Innere Stadt (1st district)

The 1st district (Innere Stadt) is what most people mean when they say “Vienna”. Inside the Ring, the city is so compact that you don't need any transport: from St. Stephen's Cathedral to the Vienna State Opera is a seven-minute walk, and crossing the entire city center takes twenty.

This is where the big names are – the Hofburg, the former imperial palace, the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts), the Albertina, City Hall (Rathaus), the Austrian Parliament – and between them what really defines the district: the Graben, the Kohlmarkt, the quiet lanes around Judenplatz and the Ruprechtskirche. The density of Viennese coffee houses is the highest in the city, from Café Central to Café Hawelka to Café Sacher.

Expect cobblestones and crowds. Early in the morning, between 08:00 and 10:00, you'll have the Graben almost to yourself.

What sets the 1st district apart from comparable old towns is the mix: it isn't a museum quarter but a place of work and the seat of government. Between the tour groups, people head out for their lunch break, and behind the grand façades are law firms. Around 16,000 people actually live here.

Getting there: U1 and U3 (Stephansplatz), U2 and U3 (Volkstheater), trams 1, 2, D and 71 around the Ringstrasse.