Walking Tours
There are several tours available in English (and many more in German), as part of the Vienna Walks programme (tel: (01) 774 8901; website: www.viennawalks.com). These vary from ‘Vienna in the Footsteps of The Third Man', which scouts out the locations of the famous film, to tours of the homes of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. Other popular options include tours focusing on a historical period, Jewish life in Vienna, or the underground city of crypts and wine cellars. Tours take one and a half to two and a half hours. Any admission fees and transport on the U-bahn, trams or buses are extra.

Vienna With Love (tel: (01) 889 2806; website: www.verliebtinwien.at) offers a programme of walks in both German and English. The walks vary, but include art nouveau architecture, medieval quarters and hidden courtyards, or the Imperial Palace. Tours are between 90 minutes and two hours, and there is a minimum of three walkers per group, although individual tours can be pre-arranged.

Bus Tours
Vienna Sightseeing Tours (tel: (01) 712 4683-0; website: www.viennasightseeingtours.com) offers a number of half-day city tours, among them a three-and-a-half-hour ‘Historical City Tour', which includes a visit to Schönbrunn Palace and free hotel pick up. There are also full-day excursions to Prague, Budapest and other locations.

Cityrama (tel: (01) 53413-0; website: www.cityrama.at) offers a similar full city tour, as well as number of other tours of Vienna and other destinations, in both German and English. The ‘Sisi Tour' (Sisi is the name given to Emperor Franz Joseph's wife, Elisabeth) covers the historical sites of the city and includes a visit to St Stephen's Cathedral, Hofburg and a training session at the Spanish Riding School. The tour lasts three hours and includes free hotel pick-up.

Redbus City Tours (tel: (01) 512 4030; website: www.redbuscitytours.at) organises two tours of the city, one sticking to the attractions along the Ringstrasse and within the Innerestadt, and the second taking in all the sights of the first plus a handful of those on the outskirts of the city.

Boat Tours
The DDSG Blue Danube Schiffahrt GmbH (tel: (01) 58880; website: www.ddsg-blue-danube.at) offers several cruises on the River Danube. Most are available only from mid April to mid October, but The Danube Round Trip is available year round. The two sightseeing tours, the ‘Grand Danube River Cruise' and the ‘Hundertwasser Tour', go between Schwedenplatz and Reichsbrücke and it is possible to take one tour in one direction and return on the other tour. Each tour lasts 70 to 100 minutes. They also offer themed cruises and evening dance cruises.

Other Tours
Pedal Power, Ausstellungsstrasse 3 (tel: (01) 729 7234; website: www.pedalpower.at), provides three- to four-hour bicycle tours departing from the Prater ferris wheel, daily at 1000 May to September. Price includes a bike and guide, and the tours cover a number of city sites, such as KunstHausWien, St Stephen's Cathedral and the Danube Canal.

The Old-Timer Tramway is a sightseeing tour on trams that date from 1929. The tour departs from the art nouveau subway pavilion at Karlsplatz on Saturday and Sunday May to October. Tickets and information are available from the information office of the Vienna Transport Authority, Karlsplatz (tel: (01) 587 3186 or 790 9105; website: www.wienerlinien.co.at). Points of interest include the Rathskeller, the Burgtheatre, the University of Vienna, the Schönbrunn Palace and the Riesenrad. The tour lasts for approximately one hour.

Alternatively, a romantic, albeit expensive, way for visitors to see the city is by a traditional Fiaker (horse-drawn carriage). These are available for hire at Stephansplatz just to the north of St Stephen's Cathedral, at Heldenplatz (near the Hofburg) and at Albertinaplatz (behind the Staatsoper). The prices and lengths of the ride must be negotiated in advance.