Why Vienna is still Europe’s most brilliantly eccentric city

The Kunsthistorisches Museum is home to one of Vienna’s most famous art collections – Paul Bauer

Since its Eastern European hinterland opened up again, however, something surprising and rather wonderful has happened. Shorn of its former empire, this vanquished metropolis has become a cultural capital instead. The imperial stables have been converted into a thriving arts centre, the MuseumsQuartier, not just somewhere to see modern art, but somewhere to hang out. Behind its neoclassical facades are chic boutiques and cutting-edge galleries. The Naschmarkt, the city’s covered market, is buzzing with Balkan voices. During the past 30 years, I’ve been back here more times than I can count, and each time I return Vienna seems younger and livelier. Those old war widows have all departed, replaced by international students. Youngsters from its forsaken territories are returning here to work, to study, to fall in love.

What makes Vienna the world’s most ‘liveable’ city?

Time after time, Vienna comes top for quality of life in surveys of the world’s best cities. I asked a few locals what they like most about living here.

“You don’t have to be rich,” says Esther Attar, a blogger who’s lived here since 1983. “You can rent a nice apartment.” Strict rent controls keep prices down, she explains, and public transport is cheap – an annual season ticket costs just €365 (£305) for all buses, trains and trams, everywhere within the city limits.

“Accommodation is very affordable compared to London,” concurs Michelle Cotton, the British director of the Kunsthalle, who recently moved here from Luxembourg. “The apartments are beautiful.” Eating out is also a pleasure. “There’s an amazing gastronomic scene.”

Vienna’s surprising affordability means it’s often ranked as one of the world’s best cities – Paul Bauer

“I used to think Vienna was old-fashioned,” says Francesca Gavin, the artistic director of Vienna Contemporary. However, that was before she moved to Vienna. She came here from London in 2020, planning to stay for a few months. “I fell in love with the city,” she tells me. “I never left.” She was amazed by how cheap it was, but above all she adored the laid-back lifestyle. “In summer, Vienna’s a surf town – it’s very hot and everyone goes swimming.” She loves swimming in the Danube. “Here, life comes before work. You work to live as opposed to live to work, because you can afford to.”

Yet despite this creative renaissance, Vienna remains a city full of ghosts. Its greatest artist, Egon Schiele, is a sinister, tormented figure. Its boulevards are full of light and laughter, but in its twilit alleyways you often catch a whiff of guilty secrets. This was Hitler’s adopted hometown, where his anti-Semitism took root. Bernard Levin called the Jews the salt in the stew of Central Europe. Now that diaspora has disappeared, leaving a lingering sense of something missing. Sigmund Freud’s apartment, where he spent half a century, is empty. Rachel Whiteread’s Holocaust memorial depicts a nameless library: its books turned inward; their pages bare.

Maybe that’s why Vienna remains a city tinged with sadness; beautiful and magical, but melancholy nonetheless. For me, it’s still the city of The Third Man: Orson Welles as Harry Lime, lurking, smirking, in the shadows; that haunting zither music; the stench of betrayal and intrigue.

Orson Welles as Harry Lime in The Third Man – Alamy

And perhaps that’s why I end every trip with a sentimental visit to Vienna’s oldest cinema, the Burg Kino, where Carol Reed’s caustic meisterwerk is screened all year round. I went again this time, but it turned out I’d got my days wrong. The Third Man was on tomorrow and tonight was my last night. Instead, they were showing a new movie called Veni, Vidi, Vici. I bought a ticket. It was a black comedy about an Austrian millionaire who is a mass murderer. This audience found it very funny. I found it very spooky, and rather apt. For these young Austrians, the old Vienna is long gone, and they’re probably better off without it – but for anyone who feels the tug of history, the city of Johann Strauss will always have its darker side.

The Burg Kino is Vienna’s oldest cinema – Alamy

Where to eat and drink

Vienna’s coffee houses are more like private clubs than cafés. Everyone who lives here has their favourite, a place they go to virtually every day. Languid and secluded, they’re places to meet up in, but above all they’re places to unwind. The coffee is invariably excellent, served on a silver salver with a glass of water. Most of these cafés serve decent grub – and a vast array of seductive pastries. Café Sperl is especially elegant and atmospheric, but my home from home is Café Prückel, a cosy bolthole beside the stylish Museum of Applied Arts. For a hearty dinner, head for Oswald & Kalb, a traditional restaurant hidden down a sidestreet in the historic Innere Stadt, which serves Viennese staples such as tafelspitz and wiener schnitzel, and delicious draught beer on tap.

Try a Viennese staple like Wiener Schnitzel – Iryna Vlasenko/Alamy

Where to stay

The Sacher is Vienna’s most famous hotel, far smarter now than it was when Reed used it as a moody location for The Third Man. Staying here is unforgettable, but it doesn’t come cheap. Doubles (room only) start at £440 a night. If that’s a bit too steep for you (it is for me), you can just drop in for a coffee and a slice of Sachertorte, the hotel’s signature chocolate cake. For somewhere more informal and affordable, try 25hours, a funky modern hotel right by the lively Museums Quartier. Doubles from £114 without breakfast.

Visit the famous Sacher hotel for a slice of their famous chocolate cake

How to get there

Fly to Vienna from London Heathrow with British Airways or Austrian Airlines, or from Manchester with Austrian Airlines, Jet2 or Ryanair. Ryanair also flies from London Stansted. Wizz Air flies from London Gatwick. For more information about Vienna, visit wien.info.

William Cook was awarded the Johann Strauss Gold Medal for his reporting from Vienna.

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Publish date : 2024-09-23 04:47:00

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