You might think that it could be a challenge to find your way around Vienna if you don’t speak or understand Austrian German. But aside from having a local guide or a trusty map to help you navigate the city streets, there are other ways by which you can explore Vienna on your own. Here are some useful things to remember:
Vienna is made up of 23 districts, also called “Bezirk” and they are numbered accordingly to their geographical location starting from the city centre (which is the 1st district of Innere Stadt) and radiating outwards in a clockwise manner. There are several gaps and breaks in between streets are basically formed in concentric fashion. The centermost area is called Ringstrasse where a good number of attractions are nearby.
You can also determine the district’s zip code easily: Vienna city is represented by 1 then the next two digits are for the district number and ending with a 0 for the mailing category. To illustrate: 1020 is the zip code for Leopoldstadt and 1230 for the 23rd district of Liesing. Most street signs also have the number of the district written first followed by the district name and the street. So “13.Hietzing. Gloriettegasse 20” is 20 Gloriettegasse in Hietzing, the 13th district.
In addition to district numbers, another point of reference would be the public transportation stops – subway (U-bahn/S-bahn) or bus. Vienna has an excellent public transport system such that any stop can take you to within a few minutes of walk to your intended destination. If an address bears a reference to a stop (for example, U1 or U5) it means that the place is near the stop for the underground subway line.
