Situated in one of Vienna’s many beautiful and remarkable Art Nouveau buildings (already 110 years old!) this place combines great coffee with a special nostalgic atmosphere. Once you’ve entered the place you’ll recognize the many things that are to explore inside, from the many medal coffee badges and old fashioned lamps promoting Fanta lemonade, to that one of a kind cushioned telephone booth (maybe not suitable for claustrophobics).

This place represents one of Vienna’s traditional coffee houses, which means that there were already many generations spending time in here having a chat about life, discussing the latest urban news or reading one or another tome. Besides coffee and tea they offer a selection of Viennese pastries and cakes. Around lunchtime there’s also the possibility to enjoy an easily-affordable menu, maybe one of the reasons many students come here.

And when it’s getting warm outside you should definitely explore the Café’s terrace from which one can enjoy a view on the Wienfluss flowing by. Last but not least one should mention that the Café is open until 02:00 which makes it a great place to either start your night or get a caffeinated energy boost in between two club visits.

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Café Rüdiger Hof | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Viennese) | Strudel € 3.00
Hamburgerstraße 20 | Inner districts | +4315863138
09:00 – 02:00 daily

Ever felt the wish to abandon fork, knife and spoon for one evening? I for my part wish this quite often, so when I came to eat here the first time I was amazed see that I finally was allowed to do so.

After a long time, when there were not a lot of authentic African restaurants to be found in the city, this place turned out to be a culinary hot spot within the last few years. Situated in a former classic Viennese coffee house, this restaurant surprises with a little weird but enchanting Caféhaus meets Africa atmosphere.

Let’s get straight to business, the food itself! Most dishes are a combination of various appetizers, served on a big round Ethiopian bread that looks a little bit like a huge pancake and tastes rather like classic Austrian rye bread. And the fun’s already about to begin! After some moments of cluelessness how to fit any of these pastes and salads into your piece of bread without messing up the table, your hands and even your outfit completely, you’ll figure out quickly how to get these delicacies into your mouth.

And if you’re still a little bit hungry (unlikely because these dishes come in great portions), there’s also a coffee and popcorn tradition processed as a treat of the house, served by waitresses wearing traditional wardrobes, rounding up this extraordinary food experience completely.

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Ethiopian restaurant | Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Ethiopian) | Main meal € 7.50
Währingerstraße 15 | Inner districts | +4314020726
Tue – Thu 11:00 – 23:00, Fri – Sat 11:00 – 01:00, Sun 11:00 – 00:00

Feeling like having exquisite lunch or dinner in combination with a glass of fine wine these days? Flein’s situated right next to the beautiful Institut Francais building, Vienna’s French Cultural Institute, so there’s the great possibility to combine your meal with a little bit of rummaging around in French books, comics and music records or taking a walk in the spot’s beautiful garden.

Flein’s offering various dainties from all over, some endued with a little touch of French cuisine. So besides French classics such as Crème Brulée you should also give the international delicacies a chance, some of them will blow your mind.

One thing I really love about this spot is its cosy garden, hidden by many trees and offering a view direct into the Institute’s enchanting yard. Especially on a mild summer evening when crickets are chirping, the sun disappears slowly and the chains of lights hanging from tree to tree light this place up, it turns out to be a very nice place to spend your time at.

Of course, also in winter time Flein provides its guests with a cosy interior where you can warm yourself up with some tea or wine, watching snowflakes passing by outside the window panes…C’est si bon!

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Flein | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (French/Intern.) | Main Meal € 8.50
Boltzmanngasse 2 | Inner districts | +4313197689
Mon – Fri 11:30 – 15:00 & 17:30 – 23:00

Nomen est Omen. So, as the name (Donau = Danube) suggests, be prepared to have the feeling of diving into a world of lights, music and sombre colors when entering the place.

This is a great place to start your evening at. Maybe you’re just done enjoying contemporary art in Museumsquartier (check Museumsquartier article) or need a chill out after an exciting shopping expedition on Mariahilferstraße, so much the better coming here as it’s right next to a couple of urban hot spots!

