austria · Year round · best May–Sep
The Albertina, the Heuriger above the vineyards, the Naschmarkt at noon, the Volksgarten when the night arrives. Vienna is the European capital that has the least pretended to be one. The clientele has not changed in a hundred years. Neither has the Sachertorte.
Hotels
Book the room — handled personally.
Hotel · 5★ SuperiorThe Philharmonikerstraße institution behind the State Opera — 151 rooms, the original Sachertorte, the café that has run since 1876.
Hotel · 5★ · AnantaraThe Kärntner Ring palace built for the Prince of Württemberg in 1863 — the Ringstrasse address that hosted every state visit of the 20th century.
Hotel · 5★The Am Hof former bank building in the Goldenes Quartier — 143 rooms in vaults and marble halls, the indoor pool in the original bank vault.
Hotel · 5★ · Le Loft rooftopJean Nouvel's glass tower on Praterstraße — 182 rooms, Le Loft restaurant on the 18th floor with the city's most cinematic Stephansdom view.
Festive · clubs, line-ups, long lunches
Reserve the table for the night out — handled personally.
Restaurant-café · Danube CanalThe Schwedenplatz terminal building on the Danube Canal — the ship-shaped restaurant on top, the café on the canal level, the after-work address since 2010.
Georgian-Mediterranean · LeopoldstadtThe Praterstraße family room — Georgian-Levantine-Mediterranean crossover, the breakfast institution of the Leopoldstadt, the long lunch on the terrace.
Japanese · 1★ MichelinJoji Hattori's Krugerstraße Japanese — one Michelin star, the kaiseki room behind, the brasserie and sake bar at the front.
Lebanese · MariahilferThe Lebanese family kitchen on Schadekgasse — the meze tradition, the grilled lamb, the Vienna Lebanese the Beirut clientele defaults to.
Dinner club · OpernringThe underground dinner-club beneath the Opernring — live jazz and DJ programme, dinner format, the Vienna late-night the city does not otherwise have.
Rooftop bar · Innere StadtThe Hotel Lamée seventh-floor rooftop on Rotenturmstraße — the Stephansdom from above, the cocktail bar from May to October.
Rooftop bar · Kärntner StraßeThe Steffl department-store rooftop on Kärntner Straße — the 360-degree Vienna panorama, the bar the after-shopping crowd defaults to.
Rooftop bar · MuseumsQuartierThe 25hours Hotel attic-bar above the MuseumsQuartier — Vienna's most photographed rooftop terrace, the Hofburg framed between the chimneys.
Authentic · the quiet rooms
Reserve the quiet dinner — handled personally.
Pan-Asian · Haas-HausThe seventh-floor restaurant of the Haas-Haus — the Stephansdom at touching distance through the curved glass façade, the Do & Co kitchen at its most central.
Italian · TuchlaubenFabio Giacobello's Tuchlauben Italian — the room that has held the Vienna Italian-business-lunch standard for two decades, terrace on Stephansplatz.
Austrian · Tafelspitz institutionThe Wollzeile original — the Tafelspitz-only Vienna institution that has defined boiled beef as a serious dish since 1993.
Japanese · WiedenMartin Ho's Wieden Japanese — the largest of the Dots family rooms, sushi counter and grill, the Vienna Japanese the city compares to Zuma.
Austrian · DanubeThe riverside tavern on the Alte Donau — the wood-deck terrace over the water, the Schnitzel and the fried fish, the Vienna summer Sunday lunch.
Austrian · WollzeileThe Wollzeile institution since 1905 — the oversized Wiener Schnitzel that hangs off the plate, the canonical Schnitzel address of central Vienna.
Events · what's on this season
Book the experience — handled personally.
Museum · AlbertinaplatzThe Habsburg state apartments and the world's largest graphic-arts collection — Dürer, Klimt, Monet, Picasso, all within walking distance of the State Opera.
Museum · Maria-Theresien-PlatzThe Habsburg painting collection on the Ringstrasse — Bruegel, Vermeer, Velázquez, Rubens, and the café under the cupola that anchors any Vienna day.
Museum · MuseumsQuartierThe largest Egon Schiele collection in the world — 220 Schieles, plus the canonical Klimt and Kokoschka, in the MuseumsQuartier white-stone box.
Clubs & members rooms
Get on the list — handled personally.
Nightclub · BurgringThe Hofburg garden pavilion converted to a nightclub — the open-air pavilion in summer, the indoor floor in winter, the Saturday institution since 1957.
Nightclub · PratersternThe Praterstern club inside the Prater Dome complex — the central Friday and Saturday floor, the format that runs through to dawn.
Vineyards & cellars
Arrange the visit — handled personally.
Heuriger · KahlenbergThe Sirbu heuriger high on the Kahlenberg slope — the Vienna vineyard terrace with the Danube and the city spread below.
Heuriger · NeustiftThe Mitterwurzergasse heuriger in Neustift am Walde — the family wine tavern with the garden under the chestnut trees, year-round service.
Heuriger · StammersdorfThe Stammersdorfer Kellergasse heuriger on the far north of the city — the traditional wine cellar format, the Vienna vintners' own canteen.