Vienna

Did you know: Vienna is the world`s best city to live in!

Vienna has been ranked #1 globally in terms of quality of living for the past nine years now, according to the annual study by Mercer – a renowned consulting agency. The former capital of the Habsburg empire, a mere three hours southeast of Prague and west of Budapest, counts nearly two million people now. It provides a stable, peaceful living environment for professionals as well as for young families; a modern, clean and enviably reliable public transport system; and an impressive array of recreational spaces and facilities. Bei it art, architecture, sports, classical and modern music, dance, entertainment, cusine – Vienna offers everything. Come and discover it!

Vienna, the City of Music

Welcome to the world’s music capital! More famous composers have lived here than in any other city – in Vienna, music is literally in the air: Waltzes and operettas have their home here, and so do musicals "made in Vienna," which have conquered international audiences.

The city’s concert halls and stages offer the whole range from classical to progressive sounds with end-to-end festivals the whole year through. Opera fans will meet international stars here and jazz lovers will find a pulsating jazz scene. Pop and rock concerts provide unforgettable live music experiences.
For additional info, click:
https://www.wien.info/en/music-stage-shows/city-of-music

Architecture and design

Vienna’s architecture is booming: Dominique Perrault built the imposing DC Tower, Austria’s tallest building, Jean Nouvel constructed a modern hotel by the Danube Canal, and Coop Himmelb(l)au's angled residential tower nestles against the old gasometers. One of Europe's most modern railway stations has also been created with the new Vienna Main Station.
For more info, see: https://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/architecture-design

Lifestyle & Scene

Vienna is a city of many facets. Trendy clubs, "young" galleries, modern architecture and stylish shops are as much Vienna as the state opera, concert halls, the large museums, the splendid buildings and the nostalgic shops.

For additional info click: https://www.wien.info/en/lifestyle-scene

Shopping in Vienna

Shopping streets and pedestrian zones offer luxury goods and good values – at jeweler’s shops as well as antique stores, art stores, and fashion designer boutiques. Between flagship stores and shopping palaces, you can discover many things.
For addtl. info see: https://www.wien.info/en/shopping-wining-dining/shopping

Viennese Cafés

The Viennese coffee house is known around the globe for its informal pleasantness, as an oasis of gemütlichkeit. Traditional cafés entice with a wide variety of coffee drinks, international newspapers and pastry creations. Since 2011, the traditional Viennese coffee house culture has even belonged to the intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO. Modern representatives of the genre enrich the tradition with stylish flair. A close relative of the café is the pastry shop. Their specialty, pies and cakes, are the icing on Vienna's dolce vita in the form of Bundt cake and Sachertorte.
For detailed info on famous coffee houses, such as Cafe Central, Cafe Frauenhuber, Cafe Hawelka, see: https://www.wien.info/en/shopping-wining-dining/coffeehouses

Viennese wine & Heurige

Vienna is the only metropolis that grows enough wine within its city limits to make it worth mentioning. 700 hectares of Viennese vineyards leave their mark on the cityscape and its culture of pleasure. Wine growing has a long tradition in Vienna. White wines are grown in 80 percent of the vineyards, with the Wiener Gemischter Satz being a specialty. Nowadays, Vienna presents itself as a city with a lively wine scene. Viennese wine is enjoyed in the city's many bars and restaurants or on the edge of town in wine taverns that offer wine from their own vineyards and buffet tables piled high with home-made delicacies.
For additional info on select Heurige, wine cellars, or vineyards, see: https://www.wien.info/en/shopping-wining-dining/wine/heurige-2

Markets and districts

At the markets and in the surrounding neighborhoods, everyday life has its habitual Viennese rhythm: colorful and creative as well as leisurely. The stalls, eateries and bars are a natural shopping paradise, meeting place and sightseeing destination.

Naschmarkt

Vienna’s largest and best known market offers a mixture of Viennese and international specialities. Naschmarkt is the undisputed jewel in the crown of Vienna's permanent markets. Set between Karlsplatz and Kettenbrückengasse, the Naschmarkt is the mainspring one of the city's most interesting districts. Culinary specialities are always fresh and in bountiful supply here, no matter whether they are typically Viennese or exotic.
Saturdays with organic corner and flea market.
For additional info see: https://www.wien.info/en/shopping-wining-dining/markets/viennese-markets

Viennese cuisine

A true bon vivant will know that Viennese Cuisine is the only cuisine in the world to be named after a city. Viennese chefs draw on influences from various countries to conjure up exciting dishes that never fail to capture the imagination.

The Vienna bistro: The bistro, or beisl, is a typical Viennese dining establishment. Down-to-earth, cozy and traditional, it makes its mark on a booming restaurant scene.

The term 'beisl' probably comes from the Yiddish word 'bajiss', meaning 'house'. The classic Viennese bistro has a spacious bar, where wine is chilled and beer is poured, dark-painted wood paneling, simple tables and chairs and a mixed crowd. The kitchen is dominated by tradition: soup with pancake strips or dumplings, schnitzel and offal, goulash and tasty pastries, such as Palatschinken and Kaiserschmarren, set the tone of the menu.

Steman on Otto-Bauer-Gasse in the 6th district is a splendid example of a bistro. It celebrates the delicious traditions of Viennese cuisine and has been a meeting point for all generations for more than 100 years. A similarly long history with a nicely retained patina in the guest parlor can also be found at Rebhuhn in the 9th district, not far from the Sigmund Freud House. It is one of the frequently found corner bistros in Vienna, which are located at the junction of two streets.
For addtl. info, go to: https://www.wien.info/en/shopping-wining-dining/viennese-cuisine/beisl

Jewish Vienna

The history of Vienna's Jews is inextricably linked with that of the city. Museums and memorial sites provide reminders of this.

Until 1938, Vienna had a flourishing Jewish community with dozens of synagogues and prayer houses. The prevalent anti-Semitism of the time provided fertile grounds for the racism and terror of the Nazis, which started immediately after the occupation of Austria by the German Wehrmacht in March of 1938. Any Jew who owned something, was robbed: through “Aryanization,“ his property came into the possession of the state or of private persons who could “buy” at low prices. Both as famous as Sigmund Freud or as modest as a shoemaker or homemaker, 140,000 Austrians had to flee the country for “racial reasons”; 65,000 who could not escape were murdered.

Coming to terms with the largest crimes in the history of Vienna and Austria is a process that has lasted decades and is still not finished. Since the eighties (the Jewish Welcome Service was founded in 1980), the City of Vienna has made increased efforts to show the history and Jewish heritage in all its complexity.

Visit the Jewish Museum (at Palais Eskeles in Dorotheergasse), the Museum Judenplatz (with the subterranean remains of a medieval synagogue), the Holocaust Memorial at Judenplatz and the Memorial against War and Fascism at Albertinaplatz. A large region with tombs from the time before 1938 can be found in the Jewish section of the Central Cemetery (Access: 1st Door). In Vienna's district Rudolfsheim-Fuenfhaus the Audio Guide Vienna 15 (by mobile phone) leads to ten rememberance-sites: Listen to people who knew the former Jewish community.

For addtl. info, go to: https://www.wien.info/en/vienna-for/jewish-vienna

For LGBT

Vienna breathes LGBT history like almost no other European city. Homosexual emperors, warlords, princesses and composers once lived here. Today, the flourishing LGBT scene makes the city a perfect holiday destination.

For more info, go to: https://www.wien.info/en/vienna-for/gay-lesbian