Shopping in Austria
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Fürst
Pistachio, nougat and dark chocolate dreams, the Mozartkugeln (Mozart balls) here are still handmade to Paul Fürst’s original 1890 recipe and cost €1 per mouthful. Other specialities include cube-shaped Bach Würfel – coffee, nut and marzipan truffles dedicated to yet another great composer.
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Brunnenmarkt
Brunnenmarkt is the largest street-market in Vienna and reflects the neighbourhood’s ethnic make-up – most stallholders are of Turkish or Balkan descent. The majority of produce sold is vegetables and fruit, but there are a few places selling unbelievably tacky clothes – this is the place to pick up that Hulk Hogan T-shirt you’ve always wanted. The kebab houses here are truly superb. On Saturday nearby Yppenplatz features the best Bauernmarkt in the city.
reviewed
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Altmann & Kühne
This charming small shop has a touch of the old world about it, partly due to the handmade packaging of its chocolates and sweets, designed by Wiener Werkstätte in 1928. Altmann & Kühne have been producing handmade bonbons for more than 100 years using a well-kept secret recipe.
reviewed
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Glasfabrik
Glasfabrik specialises in antiques dating from 1670 to 1970, so the range on offer is eclectic to say the least.
reviewed
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Flohmarkt
One of the best flea markets in Europe, this Vienna institution should not be missed. It’s tacked onto the southwestern end of the Naschmarkt on Saturdays, and half of Vienna seems to converge here, either flogging or pawing through tonnes of antiques, Altwaren (old wares) and just plain junk. It stretches for several blocks of stands hawking books, clothes, records, ancient electrical goods, old postcards, ornaments, carpets…you name it. It’s very atmospheric – more like the markets of Eastern Europe – with goods piled up in apparent chaos on the walkway. Try to get there early, as it gets more and more crammed as the morning wears on. Stallholders know the value of…
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Art Up
Take the temperature of Vienna’s contemporary design scene at Art Up, which works on a cooperative model allowing the designers who stock their work here (around 40 when we popped in) to get a foothold in the fashion world. The model makes for an eclectic collection – elegant fashion pieces rub alongside quirky accessories (Astroturf tie or handbag, anyone?) as well as ceramics and bigger art pieces. It’s a testament to the liveliness of the fashion and design scenes in Vienna, given new vigour by students coming out of the city’s fashion schools and driven by a burgeoning confidence in the quality of home-grown talent.
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Austrian Delights
Stocking Austrian-made items by mainly small producers, here you’ll find regional specialities – fine confectionery, local wine, schnapps and cognac, jams, jellies, chutneys, honey, vinegars and oils – that you can’t find anywhere else in the capital. Be sure to check out its sparkling and still Schilcher wines made from Blauer Wildbacher grapes, an acidic but fruity off-pink-coloured tipple rarely found outside Austria. Most of it is manufactured by hand or, as the owner says, ‘items Austrian grandmothers made through the ages’. Samples of many food items are available to taste.
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Dorotheum
Although you may never dream of dropping into Sotheby’s for a quick browse, when in Vienna it seems perfectly natural to inspect what’s on offer at the Dorotheum. Among the largest auction houses in Europe, this is the apex of Vienna’s Altwaren (old wares)–consumer culture, the Flohmarkt’s wealthy uncle. Something between a museum and the fanciest car-boot sale you ever saw, the rooms are filled with everything from antique toys and tableware to autographs, antique guns and Old Masters paintings.
reviewed
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Gabarage Upcycling Design
Recycled design, ecology and social responsibility are the mottoes at gabarage upcycling design. Old sealing rings become earrings, former outdoor rubbish bins get a new life as tables and chairs, advertising tarpaulins morph into carrying bags, and fused ring binders reappear as recliners. Humans also receive a second shot at a new life: after completing therapy for substance abuse, former addicts receive jobs plus one year’s training in various skills through gabarage’s own occupational therapy program.
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Gold n’ Guitars
This is one of a kind in Vienna: owner and guitar craftsman Michael Eipeldauer restores and sells contraguitars, also known as a Schrammelguitar, used for folk music, jazz and other styles – they have a standard neck and a second fretless one for bass notes. A prize piece is a Biedermeier model from the 1840s. Expect to pay from €1600 (used) to €3500 (new). Stylish secondhand East German guitars such as models from Musima, as well as Arthur Lang jazz guitar classics, glisten on stands around the store.
reviewed
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J&L LobmeyrVienna
Sweep up the beautifully ornate wrought-iron staircase to one of Vienna’s most lavish retail experiences. The somewhat cluttered collection of Biedermeier pieces, Loos-designed sets, fine/arty glassware and porcelain on display here glitters from the lights of the chandelier-festooned atrium. The firm has been in business since the beginning of the 19th century, when it exclusively supplied the imperial court; these days, production is more focused towards Werkstätte pieces.
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Karmelitermarkt
A market with a long tradition, the Karmelitermarkt reflects the ethnic diversity of its neighbourhood; you’re sure to see Hasidic Jews on bikes shopping for kosher goods here. Set in a square with architecturally picturesque surrounds, the market is quiet during weekdays but has a good range of authentic ethnic places to eat; fruit and vegetable stalls share the marketplace with butchers selling kosher and halal meats. On Saturday the square features a Bauernmarkt.
