For a Freudian view
Walk some of the city’s 23 districts, each one with its own distinct identity and history. The 9th district is a great place to start. Elegant and rich in art nouveau and art deco architecture, it was also home to Beethoven, Schubert and Freud. Visit one of the most famous addresses in psychoanalytic history, Wien IX, Berggasse 19, Sigmund Freud’s apartment before he fled the Nazis for London in 1938; and the Narrenturm (Fool’s Tower), the first hospital for the mentally ill in Europe, where Freud would have gained first-hand experience. Nearby is the French Quarter: the bakery La Mercerie on Berggasse 25 has the best croissants in Vienna, while Servitengasse is lined with pretty shops and restaurants – a neighbourhood favourite for pasta is La Scala. Try walking guide Alessandra Brucchietti at viennaviral.com.
For film noir thrills
The Third Man, one of the best thrillers ever made (no arguments, please), premiered 75 years ago this month and offers a fascinating history of postwar Vienna – one the Viennese aren’t keen on, says Gerhard Strassgschwandtner, founder of the Dritte Mann Museum. “It brings up too many painful memories of the war and a Vienna crushed.” An enduring reminder, the 3,000 artefacts displayed in more than a dozen rooms show Vienna carved up by the allies. Highlights include Trevor Howard’s original script, the sewer grill that Harry Lime wraps his fingers around in a final bid for freedom and the zither on which Anton Karas played the film’s famous theme tune. Gerhard’s insightful reflections make it worth a detour and if you’re inspired to visit one other landmark in the film, make it the ferris wheel at Prater amusement park.
For the best interactive museum
The imaginative refurbishment of the Wien Museum brings the city’s history to life through interactive exhibits and more than 50,000 artefacts from the Middle Ages to the present day. Its restaurant-café, Trude, is a design-forward affair serving modern Austrian cuisine; its sleek café-bar, Töchter, has a rooftop terrace and there’s a DJ on the terrace in the warmer months.
For the perfect coffee
At the heart of Vienna’s coffee-house culture is Café Sperl, an old-school institution close to Naschmarkt (the lively foodie market, Mon-Sat, 6am to 7.30pm), where you can play…
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