Vienna, the capital of Austria, clings to
tradition
: just smell the timeless fragrances of roasted chestnuts and mulled wine at the Christmas markets that pop up around the city every December.
For many visitors, the city is sometimes a brief stop on a quick tour of
central Europe
, leaving little time to fully explore the historic center, called the First District.
Still, there's plenty to see and do in other districts, including some recently added cultural institutions.
The
Wien Museum
, the first place to learn about the city's history, reopened this month after three years of renovations, while the
Strauss House
, a museum and concert hall honoring the Strauss family of musicians, arrived in October.
Friday
16.00 / Explore the millennia
The Wien Museum, focused on the
city's history
, reopened on December 6 on Karlsplatz, a large square with a baroque church, and with several new wings next to large terraces, almost doubling its previous size.
The straight lines of the museum and the white cement complex of opulent marble erected by the Habsburgs, the dynasty that reigned in Austria for more than 600 years, like the
Belvedere
and
Kunsthistorisches
museum .
Postcard of Karlsplatz square.
Photo Joe Klamar / AFP.
The new (
free
) permanent exhibition traces Vienna's history through objects, including the outer wall of a shop that a Jewish businessman was forced to liquidate before fleeing Austria after the country was annexed by Germany. Nazi.
Regular Viennese people are focused more here as elites, for example, a painting by Gustav Klimt hangs near a 1900s folding bed used by servants.
18.30 / Try Japanese snacks
Sure, the
schnitzel
is good.
But Vienna's culinary scene has much more to offer than breaded veal.
Take, for example, Kikko Ba, an
izakaya
where the menu features Japanese bites made with
Austrian ingredients
.
This is the cafeteria of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Photo Shutterstock.
The meat tartare (16.90 euros, or about $18) comes with touches of artichoke cream and pieces of crispy kombu (dried kelp);
a storm bath, a fermented grape juice, with citrus juices, transforms raw sea bass into a brilliant ceviche (16.90 euros).
A creamy udon carbonara (€15.90) topped with chives (ubiquitous in Austrian cuisine), bonito flakes and dried seaweed.
Natural wines and drinks like a
yuzu spritz
and basil-melon margarita complement the joy of sophisticated food.
20.30 / Have a drink in a palace garden
All 17 in Vienna, or even at Christmas, the markets are the stop for Christmas shopping, for food and hot drinks, but each one has its own personality.
Belvedere Castle in Vienna.
Photo Shutterstock.
Up high, in the attic rooms and in the gardens of a palace
Centuries-old baroque, the
Palcaio Freiluft
market abounds in luxury.
Inside, vendors sell paintings, handmade candles, and Austrian honey.
Outside, heat lamps offer shelter while you sip a hot drink, like the Moscow Mule (€7.80), and eat käsekrainer
,
a cheese-stuffed dip (€13.90), or on
buckwheat
galettes.
(13.50 euros), folded crepes with various fillings.
A
curling rink
allows up to 10 players (5 euros per person for 30 minutes).
23.00 / Track the Gürtel
Along a long section on the
Gürtel
, the ring that separates Vienna's inner districts from its outer ones, the U-Bahn runs along the top of the viaduct, and below, between the arches, dirty clubs and bars have served as that, your own space.
During the weekends,
live music
spills into the streets, along with attendees carrying their cigarettes as if tied to their hands.
Colorful corner of Wiedner Gurtel and Prinz Eugen Strasse.
Photo Shutterstock.
Rhiz, a cozy bar with arches and brick walls, plus
cheap drinks
(3.70 euros for a small craft beer) attracts a laid-back crowd, indie bands and DJs who lean towards the experimental side of electronic music (the concert tickets cost around 10 to 15 euros).
Just about a 15-minute walk north is Venster 99, a compact bar with graffiti walls that's notable for punk or alternative shows (admission is chargeable if you wish).
Between the two there are more places to drink, dance or have a good time;
let your ear guide you.
Saturday
9.00 / Taste Viennese bread
Austrians are
proud of their bread
- and rightly so.
A piece of dense, seedless whole wheat bread is to Vienna what a baguette is to Paris.
Some bakeries in the city, including chains like Öfferl, Joseph Brot and Felzl, offer full
breakfast
menus .
One of Öfferl's bakery bistros in the third district, which is minimalist in its palette or concrete and neutral in its colorimetry, offers breakfast until 6:30 p.m.
