Districts to savor
The MuseumsQuartier is not only one of the world's leading cultural complexes, it is also a popular outdoor recreation area brimming with numerous restaurants and cafés. A few streets further on is the Spittelberg district, which offers an exciting blend of bars and restaurants, boutiques and craft stores.
A thriving bar scene has sprung up around many of Vienna's markets. The Naschmarkt and the neighboring Freihaus district are two of the city's most vibrant areas. The Naschmarkt itself is awash with color - wherever you look there are stalls laden with vegetables, meat and fish, as well as busy restaurants serving everything from Viennese classics to Indian specialties. The trendy Freihaus district is full of galleries, bars, cafés and restaurants. Yppenplatz on the Brunnenmarkt and the Karmelitermarkt are also popular meeting places.
Young bar owners are steadily transforming the area around Gumpendorfer Strasse into another hotspot as they snap up the empty shops in the side streets between Mariahilfer Strasse and the Naschmarkt.
A number of popular restaurants have set up shop amidst the venerable old Biedermeier buildings around Margaretenplatz - the various guest gardens are hidden away in the courtyards of the Schlossquadrat area just off Schönbrunner Strasse. The picturesque Servitenviertel in the 9th district can also offer a diverse dining scene.
The bars and restaurants located beneath the railway arches along the Gürtel have been a highlight of the city's nightlife for decades. The Lerchenfelder Gürtel and Döblinger Gürtel sections of this busy traffic thoroughfare are lined with music clubs and bars.
The Open-Air Scene
City Hall Square draws the crowds all year round with a packed program of events. In July and August, the Music Film Festival is held with dozens of food booths, while in November and December, it's time for the Viennese Christmas Market. January and February bring the Vienna Ice World, a festival of ice-skating fun, music, punch, and culinary delights.
Numerous beach bars and open air pubs along the Danube Canal are an inviting prospect during the summer months. Neni am Wasser and Motto am Fluss are also popular hot spots in winter.
