While the Central European nation of Austria recorded a record $46.71 million international tourists before the start of 2025, Austria still struggles to shed a reputation of not being as “exciting” as nearby European tourist hotspots such as Italy and France.
As the entire city of Salzburg is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracts fans of the 1965 movie “Sound of Music,” the “boring” reputation has most perniciously stuck to Vienna.
“It’s a common complaint among foreigners: that Austria’s capital city of Vienna is pretty boring for foreign residents,” local journalist Julia Hjelm Jacobsson wrote for TheLocal.at in 2023. Many of these accusations ultimately stem from Vienna’s smaller geographical size and the historical rather than modern focus of many of its popular sites.
“Who better to judge if Vienna is dull?”
Instead of trying to fight this reputation with finger-wagging and lectures, the Vienna Tourism Board has decided to take a more unconventional approach by inviting an entire village in Scotland to come to Vienna and judge for themselves whether it is “dull.”
The catch? The 100-person village in the central county of Perthshire is literally called “Dull.”
The tourism board is sponsoring a trip in which any interested resident of Dull can come to Vienna for a free stay at the luxurious Hotel Imperial during this January. They will participate in a curated itinerary highlighting the city’s top museums and restaurants, along with its music history (the city was home to Mozart and Beethoven — that means waltzing lessons).
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“While much of the world embraces Dry January and gym routines, Vienna begins the year in celebration mode, with more than 400 balls held each year, one of the world’s largest ice rinks and UNESCO-recognised culinary treasures,” Vienna Tourist Board wrote in announcing the campaign.
“And who better to judge whether Vienna is ‘dull’ than the citizens of Dull themselves?”
Vienna is also the home of the iconic Sachertorte dessert.
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Horseback riding, waltzing, and desserts: Vienna vows to impress residents of Dull
Dull, Scotland, actually gets its name from an old Pictish word for “meadow” that has no relation to the English word for “boring.”
Still, Conde Nast notes while writing about cities with unfortunate names, Dull is often viewed as a sister city to Boring, Oregon, in the U.S.
In order to further convince the residents of Dull, Vienna will give each one free horseback riding lessons at the prestigious Spanish Riding School and take them to try famous desserts such as the Sachertorte chocolate cake and Kaiserschmarrn sugar-coated pancakes.
Other classic destinations include the Kunsthistorisches and Naturhistorisches museums, as well as a tour of the Schönbrunn Palace — the luxurious summer residence of the Hapsburg rulers.
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“We’re proud of our museums, our concerts, our balls and our winter magic but we also enjoy a good sense of humor,” Vienna Tourist Board CEO Norbert Kettner said of the initiative.
“January is often considered the dullest month of the calendar, which is exactly why we wanted to bring Dull to Vienna. It’s the perfect opportunity to show how vibrant this season can truly be.”
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a trip.)
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