Active Pursuits

Biking

Vienna maintains almost 322km (200 miles) of cycling lanes and paths, many of which meander through some of the most elegant parks in Europe. Depending on their location, they're identified by a yellow image of a cyclist either stenciled directly onto the pavement or crafted from rows of red bricks set amid the cobblestones or concrete of the busy boulevards of the city center. Some of the most popular bike paths run parallel to both the Danube and the Danube Canal.

You can carry your bike onto specially marked cars of the Vienna subway system, but only during nonrush hours. Subway cars marked with a blue shield are the ones you should use for this purpose. Bicycles are not permitted on the system's escalators -- take the stairs.

You can rent a bike for 3€ to 5€ ($3.90-$6.50) per hour. You'll usually be asked to leave either your passport or a form of ID as a deposit. One rental possibility is Pedal Power, Ausstellungsstrasse 3 (tel. 01/729-7234). There are rental shops at the Prater and along the banks of the Danube Canal. You can also rent a bike at Bicycle Rental Hochschaubahn, Prater 113 (tel. 01/729-5888).

One terrific bike itinerary, and quite popular since it has almost no interruptions, encompasses the long, skinny island that separates the Danube from the Neue Donau Canal. Low-lying and occasionally marshy, but with paved paths along most of its length, it provides clear views of central Europe's industrial landscape and the endless river traffic that flows by on either side.

Boating

Wear a straw boating hat and hum a few bars of a Strauss waltz as you paddle your way around the quiet eddies of the Alte Donau. This gently curving stream bisects residential neighborhoods to the north of the Danube and is preferable to the muddy and swift-moving currents of the river itself.

At An der Obere along the Danube, you'll find some kiosks in summer, where you can negotiate for the rental of a boat, perhaps a canoe or a kayak. There are, of course, organized tours of the Danube, but it's more fun to do it yourself.

Cruising the Danube -- Its waters aren't as idyllic as the Strauss waltz would lead you to believe, and its color is usually muddy brown rather than blue, but visitors to Austria still view a day cruise along the Danube as a highlight of their trip. Until the advent of railroads and highways, the Danube played a vital role in Austria's history, helping to build the complex mercantile society that eventually became the Habsburg Empire.

The most professional of the cruises are operated by the DDSG Blue Danube Shipping Co., whose main offices are at Fredrickstrasse 7, A-1010 Vienna (tel. 01/588800; www.ddsg-blue-danube.at). The most appealing cruise focuses on the Wachau region east of Vienna, between Vienna and Dürnstein. The cruise departs April through October every Sunday at 8:30am from the company's piers at Handelskai 265, 1020 Vienna (U-Bahn: Vorgartenstrasse), arriving in Dürnstein 6 hours later. The cost is 50€ ($65) for adults; it's half-price for children 10 to 15.

April through October, DDSG operates a daily hydrofoil that departs from the Vienna piers at 9am and arrives in Budapest at 2:30pm. One-way transit is 79€ ($103) for adults; it's half-price for children 15 and under.

Golf

The two golf courses in or near Vienna are chronically overbooked, forcing even long-term members to be highly flexible about their starting times. The busier, and more challenging, of the region's two golf courses lies within a 15-minute drive north of Vienna, on the grounds of the Prater, at the 18-hole Golfplatz Wien-Freudenau 65A (tel. 01/728-9564). If there's an available tee-off time, nonmembers with a minimum handicap of 28 can play for a fee of 70€ ($91) per person. More likely to have an available tee-off time on a weekday (but rarely on a weekend), is Golfplatz Föhrenwald (tel. 02622/29171), an 18-hole course that's positioned about 48km (30 miles) south of Vienna, at Bodenstrasse 54 in the hamlet of Klein Wolkersdorf, just outside the suburb of Weiner Neustadt. If space is available, greens fees there cost 55€ ($72) for tee-offs Monday to Friday, 70€ ($91) for tee-offs on Saturday or Sunday, and require that prospective players have a handicap of at least 45.

