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| THE BEST BARS
IN EUROPE |
The
25 most popular cities on Best Bars Europe... |
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| Budapest is famed for its ruin pubs, bars which are located in old houses and derelict factories destined for demolition, filled with second hand furniture and offering live music, cinema screenings and art displays. The first and still the most famous of these is Szimpla Kert ("the simple garden"). Opened in 2001 and having moved twice before finally occupying this huge building since 2004, it is incredibly popular with locals and tourists alike. Packed with bric-a-brac, plants and even an old Trabant car, inside which you can enjoy a beer. Live music events, flea markets and a regular bike sale make it one of the coolest bars in Europe, which has not surprisingly grown an off shoot in Berlin. |
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In a city where the cocktail culture
trails many of the world's capitals, with a focus largely on classic
American bars, this friendly neighbourhood lounge stands out above
everything else, not only in Vienna but also over nearly everything
else in Europe - especially when taking into account value for money.
Kan Zuo and his team produce some of the most beautifully presented
mixes you'll ever taste. Alongside their creative inventions, there's
a vast menu which travels through the ages of cocktail making history,
paying homage to the likes of Jerry Thomas, Harry Johnson, Louis
Eppinger (The Grand Hotel Yokohama), Erik Lorincz (The American Bar
at the Savoy London),
Mike Meinke (Triobar Berlin)
and Manabu Ohtake (Cerulean Tower Tokyo). Located in the North West
area of the city, you'll probably find it difficult to leave once
you step into this wizard's cauldron. As with all cocktail bars,
it can get busy at weekends and the service obviously slower. For
that reason, we recommend getting there early or even attending their
Sunday night specials where a different spirit brand
is showcased each week with a special discounted menu for the night. |
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| Vienna's largest market is a must-visit
when in town, and alongside the 120+ stalls selling fresh fruit and
vegetables, meat, fish, cheese and international delicacies, you'll
find a large selection of bars, beer sellers, vinotheks and restaurants
to choose from. The most hip of these seems to be the Naschmarkt
Deli which offers a small selection of cocktails and boasts DJs
at weekends. Other bars worth visiting in the market include the
quaint and traditional pub, Zur
Eisernen Zeit, the Landsknecht beer house and the more upmarket Do-An.
The market itself opens at 6am every day except Sunday, and generally
closes at 19:30 (17:00 on Saturdays) with the restaurants and bars
staying open till around midnght, Monday - Saturday. Alongside the
market, on the opposite side of the road is a selection of more traditional
restaurants with longer opening hours, including the Sir Terence
Conran designed Café Drechsler,
a modern take on a traditional Viennese coffee house (see beow).
You can literally spend an entire day eating, drinking and soaking
up the atmosphere of Naschmarkt, especially on Saturdays when the
colourful flea market is also open - a popular destination for Vienna's
bar community seeking vintage glassware for their bars. |
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| Vienna is the largest wine producing capital
city in the world, and the best place to try these wines is in a Heuriger,
a bar/restaurant in which the wine-growers serve their own wines, usually
close to their vineyard. As they are often family ran, the opening
times can vary so you need to look for a
bunch of pine branches which hang over the entrance when it's open
together with the words “Ausg’steckt” written
on a board. For one of the most beautiful, if somewhat less rustic,
heurigens, head to this stunning building in Heiligenstadt, which
has been crafting the finest Viennese wines
since 1683. Ludwig van Beethoven even lived in the romantic
listed suburban home in 1817 and it was during his time there that
he worked on Symphony No. 9, regarded to be his greatest creation.
You can enjoy fine wines (including a six wine flight) in
the rooms where he stayed and, after 19:00 each day, enjoy original
Viennese Heuriger music. Whilst in the area, you should also check
out the other heurigens to get a feel for true Viennese life. Well
worth making the trip for. |
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 €?+  €2.20+ |
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| Located on the 8th floor of the 5 Star Ritz-Carlton
hotel this rooftop cocktail bar offers a
spectacular view of the city. Open from April and throughout the pleasant
summer months, the terrace is completely
exposed to the sun making it the perfect place to soak up those rays
over a summer cocktail a glass of Champagne or Austrian wine. WIth
room for 110 people, the atmosphere is great and it's the only
rooftop sundeck bar in the city. It's also home to a Christmas Market
in the winter. The hotel's D-Bar on the ground floor, open all year
round, is also worth checking out for some great creative cocktails. |
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Opened in December 2014 to much acclaim,
this backstreet speakeasy comes from the cocktail dreamteam of Geri
Kozbach-Tsai (co-founder of the Vienna Bar Community), Glenn Estrada
(Lutz bar) and World Class 2014 finalist, Reinhard "Reini" Pohorec
(The Sign Lounge and American Bar at the Savoy London).
