Viennese wine & Heurige

  

Vienna is the only metropolis that grows enough wine within its city limits to make it worth mentioning. 700 hectares of Viennese vineyards leave their mark on the cityscape and its culture of pleasure. Wine growing has a long tradition in Vienna. White wines are grown in 80 percent of the vineyards, with the Wiener Gemischter Satz being a specialty. Nowadays, Vienna presents itself as a city with a lively wine scene. Viennese wine is enjoyed in the city's many bars and restaurants or on the edge of town in wine taverns that offer wine from their own vineyards and buffet tables piled high with home-made delicacies.

The Viennese Heurige

They are as famous as the Giant Ferris Wheel, Schönbrunn Palace, the Vienna Boys Choir or the Lipizzaner.

The real Viennese “heurige” or wine taverns. Numerous songs have been dedicated to them; they have served as a backdrop for many films. However, in the legendary comfortable atmosphere, they primarily offer the Viennese and their guests entertainment, fine Viennese wines and the fitting culinary accompaniment. A place in which to feel good, in which everyone is warmly welcome. The real Viennese heurige, in which only Viennese wines are served, are identified by a bunch of pine branches and by the word “Ausg’steckt” written on a board, which simultaneously shows when the tavern is open.

However, the word “heurige” does not just describe the tavern itself, but also the wine from the current vintage, which – in accordance with tradition - may be so-called until 11 November (St Martin’s Day). Alongside the pleasant wine by the glass, the Viennese heurige also offer their guests fine wines sold in “bouteillen” (0.75 litre bottles), reflecting the richness of the variety and the special Viennese climate, and corresponding glass and tableware. And sometimes, with a little luck, “live music” can even be heard in the secluded gardens or homely parlours...

  

  

Viennese cuisine

A true bon vivant will know that Viennese Cuisine is the only cuisine in the world to be named after a city. Viennese chefs draw on influences from various countries to conjure up exciting dishes that never fail to capture the imagination.

  

Restaurants in the Old City

At every turn in the Old City you will find Viennese cuisine just as it is meant to be served, with traditional meals ranging from schnitzels to goulash.

  

Bitzinger's Augustinerkeller

At the heart of Vienna, directly beneath the Albertina, you can indulge in traditional Viennese cuisine, delectable Austrian wines and Vienna’s own Heuriger music. Be it in the historic basement vault or the stylish vinotheque: Your pleasure is our business!

  

Figlmüller

Figlmüller is celebrated for its fabulous schnitzel and has symbolised Vienna’s incomparable lifestyle for over 110 years. Young and old alike enjoy meeting at this restaurant to savor its Viennese cuisine and quality wines.

  

First by Rosenberger

The market restaurant offering classic Viennese dishes, Italian pasta, steaks, grilled delicacies, and an all-you-can-eat buffet. 1 main dish for a parent = 1 free child’s meal!

Viennese nightlife

Vienna's club scene is all about parties with music of the highest quality. Electronic music from Vienna is known for creating an international sensation - and with good reason. The parties range from chic to underground. Clubs such as Flex have already attained cult status. The program there is just as varied as at the city's other party venues.

  

The establishments under the arches of the former Stadtbahn railway along the Gürtel, such as Chelsea, B72 and Rhiz, have been fixed features of Vienna's nightlife scene for years. Flex, Grelle Forelle and Werk are just some of the clubs that make up the party area by the Danube Canal, which is joined by numerous beach bars in the summer. Night-owls also make their rounds on the Ringstrasse: at the Volksgarten Disco, Säulenhalle, Babenberger Passage and Albertina Passage as well as at the Platzhirsch.

Albertina Passage

The dinner club at the Vienna State Opera offers sophisticated cuisine, live jazz music and DJ sounds in a futuristic ambience.

  

A former pedestrian underpass now shines with a new glow as a chic dinner club. The Albertina Passage is an exciting combination of top-class dining, classic American bar and club with live music. The food has a focus on light, Asian-inspired cuisine.

Dancing, drinks & club

The refined seating niches are grouped around a stage on which live music with a focus on jazz is played on Fridays and Saturdays from 10.00 pm. When DJs take over the music program in the Albertina Passage, guests can also dance to their heart's delight. Special eye-catchers are the futuristically curved cocktail bar as well as the stage and walls, which can be illuminated in a wide range of colors. The venue has space for around 300 visitors.

Club Schwarzenberg

The club on Schwarzenbergplatz promises a party feeling and entertainment of the highest standard.

 

A club in the style to be found in the party metropolis of Ibiza was the goal of the host at the new Club Schwarzenberg. The premises of a former movie theater was given a chic makeover. Club Schwarzenberg now presents itself on the highest level, both architecturally and as far as the sound and lighting systems are concerned. 46 LED light rings create a visual experience. The enormous room height even makes it possible for artists to perform acrobatic stunts at lofty heights on occasion.

