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The most popular walk in the city centre is the Kärnter Strasse and Graben area, but you’ll be surprised to find quiet squares and peaceful courtyards just off the main route.

Although the hotel is housed in a very modern building, it is one of Vienna’s luxurious 5-star hotels. It is located opposite the Stadtpark and just a stone’s throw from the Konzerthaus. The interior has recently been renovated and its 453 plush rooms guarantee a pleasant stay.

Houses of classical music such as the State Opera and the Konzerthaus turn into jazz venues during Vienna’s annual Jazzfest. From mid-June until early July, world-famous jazz musicians perform all over Vienna.

Another jazz club, this time traditionally orientated. Since its foundation in 1972, international and national artists have been performing in the cellar venue.

Constructed at the beginning of the 17th century, the solemn façade of the church contrasts with its rich Baroque interior. Emperor Leopold I commissioned the Italian architect Andrea Pozzo to design the magnificent frescoes and paintings. Pozzo also painted the barrel vaulted ceiling in such a way that the illusion of a dome was created.

It is safe to jog in Vienna even at night. There are also frequent races for enthusiasts.

Vienna’s “Waltz King” (1825–99) was the most successful of a dynasty of composers and musicians. He wrote more than 500 dance pieces, among them the Blue Danube Waltz (1876), which became Austria’s unofficial national anthem. He is buried at Zentralfriedhof (see p124).

Stadtpark is dotted with monuments of Austrian artists and composers, but the gilded statue of Johann Strauss (see p52) is allegedly the city’s most photographed. The Viennese Waltz King is portrayed playing the violin amid ecstatic dancers and is framed by a marble arch. The monument was crafted by Edmund Hellmer in 1921 and has been attracting tourists ever since.

Brahms (1833–97) was born in Hamburg but became the musical director of the Vienna Singakademie, a choral society, in 1862. For three seasons he directed the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, but from 1878 he devoted all of his time to composition. Brahms is also buried at the Zentralfriedhof.

Along with Mozart and Beethoven, Haydn (1732–1809) is the third important composer of the Vienna Classic period (1770–1830). Haydn moved to Vienna from the countryside, aged eight, to become a choir boy at Stephansdom cathedral. In his house at Haydngasse 19 he wrote his greatest works, such as the oratory The Creation (1796–8).