A Vienna day from Schönbrunn Palace to the Prater

The Habsburg summer palace. The Grand Tour ticket covers forty state rooms. Walk up to the Gloriette at the top of the garden for the view back over the palace. Two and a half hours covers both comfortably.

A quick walk-through lunch. Pick up bread, a wedge of cheese, a few figs from the Middle Eastern stalls, or a sausage from a Würstelstand. Eat at one of the outdoor tables in the Saturday flea market overflow.

The 1898 exhibition pavilion with Klimt's Beethoven Frieze in the basement. The gilded laurel dome on top is the giveaway from the street. A short visit — forty minutes downstairs with the frieze, thirty upstairs.

Vienna's oldest amusement park, Habsburg hunting grounds opened to the public in 1766. Walk the central Hauptallee. The 1897 Wiener Riesenrad (Ferris wheel) is the landmark; ride it for the city view.

A Prater institution since 1868 for stelze — a whole roasted pork knuckle — and Budweiser Budvar beer. Wooden tables outside in summer, inside in winter. Order the stelze half-portion; a full is for three.

The benchmark tafelspitz in Vienna — beef boiled in its broth, served in three parts with horseradish, apple sauce, and roasted potatoes. White tablecloths, suited waiters. Book a week ahead at least.