VIENNA

Vienna is the capital of Austria, and one of Europe's prime cultural centers, with a high concentration of cultural attractions. Students will find that there are thousands of things to discover in and around Vienna.

The city is home to various international organizations like the UN Atomic Energy Agency, UNIDO and OPEC, and is consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities. Vienna unites culture, a beautiful environment and numerous leisure time facilities. Besides its traditional architecture (for example, the fabulous Schönbrunn Palace or the Imperial Palace), it offers a wide range of theaters, opera houses, museums and seasonal cultural offerings like the Vienna Film Festival in front of the City Hall in summer. In spite of all of this, the cost of living in Vienna remains surprisingly reasonable.

Vienna is one of the European cities with the best quality of life, partly because of its many parks. The Danube Island, for example, is perfect for all kinds of athletic and recreational activities, such as biking, swimming and skating, to name just a few. Traditional cafés are Vienna's favorite place to relax, leave stress behind, and meet friends or simply enjoy a good cup of coffee.

See http://www.wien.gv.at/english/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna for further information.