Vienna

Vienna is built in rings. The Innere Stadt, the historic first district, sits at the centre and is a UNESCO World Heritage site; around it runs the Ringstrasse, the boulevard laid out on the line of the demolished city walls and lined with the parliament, opera, city hall and museums built in the second half of the nineteenth century. Beyond that, numbered districts spiral outwards to the Danube on one side and the vineyards of the Wienerwald on the other.

For a visitor this makes orientation unusually easy. Most of what you came for is inside or just outside the Ring, and the two great palace complexes, Schönbrunn and the Belvedere, sit a short metro or tram ride away in opposite directions.

Vienna concentrates an enormous amount of art, architecture and music in a city that is still comfortable to walk. The Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Belvedere's Klimt collection and the Albertina would each anchor a smaller capital.

It is also a city with a strong daily culture rather than only a monumental one: coffee houses, wine taverns on the city's own hillside vineyards, market halls and a public transport system that makes all of it easy to reach.

• Stephansdom. The Gothic cathedral at the centre of the first district, with its patterned tile roof. The south tower climb is stairs only; the north tower has a lift.
• The Ringstrasse by tram. Trams 1 and 2 between them cover most of the boulevard, passing the opera, parliament, city hall and university for the price of an ordinary ticket.
• Schönbrunn. The Habsburg summer palace, its formal gardens and the Gloriette on the hill behind it. The gardens are free to walk and are worth the trip on their own.
• The Belvedere. Two baroque palaces with gardens between them, holding the largest collection of Klimt paintings anywhere, including The Kiss.
• A coffee house. Viennese coffee-house culture is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. The point is the newspaper, the marble table and the hour, not the speed of service.
• Naschmarkt. The long market strip south-west of the Karlsplatz, with produce, Middle Eastern stalls and restaurants, busiest on Saturday.
• The Prater. The old imperial hunting ground, now public parkland with the Riesenrad ferris wheel at its entrance.

April to June and September to October are the best months: mild, long evenings, gardens in use, and the cultural season running.

July and August are hot and the State Opera is closed for its summer break, though outdoor life along the Danube and in the Prater compensates.

Late November and December bring the Christmas markets, which are among the best known in Europe and fill the squares in front of the city hall, Schönbrunn and Karlskirche. January and February are cold and quiet, and the best months for concert and museum going.

The first district puts you inside the Ring with everything on foot. It is the most expensive choice and the quietest at night.

Neubau (7th) is the design and café district, with independent shops along Neubaugasse and the MuseumsQuartier on its edge; it is the best balance of atmosphere and price.

Leopoldstadt (2nd), across the Danube Canal, is close to the Prater and well connected, and generally cheaper. Wieden (4th) sits between Karlsplatz and the Belvedere and is convenient for both.

Innere Stadt (1st): the historic core inside the Ring, with the cathedral, the Hofburg, the opera and most of the grand shopping streets.

Leopoldstadt (2nd): between the Danube Canal and the river, with the Prater, the Augarten and a mixed, lively street life.

Wieden (4th): Karlsplatz, the Belvedere and the quieter end of the Naschmarkt.

Neubau (7th): the MuseumsQuartier, independent shops, small restaurants and the densest café concentration outside the centre.

Grinzing and Nussdorf (19th): vineyard villages absorbed by the city, on the edge of the Vienna Woods, where the wine taverns are.

Vienna's public transport is the simplest way to move: five U-Bahn lines, a dense tram network, buses, and suburban S-Bahn trains, all on one ticket system. Tickets are time-based and valid across modes; validate before boarding.

The airport is connected to the city by S-Bahn and by the faster City Airport Train, both terminating near the Ring. Wien Hauptbahnhof handles international and long-distance rail.

The centre is compact enough that walking replaces most short journeys, and the city has an extensive cycle network along the canal and through the Prater.

The classics are worth eating once: Wiener Schnitzel, properly veal and thin enough to overhang the plate; Tafelspitz, boiled beef with horseradish; and Gulasch in its Viennese form.

Pastry is its own category. Sachertorte, Apfelstrudel and Kaiserschmarrn all belong to the coffee house rather than the restaurant.

For something specific to the city, a Heuriger is a wine tavern serving the current year's wine from the grower's own vineyard, with cold food from a counter. The traditional ones are on the hills at Grinzing, Nussdorf and Neustift, reachable by tram and bus.

A Würstelstand handles the late hour: sausage, mustard and a roll, standing up.

The Wachau valley, upstream on the Danube, is terraced vineyards, riverside villages and the abbey at Melk. It can be done by train, by boat in season, or by bicycle along the riverside path.

Bratislava is roughly an hour away by train, and also reachable by fast boat along the Danube, which makes a second capital an easy day.

Baden bei Wien, a spa town at the edge of the Vienna Woods, is reachable by suburban tram. Klosterneuburg, with its abbey, is closer still.

Vienna is mid-range by Western European standards: more expensive than Prague or Budapest, generally less than Zurich or Paris. Accommodation inside the Ring is the biggest single cost and the easiest to reduce by moving one district out.

Public transport is good value on a multi-day pass, and many of the best experiences cost little: walking the Ring, the Schönbrunn gardens, the Prater, the Augarten, and standing-room tickets at the State Opera, which are sold cheaply shortly before performances.

Validate transport tickets before boarding. There are no barriers; inspections are frequent and fines are issued on the spot.

Book the State Opera early, or queue late. Standing places are sold shortly before the performance and are the cheapest serious night out in the city.

Sunday closes the shops. Supermarkets and most retail shut; restaurants, cafés and museums stay open, and station shops are the exception.

Coffee house service is unhurried by design. You are paying for the table, and nobody will move you on.

Tap water is drinkable and good, piped from mountain springs, and is served as a matter of course with coffee.