Must-see nightlife in Austria

  • Augustiner Bräustübl

    Salzburg

    Who says monks can’t enjoy themselves? Since 1621, this cheery, monastery-run brewery has served potent home brews in beer steins, in the vaulted hall and…

  • Mooserwirt

    Tyrol

    One word: craaaazy. Come teatime Mooserwirt heaves with skiers guzzling beer (the place sells around 5000L a day), dancing to Eurotrash and sweating in…

  • Palmenhaus Schonbrunn

    Palmenhaus

    Vienna

    Housed in a beautifully restored Jungendstil palm house with high arched ceilings, glass walls and steel beams, looking through into the adjacent…

  • Entrance to Cafe Sperl, Mariahilf.

    Café Sperl

    Vienna

    With its gorgeous Jugendstil fittings, grand dimensions, cosy booths and unhurried air, 1880-opened Sperl is one of the finest coffee houses in Vienna…

  • Kaffeefabrik

    Vienna

    It's all about the beans at this small, whitewashed cafe-shop. Its small-batch speciality coffee is roasted in Burgenland to bring out the individual…

  • Promenade

    Graz

    Delightful Promenade is a Graz institution. Run by the people behind the legendary Aiola, it's a pretty, modern take on the traditional coffee house. On a…

  • Paul's

    Linz

    Facing the monumental Mariendom cathedral, this A-line building's facade is split down the middle: half is stone, the other half is fronted by floor-to…

  • Melete Art Design Cocktails

    Vienna

    Both an art gallery and a hopping bar, Melete ingeniously pairs changing art exhibitions with inventive drinks. Its 'Africa' exhibition, for instance,…

  • Meinl’s Weinbar

    Vienna

    In the basement of food emporium Julius Meinl am Graben, this wine cellar stocks a vast selection of Austrian wines along with a smattering of…

  • Blue Mustard

    Vienna

    Backlit wood hand carvings of Stephansdom's Gothic windows and a wall-to-wall neon-lit map of Vienna make this one of the city's coolest bars. Sensational…

  • Café Schwarzenberg

    Vienna

    One of the last remaining grand Viennese coffee houses on the Ringstrasse, this 1861 beauty has chandelier-lit vaulted ceilings, wood-panelled walls,…

  • Café Leopold Hawelka

    Vienna

    Opened in 1939 by Leopold and Josefine Hawelka, whose son Günter and grandsons Amir and Michael still bake the house-speciality Buchteln (jam-filled,…

  • GOTA Coffee Experts

    Vienna

    A multiple title holder of Austrian Barista of the year, GOTA is worth a cross-town trip for its third-wave coffee creations made from carefully sourced…

  • Kruger's American Bar

    Vienna

    Retaining original decor from the 1920s and ’30s, this dimly lit, wood-panelled American-style bar is a legend in Vienna, furnished with leather…

  • Needle Vinyl Bar

    Vienna

    Retro-styled Needle Vinyl Bar has bare-brick walls, mismatched furniture, light fittings made from vintage gramophones, and a vinyl library of jazz, blues…

  • Loos American Bar

    Vienna

    Loos is the spot in the Innere Stadt (city centre) for a classic cocktail such as its signature dry martini, expertly whipped up by talented mixologists…

  • J Hornig Kaffeebar

    Vienna

    Farm-direct beans roasted on-site at this third-wave coffee specialist are utilised in espresso, pour-over, Aeropress, ice-drip and cold-brew techniques…

  • POC Cafe

    Vienna

    Friendly Robert Gruber is one of Vienna's coffee legends and his infectious passion ripples through this beautifully rambling, lab-like space. POC stands…

  • Kaffee Alchemie

    Salzburg

    Making coffee really is rocket science at this vintage-cool cafe by the river, which spotlights high-quality, fair-trade, single-origin beans. Talented…

  • Demel

    Vienna

    Within sight of the Hofburg, this elegant and regal cafe has a gorgeous rococo-period salon. Demel’s specialities include the Annatorte (a calorie-bomb of…

