Cafes of Vienna: Cafe Bellaria - Fin de siècle Elegance

If you ask me which is my most-preferred cafe in Vienna, I would definitely name Cafe Bellaria as my all-time favourite. It has such an irresistable charm and such enduring elegance, I could spend the whole week in the cafe without feeling bored. 

Just a short walk from Vienna Natural History Museum, Cafe Bellaria has everything I look for in a cafe: history, tradition, friendly service, delicious cakes and tasty food at reasonable prices, and a genuinely Viennese atmosphere unmatched elesewhere.

Cafes of Vienna: Cafe Eiles - Truly Authentic Cafe in Josefstadt

Josefstadt is a very lively and interesting business and residental district close to the city centre of Vienna. Barely five minutes away by tram from Vienna's Ringstrasse, this district is a whole world away from the touristic kitsch of the city centre. It makes a refreshing change to stroll along the narrow streets of Josefstadt, brushing shoulders with locals, admire the window display of independently-run fashion boutiques, jewellery shops, florists, household gift stores etc. 
 

Cafe Eiles is a very well-known local cafe in Josefstadt, just 300m from Vienna's City Hall. The cafe is amongst my favourite Viennese hangouts. It evokes a feeling of nostalgia, with its slightly faded  carpets and floral-pattern seatings, spacious interior, high ceilings which allow natural lights to illuminate the whole salon, round coffee tables with marble surface top, and the obligatory staples of newspapers and old black-and-white photos from the bygone eras.

Cafes of Vienna: Cafe Schwarzenberg - Some Things Are Better in the Past

Cafe Schwarzenberg was once amongst my favourite coffee houses in Vienna, but that was more than fifteen years ago. I used to be very fascinated by the splendor of its decor, the spirit of its grandiose ambience, as well as its palacial elegance, smooth coffee, and heavenly cakes. But how things haved changed since the early 1990s!!

During my latest visit to Vienna, I made it a priority to visit Cafe Schwarzenberg in the hope of reliving that heavenly hazelnut cream with chocolate cake again. But to my utter disappointment, the whole place has become a mega touristic magnet now. Virtually more than half of the people sitting inside speak no German at all, many of them are obviously first-time foreign tourists to Vienna, who choose to come to Cafe Schwarzenberg because their guidebooks told them to do so.

Cafes of Vienna: Cafe Frauenhuber - where Mozart used to Perform

Most of the well known traditional historical cafes inside Vienna's historical city centre (Innenstadtbezirk) are packed with tourists seven days a week. Although some of them are popular amongst foreign tourists because of hype, but some of them do have something special about them.
Cafe Frauenhuber, founded in 1824, is one of those famous old Viennese cafes that has something truly unique about it. First of all, the service is exceptional - this cafe has one of the most friendly waiters I have ever met in Austria.

Secondly, the cafe is located in a building with a truly special history: it is the place where Mozart and Beethoven used to give live public concert performance during their active years. Very few other cafes in the world could have claimed such honours. Mozart made his last visit to this building in March 1791, shortly before his death six months later.

Cafes of Vienna: Cafe Tirolerhof

This is the only cafe in Vienna's city centre which is not full of tourists during peak hours. Located right at the corner of Albertina Museum, this cafe is a place of refuge for those who are looking for a quiet spot to escape from the crowds in the middle of the city centre.

Like most of the traditional cafes, the interior design is simple and classic, perhaps not as glamourous or impressive as Cafe Schwarzenberg or Cafe Central, but nevertheless still radiates that distinctive Viennese flaire.

Cafes of Vienna: Cafe Raimund

Cafe Raimund is located right across the Volkstheatre on the Museumstrasse, the nearest subway station is U-Bahn Volkstheatre. It is a beautiful old-school Viennese cafe with lots of mirrors, old photos, soft red plush interiors, and a gentle, subtle elegance. It is not as touristic as the cafes on the Ringstrasse, but its convenient location right across the road from the Museum Quarter and the Volkstheatre makes it a favourite hangout for theatre-goers and art lovers who want to have some food and drinks before or after the shows and exhibitions.   

I found this place so much more congenial and authentic than most of the big-name places inside Vienna's Ringstrasse.

The interior of the cafe has that trademark 19th century Viennese cosmopolitan touch, with warm rays of sunlight seeping through the large windows. The tastefully decorated salon, although a bit old-fashioned, has such an airy, cosy feeling, it makes you feel like staying there for the whole afternoon.

Cafes of Vienna: Cafe Sperl

Someone recommended this cafe, so I decided to give it a try. The history of Cafe Sperl dated back to 1880, at a time when Vienna was the political and cultural centre of a vast multi-ethnic empire and the birthplace of various intellectual and artistic movements. 

The cafe is housed in the 6th district of Vienna, near the popular shopping miles of Mariahilferstrasse. The interior decoration radiates a classical elegance typical of the now bygone Fin de siècle era. A snooker table, full of newspapers, await the customers inside the spacious lounge. There are far more locals inside the cafe, much less tourists. I chose a place next to the large windows and ordered a regional speciality available only in the autumn months - pumpkin soup with pumpkin seeds and pumpkin oil.

Cafes of Vienna: Cafe Hummel in Josefstadt

For those in the know, some of the most popular and best cafes in Vienna are located outside the touristy inner city district. In Josefstadt, a colourful and lively multi-ethic district just a short ride by tram from the Ringstrassen, there are several marvellous family-run cafes with plenty of tradition and history, whose owners have continued to serve authentic Viennese cuisines and good coffees to a demanding public for decades.

Cafes of Vienna: Kleines Cafe

This little place is tucked away at the corner of Franziskanerplatz inside Vienna's central district (Innenstadt). The cafe, true to its name, is indeed a very small one, with barely ten sets of chairs and tables inside, but it is a truly warm and intimate place to have your daily round of coffee and cakes, especially on a beautiful sunny autumn day or in the quiet hours after the evening meal.

Being at a part of Vienna's old town some distance away from the usual beaten tourist tracks, this small cafe is a popular hangout of local students and the general public. As it is not as crowded or well-known as the other big name historical cafes in the city centre, one does not have to queue up for hours before gaining admission to the premises. Once inside, one can spend as much time as one fancies reading, writing, or sampling the coffee, without the need to feel obliged to give up the seat for those waiting at the door. 

Cafes of Vienna: Cafe Prückel

Founded in 1904, Cafe Prückel is one of my favourite traditional Viennese cafes. Located near the Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien (University of Applied Arts and Design), this cafe has been a favourite hangout for lecturers and students of that institution for ages.

Although Cafe Prückel is considered one of the best known Viennese Kaffeehäusern, the place has retained its sense of authentic charm, in spite of its location on Vienna's prestigeous Ringstrassen. Its airy, sleek modernist interior, designed by famous Viennese architect Oswald Haerdtl in 1954, introduces plenty of natural light into the interiors of the cafe. This classic example of 50s' modernist design has been a trademark of Cafe Prückel for more than half a century.