Here, the
bäckerfrühstück
, or
baker's breakfast
(€17.50), includes rolls, creamy sour butter, jam, Alpine cheese and ham.
The vegetarian version (15.50 euros) exchanges the ham for balls of goat cheese.
For the curious, the menu mentions the Austrian producer of each piece of cheese, ham feta and egg.
10.30 / Buy reusable goods
In the chic Seventh District, where gabardine coats are plentiful and sweaters are thick, the
Spittelberg Christmas Market
, which stretches along a charming cobblestone street, has a new focus on reusable and recycled goods in 2023.
You'll find a shop selling Mongolian wool products and a street stall selling knives made from car parts.
Bring
cash
as some stalls do not accept card payments.
People browsing the shops of Spittelberg.
Photo Shutterstock.
There are many antique
shops
and boutiques nearby, including Volta Vienna, a home goods store that sells monochromatic sculptural vessels, mugs, candlesticks and more;
Graf&Grafin, with
soft leather
bags , delicate gold jewelry and eccentric goods such as candles shaped like women's bodies;
and Luv the Shop, which sells brightly colored clothing, including sweaters and party dresses from Scandinavia.
13.00 / Skate to your vacation
Glide along the narrow, windy, skateable paths
that
wind through the trees of one of the most notable Viennese Christmas markets, the Christmas market in front of the City Hall.
Twinkling lights hang from the trees and vendors sell mulled wine, gingerbread, a sweet roll with jam and vanilla sauce (“buchteln”) all in a Christmas atmosphere.
After the closing of this market on December 26, several additional rinks
were opened on January 19
under the name Wiener Eistraum or Viennese Ice Dream, almost tripling the total amount of area available for ice skating and occupying the entire square in front of it. to the City Council until March 3.
(If you book in advance online, admission for adults costs 9 euros, and admission for children costs 6.30 euros. The cost of ice skate rentals starts at 4.90 euros) .
15.30 / Meet the Strausses
Classical music may seem ancient, but 200 years ago, it was anything but.
Monument to Edmund Hellmer Strauss.
Photo Shutterstock.
There were some things that the 19th century Viennese loved to do more of in their leisure time rather than polishing the dance floors with
romantic waltzes
or energetic gallops.
The
Strauss House
, a museum and music hall is a beautifully and skillfully restored 19th-century building, using technology, historical images and audio are shared to raise awareness of the story of the iconic Viennese family.
Johann Strauss and his son, Johann Strauss II, the composer of the Blue Danube waltz, are considered by some historians to be the first
pop stars
: they printed portraits of themselves on musical sheets displayed in the museum, and traveled around the world. world to give their concerts and festivals (23 euros for adults).
18.30 / Enjoy an aperitif
Italian influencers
are
making a big splash in Austria;
After all, the two countries share boundaries.
Stop at Monte Ofelio, a bar and cafe in the
Second District
for a perfectly executed Negroni Sbagliato, a drink made with vermouth, prosecco and Campari, or for a glass of wine.
Hofburg Palace on St. Michael's Square.
Photo Shutterstock.
Continue the Italian theme at Skopok & Lohn, an example of one of Vienna's new styles,
beisln
, Viennese slang for
traditional
restaurants .
Italian dishes
loved
by Austrians are given an extra touch, such as gnocchi, served here with sliced truffle and parmesan foam (22 euros), and enjoyed alongside classics such as
beef
schnitzel
(26 euros) and steak tartare (15 euros).
21.00 / Enjoy the views aboard a boat
Badeschiff Wien, a
boat with a bar
and restaurant, is moored on the long canal that runs through the center of Vienna.
From the deck, you can see the
majestic buildings
of the historic center against the graffitied walls on the canal, embodying the opulent but slightly disheveled feel that is part of Vienna.
Believe it or not, it's possible to swim in the unheated
pool
on the deck all year round, but if dipping into really cold waters isn't your thing, fear not: from November to March, the Badeschiff opens several curling rinks (30 to 45 euros to rent a track for 30 minutes).
While you play, stay warm with
winter drinks
like mulled wine with spiced rum or apple punch with whiskey (€7.50).
23.30 / Continue the party until dawn
Vienna is not Berlin if we talk about nightclub culture, but there are some places where this is similar.
If you're looking for the dancing-until-dawn and hardcore techno experience,
Das Werk
, on the banks of the Danube Canal, is the place to go (although unlike some exclusive clubs in Berlin, at Das Werk your dress code isn't relevant ).
Goldener Saal (Golden Hall) concert hall of the Wiener Musikverein in Vienna.