  • Wieninger

    Vienna

    A hidden wonderland with a convivial local atmosphere, Wieninger has a magical lantern- and candle-lit garden draped with vines and a cosy, wood-panelled…

  • Das gute Leben

    The Salzkammergut

    Das gute Leben is many different things at once. Between 10am and 2pm it serves breakfast as well as its excellent open sandwiches (€5.20 to €9.80), and…

  • Volksgarten ClubDiskothek

    Vienna

    Spilling onto the Volksgarten's lawns, these early-19th-century premises are split into three areas: the Wintergarten lounge bar with vintage 1950s…

  • Brot & Wein

    The Salzkammergut

    The owner's astonishing collection of contemporary art posters dating back a couple of decades wallpapers this brilliant basement wine bar. Head here in…

  • Cake Display, Cafe Central, Vienna, Austria, Central Europe

    Café Central

    Vienna

    Coffee-house legend alert: Trotsky came here to play chess, and turn-of-the-century literary greats like Karl Kraus and Hermann Bahr regularly met here…

  • Vinothek W-Einkehr

    Vienna

    There are just 15 seats inside this contemporary wine bar and another eight on the summer terrace, so the action often spills onto the pavement (you can…

  • Lendhafencafe

    Klagenfurt

    The best in a row of cafes and nightspots, this wonderfully rambling bar-cafe has a lovely outlook over the Lend Canal, along with a delightful ivy-clad…

  • People in garden courtyard of Weinstube Josefstadt Cafe.

    Weinstube Josefstadt

    Vienna

    Weinstube Josefstadt is one of Vienna's loveliest Stadtheurigen (city wine taverns). A leafy green oasis spliced between towering residential blocks, its…

  • Torte cake and coffee on table top

    Café Sacher

    Vienna

    With a battalion of waiters and an air of nobility, this grand cafe is celebrated for its Sacher Torte, a wonderfully rich iced-chocolate cake with…

  • Flex

    Vienna

    Down by a graffiti-strewn stretch of the Danube, Flex might attract a very young and mainstream crowd today but still manages a semblance of its one-time…

  • Café Landtmann

    Vienna

    Freud, Mahler and Marlene Dietrich all had a soft spot for this coffee house, which opened in 1873. Today it attracts politicians and theatre-goers with…

  • Stollen 1930

    Tyrol

    If you're seriously into gin, Stollen 1930 is unmissable. The atmosphere is incredible as it's set in a cave that was hacked out of the fortress mountain…

  • Café CI

    Vienna

    Something's always happening at this cafe founded to support new immigrants 30 years ago, be it a reading, an exhibition, or language or dance classes. In…

  • Tunnel

    Vienna

    This laid-back, endearingly boho cafe attracts students and all comers. By day it's a relaxed spot to grab an ancient wooden table and flick through a…

  • Botanical Gardens

    Vienna

    A subterranean mirror of Cafe Stein's sunny spaces above, Botanical Gardens makes for a cosy, magical retreat once Vienna's weather turns chilly. A dark…

  • Juice Deli

    Vienna

    Tucked in a courtyard reached via a narrow alleyway leading off Mariahilfer Strasse, this locavore spot uses regionally sourced, seasonal organic fruit,…

  • Achtundzwanzig

    Vienna

    Austrian wine fans with a rock-and-roll sensibility will feel like they've found heaven at this black-daubed Vinothek (wine bar) that vibes casual but…

  • Café Rüdigerhof

    Vienna

    Rüdigerhof’s facade is a glorious example of Jugendstil architecture, and the '50s furniture and fittings inside could be straight out of an I Love Lucy…

  • Zwölf Apostelkeller

    Vienna

    Occupying a vast, dimly lit tri-level cellar dating back to the Romanesque and Gothic period, Zwölf Apostelkeller has a spirited atmosphere bolstered by…

  • Barfly's Club

    Vienna

    This sophisticated low-lit bar is famous for its extensive cocktail list and intimate ambience, which attracts a regular crowd of journalists and actors…

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