Donau shows itself as a wicked combination of a place where you can have a beer or two, get to know the newest tunes and still are able to have a conversation, as the music’s volume is not beyond the convenient. There’s also quite stylish snack bar and some really comfortable original cinema armchairs giving the place a certain old school Viennese character.

And – I love this interior’s element – don’t miss catching a glimpse of the ceiling and the remarkable art installation giving you the feeling of actually floating lazily along the blue river…

Plus; if you already feel like gaining an impression of what your evening might be like or if you just want to see whether you like the music or not, there is also an online radio station you should check out!

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Das Donau | Bars, Music, Snacks | Beer € 3.00
Karl Schweighofer Gasse 10 | Inner districts | +4315238105
Open from 18:00 daily

While taking a slow walk through the city this place was discovered by incident. Being attracted to its colorful and creative appearance we crossed the street, trying to figure out what kind of place we were just about to explore.

Not really daring to enter right away we kept looking through a great window pane, behind which we could see a big room filled with colorful items we could not really classify in the first place.

Lucky us, we were quickly welcomed by a lively guy that turned out to be Viennese architect and local creative all-rounder Heidulf Gerngross.

So, still getting over the first flood of colors and impressions filling the place, we were introduced to its actual purpose: representing the editorial office of ST/A/R architecture magazine.

When you’ll be visiting the place you won’t be able to help recognizing a certain shape re-occurring all over the place, the Archiquant. Archi-what? Don’t worry, I wasn’t less clueless. It represents the main element of the architect’s latest work and I wouldn’t wanna miss getting Gerngross to share his enthrallment for the Archiquant and, besides that, Austrian Architecture with you, he really manages to carry you away with his enthusiasm.

So, if you consider yourself an architecture enthusiast or just feel like getting to know Vienna’s current artistic scene from a real authentic point of view, I’d highly suggest you to walk by this place!

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ST/A/R | Art & culture | Free
Gumpendorferstraße 42 | Inner districts | +436645213307
Tue – Thu 12:00 – 17:00

The first address after arriving in Vienna by train (if you arrive at the West-railway station and didn’t have coffee already at one of the modern cafés at the Bahnhofcity Wien West, check the article.) is this old traditional café.

Dark furniture, comfortable benches, and perfectly dressed waiters, that’s the Westend. Don’t expect to be warmly welcomed. The waiters, most of them as old as the place itself, are unfriendly and moody (they are getting more friendly recently!).

Yummy cakes, good coffee and the warm atmosphere let you forget about them immediately. Actually these moody characters make it a typical café in Vienna.

The location of the café invites all kind of types of people stopping by for a coffee and makes it also interesting to watch people. Somehow you have the feeling that many people have this hobby here – having a coffee and observing the situation.

There is a separated smoking area.

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Café Westend | Coffee & tea | Espresso € 2.20
Mariahilfer Straße 128 | Inner districts | +4315233183
07:00 – 00:00 daily

Situated near the very core of Vienna’s inner city this cinema is easy to find and offers makes it easy to round up your visit with a leisurely evening walk through Burggarten, which is right next to it.

Burgkino has been enchanting me from the very beginning with its decent, authentic and a little bit old fashioned in- and exterior. The big red letters above the entry promoting tonight’s shows, the small theatre café and those real cosy armchairs inside the auditorium make it feel very special watching a movie there.

All movies are shown in their original version, sometimes including English subtitles, and even on Sundays ticket prices stay fair. There’s always one of their “special performances” such as an independent documentary or a rather unknown road-movie. And let’s not forget about its participation in movie festivals!

And here’s the cherry on the cake! Burgkino regularly shows “The Third Man” which is, as you’ll read in your travel guide in case you have one, one of the few popular movies being filmed completely in and..well…partly under Vienna. A real authentic Vienna experience, you see?

But just as a warning, after watching don’t bother getting the movie’s catchy soundtrack out of your mind for the rest of your visit, you won’t succeed.