Photo Shutterstock.
Here, the party doesn't start until before 11pm, when the crowd becomes hypnotized by the DJ - or by the light show on the walls around it.
If you take a break outside, check out the
art gallery
outside;
Several years ago, street artists from all over the world were invited to decorate the walls of the buildings around Das Werk with large-scale murals.
Admission costs 10 to 15 euros.
Sunday
9.00 / Time to travel during coffee
Viennese café culture dates back to the 17th century;
In 2011, it received the nomination and designation as
Intangible Cultural Heritage
by UNESCO.
Tour guide books send tourists to
Café Central
, where Sigmund Freud was a customer, and also to Café Landtmann, a meeting point for politicians.
View of Vienna from above.
Photo Shutterstock.
But the Viennese tend to prefer coffee shops that are cheaper, simpler and a little more informal, with waiters who look as if they are actually doing something else more important.
Grab a drink at
Café Rudigerhof
, established in 1902, where newspapers stayed “old school” with wooden magazine racks and simple breakfast.
A mixture (coffee with steamed milk and foam), with an egg and two rolls with butter and honey jam, will cost you about 7.10 euros.
Don't miss a Viennese classic: two peeled eggs gently boiled in a wide-rimmed glass with a spoon.
The payment method here is cash only.
10.30 / Preheat in the sauna
When the weather is cold and frightful, nothing beats a
sauna
session and a hot soak.
Therme Wien is just the place for a morning of self-care.
It's not five-star luxury, but it's clean and spacious, with a bistro and restaurant, views of the park, and peaceful areas with miniature fountains.
The resort offers swimming pools, slides, saunas and hot whirlpools.
The sauna section is done
without clothes
(minimum age to enter, 14 years), with areas for women, men and mixed gender.
Entering the nude section with clothes on is a big faux pas.
The spa offers scrubs and massages, but be sure to book treatments well in advance.
(Entry for three hours costs 28 euros, and saunas involve an extra 12 euros. A towel to rent, 6 euros).
Key stops
Wien Museum, which traces 2,000 years of the Austrian capital's history through objects, includes relics of working class and Viennese life as well as fine art.
Palais Freiluft, inside a baroque palace and its garden, is the Christmas market choice for those who want a little more luxury.
Kikko Ba is an izakaya that combines Japanese influences with Austrian ingredients.
Badeschiff Wien, a floating canal boat that passes through the center of Vienna, has several curling rinks on its decks, and a menu of hot winter drinks.
Where to eat
Rhiz is a music lounge and bar where DJs spin experimental electronic tracks.
Venster 99 is a sloppy but still welcoming bar and hosts concerts.
It has a “pay what you want” policy.
Öfferl, a bakery with a minimalist atmosphere, has a wide selection of breads and an all-day breakfast menu at two of its locations.
Monte Ofelio, a bar and café, takes Italian appetizer culture seriously, with cheeses and meats imported from Italy, and a perfect Negroni Sbagliato.
Skopik & Lohn offers Austrian classics such as wiener schnitzel, along with Italian dishes loved by Austrians, namely gnocchi and vitel toné.
Das Werk is a club with a strongly techno style, where the party doesn't start until at least 11 p.m.
Café Rudigerhof, established in 1902, offers a 15th-century Viennese café experience, with simple breakfasts and Austrian coffee drinks.
Where to stay
Rosewood Vienna is a luxurious hotel and renovated building from the 19th century, in a neoclassical style, where the rooms have been beautifully restored with design based on references from Viennese history.
The upstairs bar offers stunning views over Vienna's historic centre.
The rooms have a cost from 525 euros or 565 euros per night.
Hotel Indigo Vienna- Naschmarkt is a cozy and chic four-star hotel located just a short subway ride to the first district, a route that is also easy to do on foot, to the boutiques, bars and restaurants of Vienna. the most fashionable districts of the city.
The rooms are priced from 149 euros.
Hotel Babula am Augarten offers prices without compromising space.
The rooms are airy, with high ceilings and large windows.
Don't expect to find a TV or minifridge in your room, although the hotel's restaurant, Pizza Randale, is located just below.
The rooms cost around 62 euros.
For short-term rentals, consider the second district for its green areas and abundance of restaurants, as well as its easy access from other neighborhoods;
or the 7th arrondissement for its diverse shops, brunch spots, and adorable patios and gardens.
The New York Times. Special for Clarín
Translation Patricia Sar