5 Best Sights in Vienna, Austria

Today this block, bounded by Singerstrasse, Grünangergasse, and Blutgasse, is a splendid example of city renovation and restoration, with cafés, shops, and galleries tucked into the corners. Nobody knows for certain how its gruesome name originated—Blut is German for "blood"— but one legend has it that Knights Templar were slaughtered here when their order was abolished in 1312. (There are roads named "Blutgasse" in villages surrounding Vienna, so many believe the name to be in remembrance of massacres suffered at the two Turkish invasions.) In later, pre-pavement, years the narrow street was known as Mud Lane. You can look inside the courtyards to see the open galleries that connect various apartments on the upper floors, the finest example being at Blutgasse 3. At the corner of Singerstrasse sits the 18th-century Neupauer-Breuner Palace, with its monumental entranceway and delicate windows. Opposite, at Singerstrasse 17, is the Rottal Palace, attributed to Hildebrandt, with its wealth of classical wall motifs, a contrast to the simple 18th-century facades on Blutgasse.

Part of the Palais Ferstel complex, this is one of Vienna's more famous cafés, its full authenticity blemished only by complete restoration in recent years. In its prime (before World War I), the café was "home" to some of the most famous literary figures of the day, who dined, socialized, worked, and even received mail here. The denizens of the Central favored political argument; indeed, their heated discussions became so well known that in October 1917, when Austria's foreign secretary was informed of the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, he dismissed the report with a facetious reference to a well-known local Marxist, the chess-loving (and presumably harmless) "Herr Bronstein from the Café Central." The remark was to become famous all over Austria, for Herr Bronstein had disappeared and was about to resurface in Russia bearing a new name: Leon Trotsky. Today things are a good deal more yuppified: the overpriced coffee now comes with a little chocolate biscuit, and the pianist is more likely to play Sinatra ballads than Strauss. But you can linger as long as you like over a single cup of coffee and a newspaper from the huge international selection provided.

The narrow passageway just to the right of St. Michael's leads into the Stallburggasse, an area dotted with antiques stores attracted by the presence of this famous Viennese auction house, which began as a state-controlled pawnshop in 1707. Merchandise coming up for auction is on display at Dorotheergasse 17. The showrooms—packed with everything from carpets and pianos to cameras, jewelry and postage stamps—are well worth a visit. On the second floor the goods are not for auction but for immediate sale; the same goes for the terrific, mainly late-19th- to early-20th-century glass, wood, and art objects in the glass-roofed court just opposite the reception area on the ground floor.

If you want to find a nook where time seems to be holding its breath, head to the heart of the old town, where the Fleischmarkt (Meat Market) meets the hilly Griechengasse. Commanding the cobblestone lane is a 14th-century watchtower, Vienna's oldest, and an ivy-covered tavern called the Griechenbiesl, which has been serving customers for 500 years. Half a millennium ago, this quarter was settled by Greek and Levantine traders (there are still many rug dealers here) and many of them made this tavern their "local." The wooden carving on the facade of the current restaurant commemorates Marx Augustin—best known today from the song "Ach du lieber Augustin"—an itinerant musician who sang here during the plague of 1679. A favored Viennese figure, he fell into a pit filled with plague victims but survived, presumably because he was so pickled in alcohol. In fact, this tavern introduced one of the great pilsner brews of the 19th century and everyone—from Schubert to Mark Twain, Wagner to Johann Strauss—came here to partake. Be sure to dine here to savor its low-vaulted rooms adorned with engravings, mounted antlers, and bric-a-brac; the Mark Twain room has a ceiling covered with autographs of the rich and famous dating back two centuries. Adjacent to the tavern is a Greek Orthodox Church co-designed by the most fashionable neoclassical designer in Vienna, Theophil Hansen.

This shaded courtyard typifies the change that came over Viennese architecture during the Biedermeier era (1815–48). The Viennese, according to the traditional view, were so relieved to be rid of the upheavals of the Napoleonic Wars that they accepted without protest the iron-handed repression of Prince Metternich, chancellor of Austria. Restraint also ruled in architecture; baroque license was rejected in favor of a new and historically "correct" style that was far more controlled and reserved. Kornhäusel led the way in establishing this trend in Vienna; his Schottenhof facade is all sober organization and frank repetition. But in its marriage of strong and delicate forces it still pulls off the great Viennese-waltz trick of successfully merging seemingly antithetical characteristics.