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The fine Baroque Schönborn Palace, built between 1708 and 1713 by Lukas von Hildebrandt, has been the home of the Austrian Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art since 1917. Besides changing exhibitions, it features a permanent collection of traditional Austrian clothing, furniture, pottery, religious objects and tools dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The museum, founded in 1895, also includes collections from the former territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The palace has wonderful landscaped gardens that can also be accessed without visiting the museum.

The Scots’ Abbey, founded in 1155 by Scottish and Irish Benedictine monks, is a massive complex with a church, a school and a monastery. The abbey’s treasures include tapestries, furniture and liturgical objects, but most important is its religious landscape and portrait paintings from all periods.

The former imperial stables have been converted into a large museum complex, exhibiting, among other things, collections of contemporary and modern art (see pp28–9).

Opened in 2001, this complex is home to various museums and galleries, including the Leopold Museum featuring Austrian art, and the Museum of Modern Art, whose basalt lava building is as impressive as its collections (see pp28–9).

The former imperial stables have been imaginatively transformed into a vast complex of museums and entertainment venues that shouldn’t be missed (see pp28–9).

Every July and August the square in front of Vienna’s Town Hall turns into a bustling hub for music-lovers. Every evening crowds flock to watch concerts and opera and operetta performances broadcast on a huge video screen. Just as popular are the food stalls that take you on a culinary journey across the globe – Mexican, Japanese, Greek and Austrian specialities can all be found.

This magnificent concert hall in Greek Renaissance style was built by Theophil von Hansen in 1869 for the Society of Friends of Music. The concert hall became world famous after the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra began giving their annual New Year’s Concert here in 1941. There are three performance areas but the main auditorium, the “Golden Hall”, is the finest, with lavish decorations in blue and gold and excellent acoustics (see p60).

Public concert life began in Vienna with the foundation of the Society of Friends of Music in 1812; up until then, concerts were restricted to aristocratic homes. This grand concert hall was commissioned by the society in 1869 after previous locations had become too small. The society’s aim was, and still is, to promote music in all its facets; until 1909 it also ran a music academy with teachers such as Anton Bruckner and eminent students such as Gustav Mahler (see p59). The school was the predecessor of the present Academy of Music (see p117).

A large salad and vegetable buffet is offered at this self-service restaurant.