Vienna’s most popular streets are home to fantastic architecture, famous landmarks, and plenty of shopping and dining. Certainly, Austria's capital is a great city to walk around. Admire grand palaces down wide boulevards, dine at quaint restaurants down cobbled streets, or go shopping for some of Europe’s most luxurious brands.
Everywhere in Vienna is steeped in art and culture, with the city’s history going back to Roman times. The parks, museums and galleries seem never-ending, and you can follow in the footsteps of figures like Mozart and Beethoven. The public transport system is easy to navigate, so you should be able to find these streets without a problem.
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The Graben
Browse the shops among historical monuments
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Graben Street is one of Vienna's most popular shopping streets and is found in the central first district. Starting at Kohlmarkt, Graben stretches down just past Stephansplatz U-Bahn station.
The Graben is a must-visit for shopaholics, with all sorts of shops offering traditional Viennese wares like porcelain dealers, court jewellers and perfumeries, to modern clothing outlets like H&M. The street is great for a stroll as well, having been pedestrianised since the 1970s. You’ll be treated to some of Vienna’s finest landmarks, like medieval fountains and the renowned marble Plague Column, erected in 1679 as a memorial to victims of the Great Plague.
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Kärntner Strasse
Stroll down Vienna’s shopping centre with a Mozart-themed dessert
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Kärntner Strasse is a celebrated shopping street that runs from the heart of Vienna at Stephansplatz Square, down to Karlsplatz Square. It's a modern shopping street, having been majorly rebuilt since World War II, but you'll still find relics from the past.
Shoppers will love the pedestrianised section of Kärntner Strasse, with luxury brands like Hugo Boss and Gucci and Prada outlets as well as Austria's famed Swarovski flagship store. You’ll find lots of Mozart-themed souvenir shops, with the Steffl department store standing on the site of the house where he died. You should definitely try Mozartkugeln, a praline-based dessert named after the composer.
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Fleischmarkt
Admire the architecture in Vienna’s old meat market
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Fleischmarkt (which means "meat market") is a small thoroughfare through Vienna's Greek Quarter, Leopoldstadt. It is named after the butchers that used to set up shop down the street in the 1200s. A lot of the buildings here are some of Vienna’s oldest too, so it’s perfect for a few pictures.
It's a narrow street, and the imposing Art-Nouveau buildings that tower over you on either side give way to quaint medieval structures. The Greek community built an Orthodox church here in the 1800s as well, and it’s well worth checking out the interior if you’ve got time.
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Ringstrasse
Walk a lap around Vienna's major Inner Town ring road
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Ringstrasse is a major ring road that circles the Inner Town of Vienna, built where the historic city walls once stood. You’re bound to spend some time on Ringstrasse if you spend time in central Vienna, but it’s worth taking your time to admire the beauty of this grand boulevard.
Measuring 5.2 km, Ringstrasse is a great length for a leisurely stroll, and it’s known that Freud used to do a lap daily. The road is full of historic architecture, showcasing some of Vienna’s finest buildings. Some of the must-sees are The Austrian Parliament, the Vienna State Opera House and Vienna City Hall, and there are also numerous grand palaces.
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Kohlmarkt
Shop for gold down Vienna’s street of jewellers
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Kohlmarkt is a pedestrianised high-end shopping street right in the heart of Vienna. It’s part of what’s become known as Vienna’s “Golden U”, with Graben linking the street up to Kärntner Strasse, and it’s well worth visiting even if you aren’t shopping.
The “gold” of the Golden U isn’t just the gold that’s sold in shops – you’ll see golden street decorations and gilded shopfronts all the way down Kohlmarkt. Aside from Austrian jewellers like Wagner and Bucherer, you’ll find a wealth of international brands like Cartier and Tiffany too. If you’re just exploring, it’s worth walking towards The Hofburg. You’ll feel like royalty yourself as the palatial grounds reveal themselves at the end.
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Schönlaterngasse
Hunt for a basilisk opposite the beautiful lantern
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Schönlaterngasse, which translates to "Street of the Beautiful Lantern", is a small hidden street on the edge of Vienna's first district. A replica of the beautiful lantern it's named after can be found about halfway down at Schönlaterngasse 6. You'll feel like you've travelled back to medieval Vienna with a stroll down here, with the Baroque architecture leading the way to its medieval legends.
Opposite the lantern, you'll see an inscription telling the tale of a basilisk that was found and destroyed with a mirror at the bottom of a well. If you look closely enough, the petrified basilisk sits in an alcove above the inscription. Or is it a statue? We couldn't tell...
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Herrengasse
Take in some of Vienna’s finest palaces
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The Herrengasse or "Street of Lords" in Vienna is really popular with sightseers due to the grand palaces lining its length. It runs from the Ausgrabungen Michaelerplatz archaeological museum, north towards Sigmund Freud Park.
It’s hard to believe so many palaces line one street until you see for yourself. The oldest is the Renaissance era Palais Porcia, built in 1546, and there are plenty of later Baroque era palaces too. Both Ausgrabungen Michaelerplatz and Sigmund Freud Park are worth a visit themselves, so a great way to admire Herrengasse is to start at one, and stroll down the palatial boulevard to the other.
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Probusgasse
Visit Beethoven’s old apartment
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Probusgasse is a tiny street in the suburbs of Vienna, just a few minutes’ walk from the Heiligenstadt train station. It’s popular for one main reason: the Beethoven Museum. It's formerly the German composer's apartment, where he wrote some of his most famous symphonies.
Beethoven spent most of his career as a composer in Vienna, and his apartment was small with just 3 rooms. Today, the museum is full of Beethoven’s belongings, both replicas and real. The relics are fascinating, particularly his piano, which has a metal device he created to help with his deafness.
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Mariahilfastrasse
Vienna’s commercial hub
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Mariahilfastrasse is one of Vienna's most popular shopping streets, and certainly one of the largest. It stretches 1.6 km from Ringstrasse by the Kunsthistorisches Museum to Schönbrunn Palace on the outskirts. It's also very pedestrian-friendly, with no cars on the main part.
You'll find countless things to do up here, with all sorts of shops around, from high street fashion to boutique art stores. There are coffee shops and restaurants galore, so if you aren't shopping, you'll still find plenty of places to relax. There’s also the Vienna Museum of Science and Technology, and numerous Catholic churches for sightseeing.
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Tuchlauben
Try Vienna’s favourite ice cream in the historic cloth arches
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Tuchlauben is a street in Vienna's first district, and it surrounds the luxury Goldenes Quartier, along with Bognergasse and Seitzergasse. Translated as "cloth arches", Tuchlauben is named after the cloth merchants who used to ply their wares down the street in medieval times. This is evident by the cloth merchant fountain overlooking the corner of Brandstätte.
Nowadays though, Tuchlauben is most well-known for 2 things: luxury shopping and ice cream. You'll find all sorts of luxury fashion brands in the Goldenes Quartier, but if you're there in the summer, you can't miss out on one of Vienna's most loved ice cream parlours. The ice cream you'll get in Eissalon Tuchlauben is a must-try in Vienna.
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