The result is stunning. A tiny yet expensively furnished bouteque
bar for no more than 35 people. The main bar area is actually non-smoking
meaning your senses are free to taste the amazing creations, which
is a welcome relief in a city where even restaurants come complete
with clouds of tobacco. Located on Buchfeldgasse 7, the menu comprises
of seven suggested cocktails (or seven deadly
sins) with, yes you've guessed it, seven varieties of each spirit
on offer. |
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| Vienna's coffee house culture is celebrated
all over the world and this famous traditional cafÉ in the Palais
Ferstel, which first opened in 1876, is perhaps the most beautiful
example of the city's social scene. At the turn of the 20th century
it was a popular meeting point for leading lights in the world of art,
literature, politics and science, such as Arthur Schnitzler, Sigmund
Freud, Peter Altenberg, Adolf Loos and Leo Trotzkis and, until 1938,
was called Die Schachhochschule ("The Chess School") because
of the presence of many chess players. An interesting statue of Viennese
coffee house poet Peter Altenberg sits in the middle of the room. He
wrote many of his poems whilst frequenting Cafe Central, even having
his mail delivered there. The cafe was moved to a different part of
the Palais Ferstel in 1975 and today the huge queue of tourists hoping
to get a table mixes with politicians, royalty and Hollywood stars. |
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€4,70+ €2,70+ |
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| In a city packed with old school American-style
cocktail bars, with their onus on serving male-orientated classic
cocktails, this delightful little bar and cocktail school, just along
the road from the famous Cafe
Sperl (below) and around the corner from the Naschmarkt (above)
offers a welcome relief with some of the most creative drinks in
town. The menu is beautiful, offering a large selection of their
own exquisite creations, including 40 bottle aged variations, alongside
vintage classics, a huge spirits list and a daily special, devised
on the same day. If imaginative cocktails with a classic soul soundtrack
is your thing - and why wouldn't it be? - then this should definitely
be your first night stop in Vienna. |
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| Even in a city with more beautiful fairytale
buildings than you can possibly ever imagine, the Palais Ferstel (Ferstl
Passage) still stands out as one of the most stunning buildings on
earth. Dating back to 1900, the beautiful arcade offers many shops.
galleries, restaurants, cafes and bars, however it's the relatively
new wine and ham bar/shop that we love most, purely for its offering
of the best Austrian pork and wines. With a small but good selection
of various grapes, it's open until 10pm every day and is one of those
unique places where your drinking and tourism requirements are both
met at the same time. |
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€3+ |
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| What can we say about this beautiful Vienna
palace, dating back to 1839 and now a luxury hotel and 2 Star Michelin
/ 3 Toques Gault Millau restaurant? The comfortable wine bar is
accessible to non guests and boasts an incredible 60,000 bottles (worth
over €30
million).
If you're lucky, you might be able to persuade the barman to show you
the six stunning cellars below, or you can also book
one of their wine tasting tours. It's an experience worth taking
as they boast one of the largest stocks of Mouton Rothschild, Dom
Pérignon and
Pétrus in the world - although pride of place is their Château
Yquem collection - worth over €10 million with bottles dating
back to 1893. There's over 13,000 bottles
from Austria, 30,000 from France, 1,000 Champagnes, probably the world's
largest Sassicaia collection, a 27 litre bottle of Spanish Rioja and,
what was described by Christies Auction House as the "oldest
drinkable wine in the world", the 1727 Rudesheimer Apostelwein.
If you can't quite afford the €170,000 bottle of Latour 61 Imperial,
you'll be glad to hear that the excellent house Grüner Veltliner
starts at just €4,50
a glass. |
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| Even though this sleek bar is certainly
Vienna's "place to be seen" with its glamorous clientele, prices
are surprisingly in-line with the rest of the city. Whilst it speaks
more New York or Milan than
Vienna (the attached restaurant is Italian too), the cocktails are
more creative than those found in many of the city's other cocktail
bars, with the talented Jan Pavel and Isabella Diaz devising
an ever-changing seasonal menu. |
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| You're probably wondering how a takeaway
bratwuerst stand makes it into our list of the best bars in Vienna.
Well, this architectural masterpiece also serves beer, wine and even
Champagne (from breakfast until 4am). When in Vienna, you should try
the Käsekrainer (cheese
sausage) or Bitzinger's famous Bosna, a spicy Austrian sandwich made
with crisp fried Bratwurst. Located underneath the Albertina
Palais Musuem, a famous viewing point featured in the Before Sunrise
movie, Hotel
Sacher is just across the road, where - unless you're visiting here
in the early hours of the morning -
you should also head for an original Sacher Torte chocolate cake. |
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€3,50+ €1,70+ |
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| In 1901 the architect Friedrich
Ohman was comissioned to build the splendid Jugendstil palmhouse
and butterfly house in the Hofburg Palace gardens. Sadly it fell into
disrepair and was closed to the public in 1988. Ten years (and €17
million) later, the greenhouse was reopened as one of the most popular
bars and restaurants in Vienna. The
12 metre long Marble Bar offers an amazing wine selection together
with a good cocktail menu, the drinks garnished with beautiful fresh
fruit. DJ's play on Friday nights and you can choose to sit on the
comfortable leather sofas or outside on the garden terrace,
overlooking the Hofburg Palace, enjoying warm summer nights until
2am. |
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| They don't come much more unique than this
very popular shop/bar concept opposite the famous Cafe Sperl (see below).
