Vienna  Hotels

The Habsburg legacy is a feast for the senses, and the cake's not bad either.

Vienna has plenty of lower-brow pleasures too - walks in the woods, splish-splashing high jinks on the river, indulgent evenings in its renowned wine taverns, bar-hopping till dawn. If you can't find something to please you in this generous, opulent, open-armed city, you're ready for the grave.

Vienna stands imperiously in the Danube Valley, with the rolling hills of the Wienerwald (Vienna Woods) undulating beyond the suburbs in the north and west. The Danube River divides the city into two, with the old city centre and most tourist sights southwest of the river. The Danube Canal (Donaukanal) branches off from the main river and wends a sinewy course south, forming one of the borders of the historic centre, known as the Innere Stadt. The rest of the old centre is encircled by the Ringstrasse, or Ring, a series of broad roads sporting sturdy public buildings. Beyond the Ring is a larger traffic artery, the Gürtel (literally meaning 'belt'), which is fed by the flow of vehicles from the outlying motorways. The city's principal landmark is the distinctively slender spire of Stephansdom in the heart of the Innere Stadt. The majority of hotels, pensions, restaurants and bars are in the Innere Stadt and west of the centre between the Gürtel and the Ringstrasse.

There's almost always something happening in Vienna, making it a year-round destination. Weatherwise you might want to miss January's chill, and July and August's heat - you won't be able to see the Lipizzaners and the Boys' Choir in those summer months anyway. June and September are particularly good times to visit, though you'll find that everyone else thinks so too, making things somewhat busy. As always, it's a good idea to opt for the less-crowded spring/autumn shoulder months of April-May and October-November.