What happens when Viennese coffee house culture meets a lively waltz? That’s right – one of the most magical balls of the Viennese ball season is born. The famous Hofburg Palace is transformed into the largest coffee house in the world for the Vienna Coffee Ball. In 2025, the event will be dedicated to Johann Strauss II, the Waltz King, whose 200th birthday will be celebrated with the motto “Waltz Shani – Spring Coffee”. 

Regular live concerts in selected coffee houses demonstrate that enjoying music and a coffee house atmosphere is part of everyday life in Vienna. Apple strudel, Gugelhupf and the like taste even better when accompanied by music – usually on the piano. Here is a selection of concert cafés that regularly offer a musical repertoire:

Cafés on the Ringstrasse

Café Schwarzenberg was founded in around 1860 and is the oldest of the cafés on Vienna's Ringstrasse. Located close to the Vienna Music Society, Wiener Konzerthaus and the Ronacher, it is also the perfect place to get in the mood for or round off an evening of music. Café Schwarzenberg itself also offers a varied program of live music. At the Jazz Déjeuner – Sundays from 11 am to 1 pm – guests can enjoy a late breakfast or a light lunch with musical accompaniment from the jazz trio: Peter Hübl (saxophone, clarinet), Philipp Eder (piano) and Georg Kutschera (double bass). Or why not attend one of the musical evenings with a program of live music?
Events & dates

© WienTourismus/Julius Hirtzberger

Café Prückel is also situated on the Ringstrasse, opposite the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna. Its 1950s interior will delight coffee house and design enthusiasts. The newly renovated Stella Theater has recently enhanced the Viennese theater scene with a number of program highlights and a series of dedicated in-house productions. Here’s a useful tip: tickets for other performances can also be purchased at the box office one hour before the start of the first performance. Click here for a summary of the program.

In the center

A short distance from St. Stephen’s Cathedral, on Wollzeile, is the traditional Diglas café-restaurant. Piano concerts are held here regularly on Wednesdays (from 6.30 pm).

© WienTourismus/Christian Stemper

The equally legendary literary meeting place, Café Central (established in 1876), was frequented by poets such as Peter Altenberg and Stefan Zweig around 1900 – live piano music is played here every day from 4.30 to 9.30 pm.

© WienTourismus/Christian Stemper

Thomas Bernhard's former favorite café, Café Bräunerhof, is located in the heart of the old town antiques district between the Hofburg and Graben. The Bräunerhof Trio (violin, cello, piano) plays potpourris by Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Robert Stolz and Strauss on Sunday afternoons during the winter months.

Music & literature

The Café Museum on Karlsplatz, a stone’s throw from the State Opera, Vienna Music Society, Secession and Naschmarkt, is certainly worth exploring. It evolved into a meeting place with cult status almost as soon as it was founded in 1899. Geniuses such as Gustav Klimt and Adolf Loos frequented this place – a source of inspiration where the sounds of the piano can be heard from Fridays to Sundays (4-7.30 pm). There are also monthly readings by authors with free admission.

© WienTourismus/Christian Stemper

Café Schopenhauer is located just around the corner from the Volksoper – here, too, there is a selected small musical program with Wienerlied tunes (mostly with a modern twist), some world music and even some jazzy sounds. Children are delighted by the puppet theater plays and interactive concerts. Readings and book presentations round off the cultural offerings – after all, the Schopenhauer is also a popular bookshop.

The Schmid Hansl concert café in the Vorstadt district is often a venue for live programs, whether live music or readings. View the upcoming events

For in-between times

Vienna’s largest and liveliest shopping street is Mariahilfer Strasse. If you want to stop for a break in a stylish classic Viennese coffee house, head to Café Ritter, where you will be treated to piano music on Thursdays from 3 to 6 pm.

In Café Sperl, which opened in 1880, thonet armchairs, marble tables and glass chandeliers create a timeless, sophisticated atmosphere that opera lovers appreciate when getting in the mood for a performance at the nearby Theater an der Wien. Guests are entertained by piano music on Sundays from 3.30 pm.

© WienTourismus/Peter Rigaud

The Konzert-Café Weimar, a stone’s throw from the Volksoper, opened in 1900 and is still a popular meeting place for audiences and artists alike. Live piano music with evergreen operetta, swing and jazz tunes is played in a historic setting (Fri, Sat, Sun 4-8 pm). 

© Johann Diglas

VIDEO: Adia at Café Schwarzenberg

Adia takes us on a visit to Café Schwarzenberg, dives into Viennese Kaffeehaus culture and reveals what goes into the famous Viennese melange.