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Wein & Co
With a wide selection of quality European and New World wines, and a huge variety of local bottles, Wein & Co is probably your best bet for wine shopping – you should be able to pick up a bargain, as the specials here are always great. You can also buy cigars, and the wine bar has a terrace with a view of Stephansdom (try ‘Happy Sunday’, when all glasses are half-price from 11am to 4pm). Seven other Wein & Co shops are scattered around town.
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Hofkäserei Robert Paget
From Krems the Weinstrasse Kremstal (Krems Valley Wine Rd; B35) takes you northeast. About 2km past Gedersdorf – just before Hadersdorf train station – veer off right under the railway line and immediately left to Diendorf, where you find Hofkäserei Robert Paget. Here Robert Paget produces Austria’s finest mozzarella cheese from buffalo, as well as goat’s cheese. You can buy from the shop and eat it outside where the buffalo roam.
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Mot Mot
This husband-and-wife team (both former graphic designers) creates custom clothes with fun flair – each piece is screenprinted by hand on American Apparel T-shirts and sweatshirts; choose from the 20-plus designs (imagine a comic book come to life) and colours. They also sell mugs, buttons, posters and art books. Their creations have caught the eyes of celebrities: recent projects include printing posters for The Kills and the Black Eyed Peas.
reviewed
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Göttin des Glücks
Austrian’s first fair fashion label conforms to the fair trade model throughout the production process through relationships with sustainable producers in India, Mauritius and beyond. For you, this equals supple, delicious cotton jerseys, skirts, skirts and shorts for men and women that manage the comfort of sleepwear in stylish, casual daywear. And yes, it also sells dreamy pyjamas (they’ll make you want to indulge in a nap, pronto).
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Mörtz
On any given weekend, elderly ladies and gents of the city can be seen riding buses and trams to the Wienerwald (Vienna Woods) for a bit of Wandern (hiking). Their boots look as though they've survived both world wars and they'd easily survive another couple - they're probably from Mörtz. Here you can find superb handmade hiking boots sturdy enough for any hike you care to undertake, and they're comfortable to boot.
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Lomoshop
The Lomographic Society’s (www.lomography.com) first ever Lomography shop is in MuseumsQuartier. Lomo is a worldwide cult and the Lomoshop is considered its heart. There’s all manner of Lomo cameras, gadgets and accessories for sale; an original Russian-made Lomo will set you back around €160, and you can get single-use disposable Lomo camera for €14. There’s also a wall full of Lomo photos on display, for inspiration.
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Oberlaa
Some locals swear that Oberlaa sells the best confectionery in Vienna (in the face of some stiff competition). That’s a tough one, but it no doubt offers the most beautifully packaged chocolates, and no other local macaroon measures up to its ‘LaaKronen’ – brightly coloured in flavours like pistachio, lemon and strawberry, available singly or in gorgeous boxed sets. There are seven other branches around town.
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Manner
Even Manner – Vienna’s favourite sweet since 1898, a glorious concoction of wafers and hazelnut cream – has its own concept store now decked out in the biscuit’s signature peachy pink. Buy the product in every imaginable variety and packaging combination (tip: it’s a fab snack to carry around sightseeing). There’s a second location at Vienna airport (7007 335 40; Terminal C; open 7am to 8pm daily).
reviewed
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Shakespeare & Co
This beautifully cluttered bookshop in a charming area just off Judengasse stocks Vienna’s best collection of literary and hard-to-find titles in English – history, culture, classic and modern fiction – with a wide range of titles about Austria and by Austrian writers displayed separately. The personalised and friendly service makes this the best place in town to come for your train and plane reading needs.
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Loden-Plankl
Christopher Plummer wannabes alert: kit yourself out Von Trapp family style at this 180-year-old institution full of handmade embroidered dirndls and blouses, capes, high-collared jackets and deer-suede and loden (a traditional fabric made from boiled and combed wool) coats. Modern variations share racks with traditional designs, but you’re likely to find more nostalgic charm in the trad stuff.
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Teuchtler
This is where you might just find that LP you’ve been searching the world for. Founded in 1948 and now run by the third generation of the family, this truly amazing record shop is a Vienna institution. The walls are lined with shelves of tightly packed vinyl – around 500,000 according to the owners’ best guess. They buy and exchange records and CDs, including rare and deleted titles.
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Opern Confiserie
An old-fashioned confectionery store in the midst of buzzing Kärntner Strasse, with a dizzying array of handmade truffles, many-shaped marzipan, and brightly coloured fruit gelées. Look out for Austrian-made Bachhalm handmade chocolate bars, with chunky ingredients – from standards like pistachio to more-challenging taste concepts such as rose petal and shitake mushroom.
reviewed
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Wolford
Perhaps the best-known Austrian brand in the fashion world, Wolford (founded in 1949) is renowned for high-quality hosiery. Here you’ll find a huge range – including fishnets in all colours of the rainbow and imaginatively patterned tights, stay-ups, stockings and knee-highs – as well as body stockings and swimwear. There are a number of Wolford branches scattered around town.
reviewed