One probably the most must-do task for me in Vienna was to visit grave of my idol Falco.
At 2.5 million square meters and containing 300,000 graves, Vienna Central Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in the world. Many prominent figures in music history – Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss, Schubert, Salieri as well as Falco and Udo Jürgens are buried here.
To reach it you need to take tram 71 (which stands for as a metaphor for death in Vienna) or tram 6. The closest underground stop is "Simmering". Central entrance to the cemetery is Zentral Friedhof Tor 2, it's there where you can get map, find info center (nothing in English) and also Funeral museum. But if you're interested in Falco grave only, Tor 3 is closer.
The dedicated bus line for the cemetery runs every half an hour from 9 am to 3:30 pm, and also at 4 pm and 4:30 pm on Saturdays. This saves walking long distances within the extensive cemetery grounds.
You have to prepare yourself in advance. The map you get is very basic and fully in German. But you can read the names of the most prominent figures and the sector they are buried in. There aren't many descriptions on the site, just the sector numbers and sometimes the map showing the location of numbered graves. At info center you can get a more detailed book with the descriptions of cemetery, but again it goes fully in German. Cost 10 Euros.
Most of the famous graves are in special groups known as Ehrengräber (honorary graves). There are four main sections dedicated to Ehrengräber, labelled group 32A, group 32C, group 33G and group 40. Aside from the Ehrengräber, it's also worth noting the Präsidentengruft (Presidential Crypt). This is where all the post-WWII Austrian presidents are buried.
Vienna Central Cemetery is the second largest cemetery in Europe. It covers a total area of 2.5 million square metres and is home to around 330,000 graves, approximately 1,000 of which are honorary graves. Viennese joke that the Zentralfriedhof 'half the size of Zurich and twice as much fun', as the cemetery is half as large as the city of Zurich. Zentralfriedhof has a dead population of almost twice the present living residents of Vienna. Between 20 and 25 funerals take place at Vienna Central Cemetery every day.
The complete information about:
Cemetery:
http://www.friedhoefewien.at/eportal/ep/channelView.do/pageTypeId/13689…
http://www.friedhoefewien.at/eportal/ep/channelView.do/pageTypeId/13576…
Falco grave:
http://www.viennatouristguide.at/Friedhoefe/Zentralfriedhof/Index_40_Bi…