After looking over these basics, check out these ideas for a shorter and longer visit to Vienna.
Public transit in Vienna.
Wiener Linien runs a fantastic public transit system. Check the prices for the various multi-day passes. We always by a weekly pass for each person if we will be in town for a whole week (Monday-Sunday) or a monthly pass if we will be in town for a whole month. These passes pay for themselves with just one round-trip on public transit per day. Note, they don’t tell tourists about these passes, just ask for a “Wochenkarte” or a “Montaskarte”.
If you are in town for parts of weeks, then consider the 8-day pass. This pass is much more expensive than the weekly pass, but can be used on non-consecutive days or by more than one person. It needs to be stamped once each day for each person travelling. Note that multiple people using a single 8-day pass have to stay together when travelling.
Cell phones
Austrian carriers all use GSM, the same standard as AT&T and T-Mobile in the USA. If you have a phone from one of these two carriers it may work in Austria, you should check with your carrier.
An iPhone with an AT&T plan will definitely work. However, the roaming charges from AT&T are outrageous. If you are leaving the AT&T SIM in your iPhone, make sure to disable data roaming (look in Preferences). Another option is to use a Austrian SIM while you are in Austria.
Renting an apartment
If you will only be in Vienna for a few days, check out Benedictus Haus for inexpensive rooms in the heart of the old city.
For longer visits we love the 19th district and these folks have apartments on Grinzinger Allee. Look for apartment 402.