Vienna Guide
Austria's capital is not just about gold-spangled palaces, stately boulevards and art nouveau elegance. Stylish music cafés and the majestic opera house coexist effortlessly with designer boutiques and contemporary architecture to create a heady mix of tradition and innovation.
The enormous gothic St Stephen's Cathedral is at the heart of Vienna's UNESCO-listed Old Town. Climb 343 steps to gaze over the Innere Stadt (city centre) with its baroque Hofburg palace and the grand Museums Quarter. Cross to the right bank of the River Danube and find the modern face of Vienna in the gleaming high rises of Donau City in the 22nd District.
Find antiques, contemporary art, second-hand clothing, chic boutiques and retro furniture along Schleifmühlgasse in the Freihausviertel quarter of the city. Seek out exotic foods and bric-a-brac at the Naschmarkt. Splurge on designer labels in the shops that line the Kohlmarkt or in the Ringstrassen Galerien. Stock up on urban fashions and vintage clothing in Mariahilf.
When the sun shines, relax in Vienna's parks. Find tranquillity in the gardens of the Belvedere palace, where thousands of flowering plants explode in an orgy of colour, or admire the baroque gardens at the Schönbrunn Palace. Thrill the children with a trip to Schönbrunn Zoo or the Prater funfair.
In a city that fuelled the genius of Amadeus Mozart, Johann Strauss and Ludwig van Beethoven, it is fitting to find a wealth of performance venues, with visitors vying for coveted Vienna State Opera tickets, listening to the Vienna's Philharmonic Orchestra at the House of Music and filling classical concert venues throughout the city.
Feel the decades peel away as you sip coffee and savour sweet Viennese pastries in one of the city's traditional music cafes. Splash out on fine views and food in the Palmenhaus, enviably located in the 19th-century Burggarten park, or soak up the ever-changing view from the lofty Danube Tower restaurant on Donauturmstrasse. Sample Viennese dishes like pork knuckle or Wiener Schnitzel (deep fried veal escalope) washed down with beer at the Schweizerhaus beer garden.
Leave behind your preconceptions about Vienna's cheesy Prater and take a ride on its giant Ferris wheel, which provides an ever changing perspective of the city.
