I have to admit, until recently, Vienna wasn’t even on my radar.

Despite my love for imperial history, my fondness for Johann Strauss II’s music, and my binge of The Empress on Netflix – not to mention already having cruised parts of the Danube – the Austrian capital had somehow never made it onto my travel list. That all changed at the end of 2024 when a spontaneous invitation took me there. It took just four days for Vienna to sweep me off my feet. I fell hard – and now I’ll jump at any excuse to return and rave about it. It’s easy to see why The Economist crowned it the world’s most liveable city.

Perfectly poised between Western and Eastern Europe, and known as the gateway to the Balkans, Vienna is surprisingly accessible – primed for train travel and one of the shortest flights from the GCC to a European capital. And what a capital it is. Once the heart of the mighty Habsburg dynasty and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Vienna is a city of gilded palaces, imperial grandeur, manicured parks, and sweeping baroque boulevards. What struck me most was how fiercely it honours its traditions – waltzes, opera, stately coffee houses, concert halls, old-world cuisine – yet still pulses with creativity and modern flair.

Here, you can sleep in a palace, as I did, at the elegant Palais Coburg, once home to the Saxe-Coburg and Gothas, tiptoeing through grand staterooms steeped in history (now event spaces). You can book an opera or concert on any given night and watch people arrive in black tie. You can even learn to Viennese waltz with enthusiastic locals.

But Vienna is also cool. It’s cocktails worthy of The World’s 50 Best, Japanese-Italian fusion served to a soundtrack of ’70s disco, and natural wine poured in minimalist cafés. It’s this seamless blend of past and present that makes Vienna utterly enchanting. I visited as the festive markets were just opening, twinkling in palace courtyards and leafy parks. And yet, it’s summer that now tempts me most: for the Euro-cool al fresco lifestyle, the riverside escapes along the Danube, the greenery, the food markets, and the laid-back charm of its coffee culture.

Here’s where we went, what we discovered, and the local favourites our Viennese friends shared with us.
Welcome to our insider’s guide to Vienna. Because Vienna waits for you – Isabella

Vienna coffee shops and bakeries

Café Korb: a 1960s time capsule where guests sit in bentwood chairs watched over by portraits of the cafe’s owner, the powerhouse Austrian actress Susanne Widl.

Café Hawelka: Located in Vienna’s 1st district and described as ‘one of the last great traditional Central European coffee houses’. It is still run by the Hawelka family (three generations of them) and famed for its sweet rolls.

Ototo: A coffee-meets independant brand concept store and neighbourhood hangout, Ototo is a real treat. There’s a funky vibe, artisan coffee and lots of wholesome conscious brands.

Café Schwarzenberg: Vienna’s oldest Ringstrasse café opened in 1861 and popular with locals. Come for a mighty display of cakes and baked treats.

Café Goldegg: an old-school Viennese style café with retro furnishings dating back to 1910. A real favourite with locals, the interiors are all Art Nouveau with design pieces, old-world furniture and smiling staff bustling around.

Vollpension: German for ‘full pension’, Vollpension is staffed by smiling seniors keen to work, host and show off their warm hospitality. Feel like you’re in your lovely grandparent’s or neighbour’s own house as you’re served homebaked cakes. It’s steeped in warmth, nostalgia, and charm while also being a do-gooding social enterprise.

Ährnst bakery: A small-batch bakery on Bürggasse famed for its puff pastries and croissants. Join a queue of locals for the most morning vibes and coffee.

Wine bars

Café Natural Winebar Espresso: While the name suggests coffee, the real mission in this busy Burggasse cafe and bar is wine – specifically natural wine. It’s painfully cool, all Formica tables, faded murals, seats under shady trees and serves aperitif platters, great coffee and is a local favourite watering hole.

Bruder: Natural wine lovers should make a bee-line for Bruder, owners Lucas Steindorfer and Hubert Peter’s opnephile haven in Vienna’s hipster District 7. The bar serves up delicious finds from Austria and former empire lands of Czechia, Slovenia and Slovakia, alongside small plates where pickled fruits and vegetables come from bar-counter apothecary jars.

Rundbar: Also in the trendy District 7, Rundbar is a natural wine and cocktail bar decorated with Basquiat-style artwork. Natural wines are the focus, which you can sip from terrazzo table tops and pair with small plates like croquetas, fried oyster mushrooms or puntarelle with anchovy dressing.

Buschenschank Windischbauer: Set in the beautiful Nussberg mountains overlooking Vienna, Buschenschank Windischbauer (translating to wine tavern) serves largely natural wines with organic and nature food. All with bucolic views.

Heuriger Kierlinger: a rustic and cosy wine grower’s tavern run by the same family since 1787, serving hearty local food paired with delicious cheeseboards. Sit on long communal green benches and chat with locals.

Cocktail bars

Loos American Bar: The legendary bar designed by Adolf Loos has been around for over 100 years and remains as popular today as ever. At just 27 square metres, it’s the smallest bar in Vienna, and is a miss-mash melange of mahogany, brass, and onyx, clinking glasses and everyone from janitors to celebrities.

Sipsong Bar: in the Eighth, a gaudy, Bangkok-inspired hangout with the energy of riding a tuk-tuk through hawkerstalls. Favourite cocktails include the salted plum margarita or white jasmine negroni, while jars of pandan-infused gin line the shelves.

Restaurants

Cucina Itameshi: An Italian kitchen with a Japanese twist, filled with trendy Vienna locals. It’s housed in a former imperial coffee house, Dogenhof, dating back to 1899, and serves dishes like udon cacio e pepe and ramen-stye Bolognese to Seventies disco.

