Introducing Vienna

The strains of Mozart and hip-hop music co-exist, while a stone's throw from the grand dames and their miniature dogs in traditional coffee houses are the hip new cutting-edge bars and cafés.

Vienna today is a beguiling mix of old and new, perhaps best illustrated by the new MuseumsQuartier cultural district. Here the courtyard of the old Spanish riding stables, featuring the city's largest baroque facade, is now home to contemporary museum architecture.

For most, Vienna is classical music, imperial history and monumental architecture, for others it is forever linked with The Third Man and its haunting Harry Lime Theme.

Vienna's role as the seat of the Hapsburg Empire for over six centuries (1278-1918) is written large in its wealth of imposing architecture and in the city's abundant artistic and musical heritage. Many of the world's greatest composers lived and performed behind Vienna's magnificent baroque facades.

The heart of Vienna is the Innerestadt - the area that lay within the city walls, until they were demolished in the mid-19th century. It is here that some of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions can be found, along with pedestrianized streets lined with countless.

 Shops, cafés, bars and restaurants. The center point is Stephansdom, the city's celebrated gothic cathedral, which is surrounded by the wide Stephansplatz. Today it stands in stark contrast cheek by jowl with the controversial multi-paned glassy facade of the ultra-modern HaasHaus.

Following the demolition of the city walls in 1857, the Ringstrasse was laid out and some of Vienna's most beautiful buildings were built along it. Among the most important are the Staatsoper (State Opera House), Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts), Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural History Museum), Parlament (Parliament), Rathaus (City Hall) and Burgtheater (Palace Theater).

Although most major attractions are in the First District, the other inner districts have much to offer. Leopoldstadt (Second District) lies on the eastern side of the Danube Canal, and is where the massive Prater, the site of Vienna's famous fairground, can be found.

Mariahelf (Sixth District) includes Vienna's busiest shopping street, Mariahilferstrasse, and the colorful Naschmarkt (Produce Market) and adjacent Flohmarkt (Flea Market).