Vienna Official UEFA football Euro 2008 website - Vienna Matches - Sunday 8 June, 18.00 - Group B : Austria v Croatia
Monday 16 June, 20.45 - Group B : Austria v Germany Friday 20 June, 20.45 - QF Sunday 22 June, 20.45 - QF Thursday 26 June, 20.45 - SF Sunday 29 June, 20.45 - Final
Tickets - Fair play if you've managed to bag yourself a ticket via the official UEFA ticketing website. For the rest of us it'll be the usual hanging around train stations, haggling with touts for overpriced, unwanted corporate cast-offs. Westbahnhof and Sudbahnhof are the two main international train stations to be on the look out for scousers in tracksuits. Stadium - Vienna's historic 50,000 capacity Ernst Happel Stadion will host three group matches, two quarter-finals, a semi and the final itself during Euro 2008. Home to the Austrian national team, the stadium is located by the Danube in the city's main Prater park, three miles east of the Old Town. You'll find several bars in the park to limber up in, plus a fun fair if you fancy a bit of pre-match big-wheel action. A new U-Bahn Line U2 station is being built at the stadium in time for the finals. Line U1 will also get you close - alight at Praterstern. Ultra Culture - Vienna's main two clubs - Rapid and FK Austria - both use the Ernst Happel for Champions League and derby matches from time to time. Rapid are the bigger of the two, with a nationwide following and strong working-class tradition in contrast to FK's bourgeois roots.
THE CITY
Overview - With a population of 1.6 million people and an Ultravox song written in its honour, the Austrian capital has the big city feel that the other Euro 2008 host cities lack, with the best nightlife, shopping and stadium in the whole tournament. This is also where the final will be played, so no one will want to miss out on this one. Airport & Transfers - Wien Airport - 12 miles south-east of the city centre, linked by S-Bahn trains every 30mins (30mins, 3Euros), buses (20mins, 6Euros) and City Airport Trains (16mins, 9Euros). Taxi's 25Euros. Nightlife - Within the Innere Stadt (Old City), the area around Schwedenplatz is dubbed "The Bermuda Triangle" due to its high concentration of bars and clubs. For an edgier night with fewer tourists, head out to the bohemian Spittelberg area in the 7th district. In summer there's also a lively scene in Donauinsel - an island in the middle of the Danube. For clubs, try underneath the arches of the U6 underground line along the Gurtel Ring Road. Shopping - Designer names cluster around Kohlmarkt in the Innere Stadt. For a more original, independent selection, head to the 7th district. Further reading -
Vienna (Lonely Planet City Guides)
|
Thursday 12 June, 20.45 - Group B : Austria v Poland