Part bookshop, part cafe bar, it's the perfect place to unwind with
a glass of Austrian wine and get lost in a good read. Comfortable seats
and tables (which are also available to buy) sit amongst the bookshelves
and boxes of vinyl whilst there's also a program of live music, lectures,
film nights and DJs. |
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€3,70+ €2,60+ |
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| The Julius Meinl department store is a
Viennese institution, and it's wines shop and cellar bar (open until
11pm Monday - Saturday) is a wine buff's wet dream. The extensive wine
list offers a jaw-dropping selection of fine Austrian and international
wines by the bottle, with over 30 wines to try by the glass. It's arguably
the best place in Vienna to sample the local Gruner Veltliner and Rieslings,
alongside many other world wines. |
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€4,20+ |
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| "Puff" is actually German slang
for "brothel", so it may come as a surprise to those who
speak English slang, that this is not actually a gay bar or a cannabis
cafe but, instead, one of the most beautiful chic designed bars in
the city, located in (you guessed it), a former bordello which dates
back a hundred years. If you ask the bar staff nicely, they'll even
show you the hidden pink painted rooms which are still decorated with
beds and even a Jacuzzi. Although it's a different type of "cock" that
the bar specialises in now (the innuendos extend to their cocktail
menu). The liquor collection is impressive and the bar design is absolutely
stunning, illuminated like a stage by the collection of recycled water
bottles overhead. |
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| Describing itself as "the ideal meeting
place for lovers and madmen, for clubbers and music aficionados, for
joyful discussion and cabaret fans, for lovers of literature
and oblique excesses" this stunning bar in the 125 year old Volkstheater
plays host to regular poetry, tango, and live music shows on the tiny
stage. It's also an incredibly elegant place to catch up over a wine
or beer. |
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| Located on the sixth floor of the Do & Co
Hotel, this posh small bar offers an amazing close-up view of Stephansdom
(St Stephens Cathedral). Surrounded by the designer stores, it's no
surprise that it's a more showy and expensive affair but the cocktails
are amongst the best in Vienna and it's certainly worth making the
effort to visit for. |
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| Sneaking on to our list of the best bars
in Vienna is this tourist trap located next to the famous Hundertwasserhouse.
A former car tyre factory, it was built both inside and out using
concepts from artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
He declared at it's opening
in 1991 that he had realised another
piece of a more human and nature orientated piece of architecture.
"I have been working as a doctor for architecture so to say. We did
not tear down and rebuild it but used existing building fabric and
improved it by changing and adding to the building and inserting components
with new shapes and colours. On the roof a forest sprouts much to the
pleasure of the neighbours and, inside, something like a romantic,
narrow, oriental bazar exists where you like to linger for a while."
Although the choice of liquors, beers and wines is limited,
and it's only open until 6pm, it is truely unique to
Vienna and a great place to grab a drink whilst on your sightseeing tour. |
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€3,70+ €3,20+ |
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| Not to be mistaken for the famous Volksgarten
disco next door (see below), this romantic garden pavillion is the
ideal place to spend those warm summer nights. Open from April until
September, you can sit under 1950s tea lamps and old chestnut trees,
overlooking the flowers in the direction of the Hofburg Palace. Play
petanque or table football whilst DJs mix everything from jazz and
soul to disco and underground hip hop. |
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€4.30+ €2+ |
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| The Schlumberger winery in Vienna has been
making sparkling wines since 1842 and is now one of the biggest sekt
brands in the world. Journey through 300 years of history with their
cellar tour, learning about the "Méthode
Traditionnelle",
which came from the Champagne region in France. Each tour lasts for
around 2 hours (with audio guide in German or English) and ends with
a glass of Schlumberger sekt in the elegant cellar bar. Other packages
available include tastings of five different Schlumberger varities,
three different Rosés or a "Premium Tasting" with the Prestige
Cuvée
Schlumberger DOM (Classic and Rosé) and their flagship Sparkling
Brut Vintage from the Premium magnum. Located opposite the Spittelau
U-Bahn station, they are open from 11:00 until 21:30 on Wednesdays
and until 18:00 Thursday - Saturday (last entrance 2 hours before). |
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€6+
with tour |
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| Pronounced in German, "Siebensternbräu",
the 7 Star brewery is a stunning micro brewery in the heart of Vienna
offering a selection of seven fantastic, fresh, natural homebrews.
