Basic facts

Time: Austrian time is on Central European time, one hour ahead of GMT/UTC. If it's noon in Vieanna it is 6am in New York and Toronto, 3am in San Francisco, 9pm in Sydney and 11pm in Auckland. Clocks go forward one hour on the last Saturday night in March and back again on the last Saturday night in October.
Note that in German halb is used to indicate the half-hour before the hour, hence halb acht (half eight) means 7.30, not 8.30.

Electricity: The voltage used in Vienna and throughout Austria is 220V. Sockets are the round two-pin type, which are standard throughout most of Continental Europe. North Amer- ican 110V appliances will need a transformer if they don't have built-in voltage adjustment.

Health: EU and EEA (European Economic Area) nationals receive free emergency medical treatment, although payment may have to be made for medication, private consultations and nonurgent treatment. To receive treatment, you'll need to present a European Health Insurance Card (called the ecard in Austria) to take advantage of reciprocal health agreements in Europe; arrange one before leaving home. Nothing, however, beats having full health insurance.
If you're staying a long time in Vienna it would facilitate matters if you get a certificate from the health insurance office, the Gebletskrankenkasse (Wienerbergstrasse 15-19; (9 7.30am-2pm Mon-Wed & Fri, 7.30am-4pm Thu). This office can also tell you the countries that have reciprocal agreements with Austria (the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand don't).

Tipping: Tipping is part of everyday life in Vienna; tips are generally expected at restaurants, bars (even ordering a beer at the bar normally incurs a tip), cafes and in taxis. In service establishments, it's customary to round up smaller bills (to the nearest 50 cents or euro) when buying coffee or beer, and to add 10% to the bill for full meals; taxi drivers will expect around 10% extra. Tips are handed over at the time of payment: add the bill and tip together and pass it over in one lump sum. It doesn't hurt to tip workers, hairdressers, hotel porters, cloakroom attendants, cleaning staff and tour guides a euro or two. If you think the service stinks, voice your disapproval by not tipping.

Metric System: The metric system is used. Like other Continental Europeans, Austrians indicate decimals with commas and thousands with points. You will sometimes see meat and cheese priced per Dag, which is an abbreviation referring to 10g (to ask for this quantity say 'Deca).

Telephone: Austria's country code is +43, Vienna's is 01. Free phone numbers start with 0800 or 0810, while numbers starting with 0900 are pay-per-minute. When calling from overseas drop the zero in the Vienna code. When calling a Vienna number from within Vienna, the Vienna code is not required; however, when calling Vienna from elsewhere in Austria (or from a mobile) the code needs to be used. Directory assistance is available on 11 88 77 and international assistance on  0900 1188 77.
Telekom Austria is Austria's main telecommunications provider and maintains a variety of public telephones throughout Vienna. These take either coins or phonecards and a minimum of € 0.20 is required to make a local call. Many post offices have phone booths where both international and national calls can be made; rates are cheaper from 6pm to 8am Monday to Friday, and on weekends. Another option is call centres; they're generally found in the outlying districts and offer very competitive phone-call rates.

Mobile Phones: Austria's network works on GSM 1800, and is compatible with GSM 900 phones (Handy in German), but generally not with systems from the USA or Japan. Handy numbers start with 0699, 0676, 0664, 0660 and 0650. The major Handy networks - Drei, One, A-1 and T-Mobile - sell SIM cards with €10 worth of calls for €39. Telering, a smaller operator, has SIM cards for €30 with €30 worth of calls. Refill cards can be purchased from supermarkets and Traffic (a chain of tobacconists) for €20 or €40. Reciprocal agreements with overseas providers do exist, but its best to check with your local network before leaving home. Also, confirm your phone is unlocked before buying an Austrian SIM card; your home network will do this.

Phonecards: There's a wide range of local and international phonecards. You can save money and avoid messing around with change by buying a phonecard (Telefon-Wertkarte); they come in various denominations, some of which give you extra calls for your money.