Waltzing Into Vienna’s Bargains

Vienna can be very expensive to visit, but you can enjoy some of its special features without depleting your resources.

For instance, every evening during the summer, classical music fans can enjoy free films of outstanding performances in an outdoor setting. The films are projected onto a giant screen at Rathausplatz in the city center. The festival starts at dusk each evening between July 1 and Sept. 3, except in rainy weather. There is open seating, and food is available at stands. The films range from operetta and ballet to films of concerts, such as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Verdi’s “Requiem.”

A good way to find out about other inexpensive options in Vienna is in a free publication called “Vienna Youth Scene,” which you can obtain from the Austrian Tourist Board before you leave home.

Vienna Youth Scene is helpful to budget travelers of any age. It covers low-cost accommodations (including youth hostels, pensions, budget hotels and campgrounds), entertainment, exchanging money, emergency telephone numbers, city cycling tours, where to eateconomically (including university cafeterias), public transportation, where to find laundry facilities, coffeehouses, museums and popular hangouts.

The pamphlet tells students to play it safe by carrying more than one version of student identification. While the International Student Identity Card is often the most recognized proof of student status abroad, Vienna Youth Scene warns that some of the established playhouses offering special student rates for available seats just before curtain call will only recognize identity cards issued by individual universities.

The Youth Information Service office, which can be found in the Bellaria underground passage at Ringstrasse Volkstheatre station, on underground lines U2 and U3 can also give information. Travelers can find English-language assistance and get details on purchasing rail fares at youth rates. The office is open Monday-Friday, noon-7 p.m. On Saturdays and school holidays it’s open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Supertramp, a travel agency affiliated with the Austrian youth hostel association, offers packages for budget travelers visiting Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck or Prague, and for cycling along the Danube.

Through Supertramp you an arrange to stay for two, three or five nights in youth hostels in Vienna, with breakfast and a three- or six-day transportation pass. The two-night version is about $49, three nights is $69 and five nights is $118. Supertramp can also arrange accommodations in private pensions and two-star hotels in Vienna.

A three-night youth hostel package for Salzberg, with breakfast and a one-day transportation pass, costs $41. With five nights, the cost is $94.

Three nights’ youth hostel accommodation in Innsbruck with breakfasts, one dinner and a one-day transportation ticket (including entrance to several museums and the Alpine Zoo) is $105. For shared double room at a student residence, the cost is $155 per person.

For further information, contact Supertramp at Helferstorferstrasse 4, A 1010 Vienna, telephone 43-1-533-51-37, fax 43-1-533-18-33-85.

The city of Innsbruck and the neighboring village of Igls offer free guided hikes. The opportunity is open to anyone who stays for at least three days in the area. You simply ask your hotel or hostel for a Club Innsbruck Card, and you can start hiking on the first day of your stay.

Individual visitors don’t have to make reservations to join the hikes; just meet at 8:30 a.m. in front of the Innsbruck Congress Center any day between June 6 and Oct. 8, rain or shine. Hikers should bring wet-weather clothing and some food. Boots and small backpacks can be borrowed for free. Free bus transportation to trail heads is also provided, and free lantern hikes are offered on Tuesday evenings.

In about 60% of the Alpine resorts in the Tirol area of Austria visitors are offered free guided hikes weekly during summer. Inquire for schedules and details at local tourist information offices.

For further information on Austria, contact the Austrian Tourist Board, P.O. Box 491938 Los Angeles, CA 90045; tel. (310) 477-3332.