Vienna: Now, Forever

Vienna owes its universal appeal to the way it excitingly combines imperial nostalgia with a highly creative cultural scene, responsibly cultivating a precious heritage and charming traditions whilst taking on board the latest trends. Architecture dating from imperial times has left an indelible mark on the city. Magnificent edifices, predominantly in baroque, historicism (“Ringstrasse”) and art nouveau styles, and the city’s grand scale cause you to forget that this is the capital of the small Republic of Austria with around 8.8 million inhabitants.

A stroll around Vienna can be like a journey back in time to the days of the empire – it comes as no surprise that the historic city center is a UNESCO world cultural heritage site. Vienna boasts 27 palaces and 163 other residences – examples of the city’s illustrious history await on virtually every street corner and the capital’s coffee houses are the perfect places to dream of imperial days of yore. And if you are interested in shopping you can visit one of the former purveyors to the imperial court.

The world’s largest Bruegel collection and the prettiest kiss immortalized by Jugendstil genius Gustav Klimt in his world famous painting can only be found in Vienna. The cultural capital is also a place where you can discover a rich diversity of styles and eras. Baroque opulence and cool avant-garde coexist in an exciting creative environment. Pieces by talented young designers now hang in the ornate staterooms and are just as impressive as the old masters found in Vienna’s modern museums.

Every night in Vienna around 10,000 music fans are treated to live classical music, something that is simply unheard of in any other city in the world. Each year the Vienna concert schedule includes more than 15,000 events of various sizes and genres. No other city has been home to so many composers – Mozart, Mahler, Haydn, Beethoven and Johann Strauss, the king of the Viennese waltz, all worked in the city.

Life is good in Vienna. What the Viennese have long known to be true has now also been officially confirmed: The Mercer Study chose Vienna as the world’s number one most livable city for the tenth time in a row. According to the "Smart Cities Index" of US climate strategist Boyd Cohen, Vienna is currently in third place in Europe and therefore near the top of the list of the most innovative, environmentally friendly and sustainable cities. The ranking also attests to the city's pioneering roll in matters of urban development. The reason for this outstanding quality of life? Vienna has more green space than virtually any other city. It is a place where you can relax – there are even parks in the heart of the city – or enjoy sport. The Austrian capital also has excellent infrastructure and is one of the safest major cities on earth.

Viennese cuisine is the only type of cooking in the world that is named after a city. The Viennese coffee house is known around the globe for its informal pleasantness, as an oasis of gemütlichkeit. No wonder that the bistro, taverns and cafes are the foundational pillars of Vienna’s culture of food pleasures in all its enticing variety.

It’s easy to enjoy the green of springtime in Vienna – after all, green spaces account for more than half of the urban area. These include 280 imperial parks as well as the large recreational areas in and around the city. Other than that, Vienna has all sorts of open-air pleasures to offer in spring and early summer – from the "Schanigarten" outdoor seating areas in front of cafés to the opera experience under a canopy of stars.

More than 50 kilometers of beach in every guise ensure that summer feeling in Vienna. Summer pools and the shoreline of Danube Island are as much a feature as the urban beaches in the Old City. An evening in the open-air cinema is as much a part of Vienna's summertime lifestyle as flying visits to all manner of open-air events.

From walks and hikes in the autumnal Vienna Woods, visits to wine taverns and music events, to 30,000 lights at the Vienna Magic of Advent – that's how diverse the city on the Danube can be in autumn and early winter. Exhibitions, festivals and Advent markets do what they know best to thrill bon vivants in Vienna.