad dial +43 for Austria and then 1 for Vienna. Calling from hotel is in general pretty expensive. To use a public phone you need a telephone card. Coins are not very common anymore. Telephone cards can be purchased in any post office.
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| Internet
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There are many internet cafés over the whole city. Bazar Cyberlounge in Mayerhofgasse 1, BIGnet internetcafe in Hoher Markt 8-9, Blue Box in Richtergasse 8, Cafe Bierbeisl Einstein in Rathausplatz 4, Cafe Stein in Währingerstraße 6 – 8 an many more.
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| Emergency numbers
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Police Tel.: 133
Fire department Tel.: 122
Ambulance Tel.: 144
Physicians on Standby Tel.: 141
Physicians (Hotline for Visitors 24 hours a day) Tel.: 513 95 95
Dentists (emergency service during the night and weekends) Tel.: 512 20 78
Pharmacies (night and weekend service) Tel.: 15 50
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| Opening times
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Most of the shops are open from 9 am till 7.30 pm during the week and on Saturdays till 6 pm. Small shops close already at 7 pm. Only very small family run businesses have longer opening times. Banks are open Mon, Tue, Wed and Fr between 8 am and 3 pm, on Thursdays they are open longer. Small banks are closed over midday. All major credit cards are accepted.
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| Public Holidays
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The main public holidays are as follows:
·1 January: New Year's Day (Neujahr)
·6 January: Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige)
·Easter Monday: (Ostermontag) - traditionally observed on both Sunday and Monday.
·1 May: Labour Day (Tag der Arbeit)
·Ascension Day: (Christihimmelfahrt) - always on a Thursday and nine days prior to Pentecost/Whitsun. Pentecost/Whitsun: (Pfingsten) - 50 days after Easter
·Corpus Christi: (Fronleichnam) - on the second Thursday after Whitsunday
·15 August: Assumption Day (Maria Himmelfahrt)
·26 October: Austrian National Day (Nationalfeiertag
·1 November: All Saints'' Day (Allerheiligen)
·11 November: St. Martin''s Day (Martinstag)
·Advent: - begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas
·8 December: Immaculate Conception (Mariä Empfängnis)
·25 December: Christmas Day (Weihnachten)
·26 December: St. Stephen''s Day (Stephanitag)
·December 31: New Year''s Eve (Silvester)
On most of the days shops are closed.
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| Safety
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Despite being a big city Vienna is as safe as some villages would like to be. It is no problem to walk alone during the night but as it is a touristy city it is always useful to use common sense and not to challenge pickpockets and thieves.
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