Health Clubs

Even if you're not registered there, you may use the exercise facilities at the popular health club, Health & Fitness (Living Well Express), in the Vienna Hilton, Am Stadtpark (tel. 01/717-00-12800). Positioned on the third floor (designed in the access elevators as level "M1") of the also-recommended hotel, it charges nonresidents of the hotel 12€ ($16) to use the fitness equipment, with a supplement of 5€ ($6.50) for access to the sauna and steam rooms. Know in advance that men and women share the same sauna and steam room facilities, either with or without the discreet covering of a towel, so if you're feeling shy or modest at the time of your visit, plan your sauna rituals accordingly. (Women who prefer to have their sauna alone are directed, by appointment only, to a private room.) Between September and May it's open daily from 11am to 10pm; between June and August it's open daily from 2 to 10pm. Hotel residents, without charge, can use the exercise facilities at this place 24 hours a day, but if they opt for the sauna and steam room, their visits will be limited to the hours noted above, and they'll be asked to pay the 5€ ($6.50) supplement.

Hiking

You're likely to expend plenty of shoe leather simply walking around Vienna, but if you yearn for a more isolated setting, the city tourist offices will provide information about its eight Stadt-Wander-Wege. These marked hiking paths usually originate at a stop on the city's far-flung network of trams.

You can also head east of town into the vast precincts of the Lainzer Tiergarten, where hiking trails meander amid forested hills, colonies of deer, and abundant bird life. To get there, first take the U-Bahn to the Kennedy Brücke/Hietzing station, which lies a few steps from the entrance to Schönbrunn Palace. Take tram no. 60, then bus no. 60B.

Ice Skating

There's a public rink, the Wiener Eislaufverein, Lothringer Strasse 22 (tel. 01/713-6353), within a 20-minute walk southeast of the cathedral. Located just outside the famous Am Stadtpark, near the Inter-Continental Hotel, and especially crowded on weekends, the rink rents skates and is open from late October to early March daily from 8am to 8pm. Monday through Saturday, the charge is 7€ ($9.10) for adults and 5.50€ ($7.15) for children 7 to 18. On Sunday, the price goes up to 8€ ($10) for adults and 6€ ($7.80) for children. Skates rent for 6€ ($7.80). The rest of the year (Apr to Sept), the site is transformed into seven public tennis courts available to anyone who wants to play. The price for rental of a court is 8.50€ ($11) for daily sessions from 8am to noon, 11€ ($14) for sessions from noon to 5pm, and 15€ ($20) for sessions from 5 to 8pm.

Skiing

We strongly recommend that if you're an avid skier, avoid the flatlands of Vienna completely and head for mountainous regions in western and southern Austria, particularly the Tyrol, Land Salzburg, the Vorarlberg, or perhaps Styria. (For more about the ski resorts of those regions, refer to this edition's companion guide, Frommer's Austria.)

If you're absolutely dying to go skiing and you're not able to wander far from the relatively flat landscapes in and around Vienna, there's a limited amount of skiing within about an hour's drive of the city, on the gentle slopes of Mount Semmering (the Hirschenkogl Ski Lifts) and Mount Schneeberg (the Rax am Schneeberg Lifts; tel. 02664/20025 for information about either venue). Most visitors find it infinitely easier to reach these areas by car, but in a serious pinch, you can ride the U4 subway to the Hütteldorf station, then take bus no. 49B to the city's far-flung 14th district. For additional information about skiing in Austria, either near Vienna or within the more appealing zones of the country's western regions, contact the Austrian National Tourist Office, Margaretenstrasse 1, A-1040 Vienna (tel. 01/588660).

Swimming

Despite the popularity of certain beaches on islands in the Alte Donau Canal in summer, swimming in either the Danube or any of its satellite canals is not recommended because of pollution and a dangerous undertow in the main river.

To compensate, Vienna has dozens of swimming pools. Your hotel's receptionist can tell you about options in your neighborhood. One of the most modern is in the Prater. For locations of any of the city's many indoor or outdoor pools, contact the Vienna Tourist Office, Obere Augartenstrasse 40 tel. 01/24-555).

Tennis

Your hotel might have a connection to a tennis court in Vienna, or might be able to steer you to a court nearby. Also see the listing for "Ice Skating," earlier in this section, for information about the courts at Wiener Eislaufverein. The Askoe-Tennis-Centrum-Schmelz, Auf der Schmelz 10 (tel. 01/982-1333; take U3 to Jungstrasse), is a modern complex with about a dozen outdoor courts. Depending on the time of day, prices range from 8.80€ to 12€ ($11-$16) per hour. An indoor court costs 14€ ($18) per hour. If nothing is available, we recommend that you contact one of the city's largest tennis agencies, Askoe Wien, Hafenleitengasse 73, in the 11th District (tel. 01/545-3131). It will direct you to one of several tennis courts it manages throughout the city and might charge a small referral fee.