The music focuses on R’n’B, hiphop and house. The club aims to appeal to a crowd between 20 and 40 years of age, which is why admission is restricted on some days to the over-20s only. VIP tables can be booked in the gallery and come with special extras such as an ice cube dispenser and secure cell phone charging stations.

Volksgarten Club Disco

The disco in Vienna city center is actually set in the midst of a wonderful garden. The Volksgarten Club Disco has a long history and has survived as a hotspot of Viennese party culture for decades, despite the fast-moving club culture.

 

When locals go "to the Volksgarten", they are not normally talking about the park, but about a disco. And not just any disco, but one of the best locations, which has been a fixed point of the city for decades. The history of the Volksgarten Club Disco goes back over 180 years. Today, the extensive establishment around the architecturally attractive glass pavilion offers both open-air and indoor nights with international greats of the party culture scene.

After renovations, the winter garden captures a special flair, featuring original furniture from the 1950s. The open-plan interior conveys a cozy feeling, with palms, Thonet furniture and old chandeliers. The music consists of house, disco and party hits.

The former Volksgarten Banane, an addition to the disco, is now managed as an independent club under the name "Säulenhalle".

Vienna. Theater an der Wien

  

Theater an der Wien specializes in the very finest of Baroque and classical operas and in modern aesthetics. As a seasonal opera house, there is a premiere almost every month as well as concertante operas and concerts.

The Theater an der Wien starts its thirteenth season with the 2018/19 season. This brings nine premieres to the house: first up is Handel's Alcina with Marlis Petersen in the leading role. Gioachino Rossini's opera Guillaume Tell from 1829 follows in October. In November, another work by Georg Friedrich Händel celebrates its premiere: Teseo. Great romantic opera is presented in December: Euryanthe by Carl Maria von Weber tests the loyalty of women.

From Handel to Weber

Henry Purcell's King Arthur starts the year 2019, followed in February by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's oratorio Elias. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky has taken on Schiller's tragedy of the same name, Die Jungfrau von Orleans (The Maid of Orleans) - to be experienced in March. April is filled for the third time with a work by Handel: Orlando. The romantic fairy opera Oberon once again puts the composer Carl Maria von Weber in the spotlight. Mauro Peter sings Oberon, Annette Dasch sings Rezia.

Ten operas by Handel, Salieri and Tchaikovsky, for example, will be performed in concert; stars such as Vivica Genaux and Franco Fagioli will sing. Elisabeth Kulmán and seven top musicians will present her song recital La Femme c'est Moi on November 20.

The Young Ensemble of the Theater an der Wien can be experienced in the Kammeroper, the second performance venue of Theater an der Wien.

 

New Year’s Eve 2018/19 in Vienna

  

At the change of year, the whole of Vienna is given over to partying and dancing. The New Year’s Eve Trail in the Old City is the highlight. A great ambience can be enjoyed as much at a gala dinner or festive ball as it can at a concert, the opera, in a hip club or a sophisticated bar.

Superb exhibitions and a dazzling array of events, concerts, operas, operettas and the hit musicals "Bodyguard" and "I am from Austria" promise a New Year's Eve program brimming with excitement throughout the day and night.

On December 31, Vienna's old city center transforms into a giant party zone: From 2 p.m. in the afternoon to 2 a.m. the following morning, top entertainment is guaranteed by the New Year's Eve Trail in the city center, at City Hall Square and in the Prater. Along the New Year's Eve Trail, dozens of gastronomes serve you punch and culinary treats. Numerous areas provided entertainment with show programs, waltzes, operetta, rock, pop, DJ lines and hit music. The classical area on Graben is a popular fixture. Vienna's dance schools offer crash waltz dancing courses here during the afternoon and transform Graben into an idyllic open-air ballroom. A large firework display will be held on City Hall Square and in the Prater at midnight.

A unique New Year's atmosphere can also be enjoyed on a boat trip along the Danube, at the New Year’s Eve Ball at the Hofburg Vienna (Imperial Palace) and at New Year galas held in City Hall and the city's leading hotels. The "Majestic Imperator", a a luxurious imperial, invites everyone to go on an exclusive ride into the new year, while "Die Fledermaus" by Johann Strauss is performed in time-honored tradition at the Vienna State Opera and also broadcast live on the outdoor screen.

New Year's Day in Vienna will be greeted in classic fashion with a morning "hangover cure" brunch - featuring a live broadcast of the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert on a big screen - in front of City Hall (from 10 a.m.)