How to find the perfect balance of cool and kitsch on a Vienna city break this Christmas

It would be an oversimplification to say that Vienna is a city of two halves; but it’s undoubtedly one with two distinct personalities.

There’s the more traditional side, with all the reasons my mother would make a beeline for the Austrian capital: genteel, grand buildings painted in shades of pastel elegance and steeped in history; centuries-old coffee houses with their fiercely contested cake recipes (just ask about the true origins of the famed Sachertorte if you want to see sparks fly); the plethora of Christmas markets scattered around the city, with a frankly overwhelming abundance of festive cheer; the clip clop of hooves as tourist horse and cart rides make the rounds of the first district.

But then there’s the less-expected side of Vienna – the side that is, whisper it, actually cool. Think small plates and cocktails at an intimate, design-led restaurant; boutique hotels with contemporary interiors to satisfy even the most discerning of Millennials; cutting-edge cultural attractions that act as the perfect balm to the city’s austere Grand Dame museums.

To my mind, the best way to do Vienna is to balance both alter egos. After all, no one wants to return from a visit without having stopped for coffee and kuchen at a storied, high-ceilinged café dripping in history; but nor do you want to feel you’ve seen nothing of the modern scene for which Vienna has been crowned the world’s most liveable city multiple times, including in 2022.

I start my traditional-trendy hybrid break by swapping the traditional plane ride from London for a longer, more adventurous train ride. As of 2022, there’s a new option for making this journey: a sleeper train from Paris to Vienna. It means catching an afternoon Eurostar to Paris, strolling 10 minutes from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l’Est, and boarding the evening Nightjet service to Vienna.

Finding my six-berth couchette, I quickly befriend my fellow fresh-faced (read: young) cabin-mates – all of whom can, of course, speak perfect English, despite hailing from all over the Continent – and we swap stories while chowing down on station-bought sandwiches. One of them has travelled all the way from Santiago de Compostela in Spain having completed the Camino pilgrimage trail; a fellow non-flier, he took an overnight bus all…