Spring and early summer are very diverse in Vienna: The Volksgarten on the Ringstrasse is fragrance bliss of 400 different kinds of roses; people catch the sun on the meadow next door in the Burggarten.  Others walk through Baroque garden splendor in the parks of Schonbrunn Palace and the Belvedere.  

Even a part of Vienna’s cultural life moves outdoors in spring.  For example, the Vienna State Opera broadcasts selected performances live to the square in front of the Opera House starting in April.  Vienna Philharmonic gives a free open-air concert in Schonbrunn Palace Park at the end of May.

The vast Vienna Woods on the edge of the city as well as the Prater, six million square meters of forest and water meadows within the city limits, invite locals and visitors alike to go on long walks and take part in all sorts of sporting activities. No wonder the international consulting firm Mercer made the Austrian federal capital the most livable city in the world for the eighth time in a row in 2017.

Contributed by: Jane D’cruz, Mumbai