viennacontemporary Artistic Director shares her favorite locations in the City of Vienna.

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1. Cafés

📍 Café Sperl, Gumpendorfer Str. 11, 1060 Vienna
📍 Café Bräunerhof, Stallburggasse 2, 1010 Vienna

You have to go to a Café in Vienna! As a coffee junkie, there are more than enough choices here. I tried the apple strudel in every single historic Café in town. The two best apple strudels in Vienna are at Cafe Sperl with its stunning interior, and Bräunerhof, where author Thomas Bernhard used to write in a corner.

 

 

Images: 1. Cafe Sperl, Till F. Teenck; 2. Cafe Sperl, Paula Soler Moya, 3. Cafe Bräunerhof, Andreas Praefcke

 

 

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2. Parks

📍 Augarten, Obere Augartenstraße, 1020 Vienna

There are some really beautiful parks here. I really like Augarten in the second district. It’s got some pretty crazy Nazi bunkers in there but it’s a peaceful space. It is in a district you may not necessarily visit otherwise, but it’s quite close to the fair, it’s got a lovely cafe, and it’s just a nice place to walk.

 

 

 

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3. Restaurants

📍 Beaulieu, Palais Ferstel Passage Herrengasse 14, 1010 Vienna

Food is a lot better in Vienna than people would expect. I have had incredible food here. One of my favorite restaurants is French. It is called Beaulieu, in the arcade behind Cafe Central. You feel like you’re in a Victorian arcade in Paris in 1870. Order the sardines on toast! The Tartines Bretonnes are also really good!

 

Image: Beaulieu, Dylan Ferraro

 

 

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4. Art Museums

📍 mumok, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna
📍 Kunsthalle, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna
📍 Leopold Museum, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna
📍 MAK, Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna
📍 Secession, Friedrichstraße 12, 1010 Vienna

I would recommend mumok which is the Museum of Contemporary Art here, Kunsthalle, and Leopold Museum, which are all located in the MuseumsQuatier. I have a very soft spot for MAK and Secession – MAK with a focus on design and the history of design and, including designs by Helmut Lang, has an incredible archive, and Secession has, in my opinion, one of the best programs for contemporary art internationally.

 

 

Images: 1. mumok, Julius Hirtzberger ©WienTourismus; 2. Leopold Museum, Gregor Hofbauer © WienTourismus; 3. secession, Christian Stemper © WienTourismus; 4. Kunsthalle, Jorit Aust; 5. MAK, C.Stadler/Bwag

 

 

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5. Drinks

📍 Kleines Café, Franziskanerplatz 3, 1010 Vienna
📍 Loos Bar, Kärntner Durchgang 10, 1010 Vienna
📍 Café Savoy, Linke Wienzeile 36, 1060 Vienna

Having an Aperitivo and sitting outside in the sunshine in that late summer sunshine is a very Vienna thing to do. I would recommend having a drink at either Das Kleine Cafe if you’re in the first district, which is beautiful and has got a lovely little square outside where you can sit. The Loos Bar (or American Bar) is iconic for its cocktails, it’s a tiny little place, and I recommend reserving. Or, if you’re a little bit more queer-focused, visit Café Savoy, next to Naschmarkt, a big food market. All those places are really fun places to go for a drink.

 

 

Images: 1. Cafe Savoy, Courtesy of Off Beat Budapest; 2. Kleines Cafe, Courtesy of Sommer Tage; 3. Loos Bar, Courtesy of Chapter Magazine

 

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Cover image: Beaulieu, Linda Serafina Vogel

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