Top 5 Spots for Culture Lovers in Vienna

Experience the Austrian capital’s cultural offerings by visiting art museums and celebrated coffeehouses of Vienna.

2 min read•Dec 02, 2019•By Sarah Iredale

Hi, I'm Sarah!

Sarah is an experienced copywriter specialising in travel, finance, and IT. Born and raised in Sri Lanka and India, and with stints living in the UAE and Oman, her love of South Asia and Arabia has seen her add travel writing to her record of copywriting for cross-sector global brands. Sarah has a BA Hons in History from Reading University and lives in East Sussex with her partner. When not working, she enjoys scuba diving, wild swimming, and woodland walks with her rescue Jack Russell, Charlie.

Hi, I'm Sarah!

Vienna is steeped in music, art, and history, making it a perfect destination for culture vultures. From enjoying its centuries-old passion for classical music at concerts to exploring its art museums and discovering its celebrated coffeehouses, here’s how to experience the Austrian capital’s cultural offerings.

Explore Vienna’s art museums

A visitor enjoys art works at the museum. | Photo Credit: Tupungato / Shutterstock

Vienna’s museums brim with classical, imperial-era, and modern art. Topping the agenda is the Art History Museum (Kunsthistorisches Museum), with works by Rubens, Rembrandt, and Bruegel, as well as ancient and classical treasures. Other institutions include Belvedere Palace, whose collections include masterpieces such as Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss and pieces by Monet and Van Gogh. Explore on a tour to benefit from a guide’s commentary, or save precious vacation time by prebooking admission tickets online.

Immerse yourself in classical music

Inside Vienna Operahouse. | Photo Credit: marcobrivio.photo / Shutterstock

The Austrian capital’s rich musical heritage lies in the great 18th- and early 19th-century composers—Mozart, Beethoven, and Strauss—who all lived in the city. The result is a rolling program of concerts staged in Vienna’s Hapsburg-era venues, with some including dinner and musicians in period costume. Popular options range from Mozart recitals at the State Opera House and Musikverein to wider classical concerts at the city’s churches.

See the horses at the Spanish Riding School

The Spanish Riding School is popular. | Photo Credit: horsemen / Shutterstock

The Spanish Riding School is entwined in Vienna’s history, having been established as a horse-and-rider-training school by Austria’s Hapsburg rulers in the 1500s. Its stables and arena lie within Hofburg Palace, and its stars are its dressage-performing, white Lipizzaner stallions. Watch a demonstration by booking a ticket, or get a behind-the-scenes look on a tour of the school.

Dive into Vienna’s coffeehouse culture

Sachertorte and coffee in the city. | Photo Credit: Frank Fell Media / Shutterstock

Coffeehouses and Vienna have gone hand in hand since the 16th century, serving not only as places to enjoy top-notch coffee and the city’s famously rich cakes, but as meeting places for great artists and writers. Tap into the tradition on a tasting tour of some celebrated cafés, or broaden your sights to include Vienna’s other culinary delights—such as chocolate and wine.

Discover the city’s Jewish Heritage

A museum in the Jewish Quarter. | Photo Credit: Roman Yanushevsky / Shutterstock

Vienna had one of Europe’s largest Jewish populations for centuries until the Nazis decimated it; today the city again boasts a vibrant Jewish community. Discover this key strand of its culture on walking tours around the historical Jewish quarter, seeing everything from ornate synagogues to memorials that mark the Holocaust as a guide explains the city’s deep-seated Jewish heritage.