Doubek restaurant: From partners Stefan Doubek and Nora Pein comes a one-of-a-kind dining experience, complete with open kitchen where meats, fish and seafood are cooked using wood-fired ovens and on the barbecue. Settle in for the 16-course tasting menu served on handmade crockery paired with local wines.

Café Kandl: set in the edgy Seventh, Café Kandl is a relaxed spot with a creative, vegetable menu and plenty of natural wines. Highlights include the faux gras ( a mock liver pâté of mushrooms and wine gel) and roasted liver with creamy potato.

Bouvier: the bistro at The Hoxton Vienna – a Europe-meets-New York City-style space with cool furnishings and artwork and sharing plates. Expect a lot of good-looking locals with their dogs.

For Viennese cuisine

Buchecker & Sohn: A family-run establishment in District 4. Portions are generous, interiors are cosy and it feels like dining in an Austrian family’s home (which it technically is).

Restaurant Ofenloch: One of the oldest dining establishments in Vienna, reminiscent of the architecture and cuisine from the times of the monarchy. Expect old vaults, historic floors and refined Viennese cuisine.

Café Anzengruber: one of Vienna’s most established neighbourhood haunts still run by the founding family. The legendary Anzengruber goulash takes three days to make, and the schnitzel is said to be great as well. 

Glacis Beisl: one of the best places for traditional schnitzel in the heart of the MuseumsQuartier.

Wirtshaus Gmoakeller: A cozy restaurant and bar with original wooden floors, wooden wall panelling and warm, comforting vibes serving classic Viennese dishes.

Shopping

Zur Schwäbischen Jungfrau: For monogrammed pillowcases, napkins and bedsheets once made for the Habsburgs.

J&J Lobmeyr: Vienna loves a chandelier, and this is where so many of its most beautiful have long been made. The shop has been mouthblowing and hand-engraving chandeliers and stemware since 1823, with clients including London’s Bob Bob Ricard. For something more travel friendly, opt for a set of crystal cocktail or champagne glasses.

A.E. Köchert: one of the oldest jewellers in Austria, founded by Jakob Heinrich Köchert in 1814 and dubbed the ‘Jeweller of the Emperors and Kings’.

Museumsquartier: home of the city’s most famous museums, it’s also great for vintage shopping and contemporary Austrian design. Top places to visit include cafe/bar Burggasse 24 with its vintage clothing collection, the Eigensinnig Wien concept store with its own all-black clothing label, vintage curators Uppers & Downers and Wine Rebellion for Austrian grape.

BonBons Neubaugasse: Traditional Viennese chocolates and treats in a hole-in-the-wall-type space open since 1936. There are no plans to change it, and that’s what makes it special.

FLO Vintage: The spot for vintage shopping in Vienna, with everything from the 1880s to 1990s. Viennese are notoriously stylish, so you’ll find everything from Prada, Gucci and Valentino to eclectic indie brands.

Meidlinger Markt: An authentic Viennese market with an international touch in the 12th District. The focus is fresh, regional produce served in trendy little cafes and pop-up-style restaurants. This is a true taste of local life.

Vienna hotels

The Palais Coburg: Fans of The Empress, and history/old-world glamour lovers should look no further than The Palais Coburg – a former palace turned splendid grand hotel with just 35 suites. The hotel is the former home of the Saxe-Coburg family and many part feel utouches: rooms are mostly duplex and feel like grand apartments, there’s the boggest wine cellar in Vienna, a two Michelin-starred restaurant, plus a killer rooftop and indoor spa with swimming pool.

Hoxton Vienna: Perhaps the most fun address in Vienna, the Hoxton Vienna opened in summer 2024 in a 1950s modernist building a stone’s throw from leady Stadtpark in the affluent 3rd District. It has become the destination for Vienna’s cool crowd to converge, for coffee, cocktails, weekend brunches and co-working. Interiors are colourful, quirky, mid-century, and rooms are stylish, comfortable and functional.

Hotel Sacher: Many will have heard of Sachertorte – Vienna’s famous export of glossy, apricoty chocolatey goodness. Fewer may know of Hotel Sacher, the cake’s official home and a Viennese icon arguably known as the city’s most illustrious hotel. This is the property that host royals and dignitaries, from Emperor Franz Joseph and Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to Prince Rainier III of Monaco and Grace Kelly.

Amauris Vienna: Looking out onto the Ringstrasse, the 19th-century boulevard that wraps around the Old Town, Amauris feels like living in a jewellery box. Expect bold contemporary furnishings and black four-poster beds. It’s right by the Hofburg and has a beautiful indoor pool.

25hours Hotel Vienna at MuseumsQuartier: Playful, daring and design-led, 25hours sits in the city’s Museumsquartier surrounded by cultural attractions, and fans of the brand will feel right at home within its trendy, design-led public spaces and rooms. Rooms are fuss-tree and perfect for the modern explorer, there are meeting rooms and a rooftop with a cool cocktail bar.

Rosewood Vienna: a new addition to Vienna’s hotel scene, Rosewood bridges the gap between storied heritage and the modern luxury experience. The hotel has acquired a much-loved 19th-century building (formerly a bank) in the city’s 1st district close to many of its top sights.

Photography by WienTourismus/Erli Grünzweil, Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek, Julius Hirtzberger, Paul Bauer, Mafalda Rakoš, Lea Sonderegger, Evelyn Dragan, Mafia Mashi

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