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Burgkino | Art & culture, Cinemas | Ticket from € 5.00
Opernring 19 | Inner districts | +4315878406
16:00 – 22:55 (daily showtimes)

Once you’ve entered the place you’ll be diving quickly into that lively and yet cosy hustle and bustle inside the place. Waiters suit up and tend to behave, just like in old times, a little bit snotty – not forgetting about spicing up that attitude with a hint of authentic “Wiener Schmäh” (Viennese Charm). So don’t be shy about talking to them when they’re not too busy .

For more than a 100 years now (!) Café Museum has been a part of Vienna’s Coffeehouse Culture. Local creative souls such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele or Otto Wagner came in here all through the years, so this Café distinguishes itself with a certain Viennese authenticity.

Café Museum is located nearby cultural hot spots such as the Vienna Secession and the Albertina, so, also the name is suggesting that, visiting the place goes along great with a museum visit.

There are comfy, red sofa-booths (offering a great opportunity to bounce up and down just like a child, by the way) right next to the window, so you can easily spend one rainy afternoon drinking tea, watching the busy city life passing by and indulge your sweet tooth with one of those many mouth-watering cakes.

Almost forgot about mentioning my favourite detail! If you’re visiting don’t miss looking up at the ceiling. There are some huge Christmas bauble-alike lamps hanging down, and I for my part love them!

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Café Museum | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Viennese) | Piece of Cake € 4.00
Operngasse 7 | Inner districts | +43124100620
08:00 – 00:00 daily

I just happened to stumble upon this place, not being aware of the possibility to find yet another cool shop in this area. Vienna taught me a lesson again, I should have known better.

If you ever are on the search for a record, a long-forgotten LP, a colorful gramophone or if you’re just in the mood for rummaging around in – as the name says- Old and New music treasures you should definitely pay this place a visit.

I have to admit, when I entered the shop I was quite overwhelmed by the loads of colors, discs and quirky stuff standing and hanging around all over the place. Or to say it with the words of my friend: “I’m not sure whether I should call this place dusty or cool”. There is a lot to explore actually! Besides evergreens, classic music and current hits, you’ll enjoy getting to know some special contains such as Viennese Lieder, Cabaret, Old Austrian student songs and a lot more..

And once you think you’re overseeing the place slowly one of the friendly shop owners may guide you to one of the two fully record-packed rooms that are hidden in the back of the shop…so make sure you’re not loosing track of time while exploring!

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Alt und Neu | Art & culture, Music, Shopping | LP’s from € 4
Windmühlgasse 10 | Inner districts | +4315862133
Mon – Fri 13:00 – 18:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 12:00

Here’s your chance to discover a brand spanking new Bistro right in the middle of Vienna’s university area: Nascha’s.

Nascha’s philosophy is simple: high quality food, student suitable prices, love for the extraordinary.

Being around university campus a lot of time I’m happy to have known this place right from the beginning and I can say: I am hooked.

When you enter the place you’ll first notice the spot’s sweet and enchanting style, beginning with the American diner alike wall paper and the colorful balloons hanging from the ceiling up to the original English school tables from the 60′s, 50 year old chewing gum beneath the table boards included.

Talking to the very welcoming shop owners I found out about the name’s meaning(s): Firstly it refers to the German expression “Naschen” which means “to nibble”, secondly it hints at the Russian expression for “Ours”. (Psst!..there actually is a 3rd meaning that the lovely staff will be happy to share with you if you ask them.)

And what’s most important, the food. There’s a regularly changing variety of luscious organic soups, bagels and quiches. I tried their soups a couple of times, so believe me when I say: they’re a real treat! Plus they have wide a range of sweet delights such as Fudge in a Cup, Ice cream filled fruits and a lot more of lovingly chosen appetizers.

Or to put it in the words of Theodor Fontane: “The magic lies within the detail.”

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Nascha’s | Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Intern.) | Bowl of Soup € 3.90
Garnisongasse 7 | Inner districts | +4319255636
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 19:00