One of six seasonal specialities complements the seven delicious regular
ales which include a Wiener Helles, a traditional Viennese Märzen,
a smoked Rauchbier, an India Pale Ale, a black and creamy Prager Dunkles,
a very spicy Chili beer and even a herbal Hanf beer made from cannabis
hemp leaves. The food is also delicious and the huge portions are ideal
for soaking up the booze. The place is large and is especially popular
with non-smokers, whilst a beautiful beer garden offers a chance to
catch some sun or have a cigarette. |
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€3,60+ €2,20+ |
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| Located on the Danube inside the Wien - Bratislava ferry terminal,
this 1950s Venice inspired bar and restaurant is one of our favourite
places in the city. A very classy venue set over two floors with a
large sundeck overlooking the river, the cocktails are some of the
best in Vienna and the ever-changing DJ line-up throws up soul, funk
and jazz to add a fantastic atmosphere. |
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| If you're looking to taste something new,
then it's well worth taking the trip slightly out of town to this excellent
bar and restaurant (just 3 minutes on the U-bahn from Wien Mitte station).
Their liquor collection is said to the biggest in Austria, and with
6,000 wines (1,500 from Austria alone), 800 whiskies, 550 cold beers,
180 gins, 90 vodkas and 150 rums to choose from (including a Damoiseau
Rhum Vieux 1953 and a Cutty Sark Queen Victoria 50 years), all available
by the glass at very reasonable prices, it would take you many years
to work your way through the menu. |
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| Although prices are almost double that of
other bars in Vienna, this tiny piano bar still has to be visited for
the experience. With capacity for little more than 30 people (31 if
you include the pianist), the decor has not changed in 75 years and
you can really get a feel of how the city was back in the day. There's
a small classic cocktail list and the clientelle are noticebly older.
Photos are not allowed and it is extremely smokey. |
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| Head down to the Donaukanal towpath between
Schwedenplatz and Urania for a bar with a difference. This permanently
anchored ship boasts an outdoor swimming pool on the first deck, a
bowling alley in the cargo hold, a sundeck up top and a fantastic craft
ale bar and restaurant which uses beer as an ingredient in many of
its dishes. In keeping with the cool graffiti that surrounds it, the
ship is shabby chic and a real hipster hangout. |
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€5,75+ €?+ |
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| Vienna is famous for its history, architecture,
culture and music - but also for its sweet desserts and fine wines.
So when Gerstner, the city's finest purveyors of desserts, teamed up
with Schlumberger, the city's finest sekt producer, to open this joint
venture in December
2014, you just knew that they would deliver Viennese culture to perfection.
Indeed, this unique concept mix of shop and bar at Palais Todesco certainly
has to be visited. Downstairs the beautiful shop offers sweet delights
but climb the imperial staircase, and you will find yourself in a
homely wine bar with a living room atmosphere, where you can also see
the pastry chefs at work and admire the view over the Wiener Staatsoper. |
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€?+ |
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| This charming tiny cocktail bar, located
in a railway arch underneath station, is ran by legendary Viennese
barman Erick Wassicek, his wife Conny and their daughters. Recognised
as Vienna's "barman's bar", there's a good selection of top
quality liquor, especially single malt whiskies, and two summer terraces
either side of the arch, which help boost the bar's normal 30 person
capacity. The classic cocktails are arguably the best in the city and
there's a fair few modern inventions on the menu inspired by famous
bartenders across the globe. Of course, being a family affair, the
hospitality is second to none and you'll probably find you end up staying
here all night if you don't mind a smoky environment. |
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| This neighbourhood cocktail bar, close to Taborstraße
U-Bahn station, is a great place for an intimate chat or
romantic date. The dimmed lighting and retro decor add to the ambience,
whilst the cocktails are simply fantastic with the Liquid Sacher Cake
worthy of note from a tourists point of view. Opening until 3am every
night (4am on Saturdays), many of Vienna's bar staff head here after
work. |
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| Known locally as "Loo's American Bar",
this tiny historic cocktail bar was designed by Adolf Loos in 1908.
A controversial figure in his day, when buildings in Vienna were grand
and ornate, Loos was famed for his minimalist stripped-down designs
which have gone on to influence modern architecture to this day. His
approach is apparent in the design of the Kärntner Bar, as it
was known then, and has barely changed since. A beautiful mirror makes
the wooden bar look much bigger than it is, although a terrace offers
more space to enjoy the classic cocktail list. |
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| Located on the 57th floor of the Hotel Melia,
this is the highest hot spot in the whole of Austria at 220metres high.
Connected to Stephensplatz by the U1 line, it is just across the Donau
in the Vienna International City, home to the United Nations and the
Donaupark. Signature cocktails, a 22 bottle gin collection and weekend
DJs mixing funk, soul and disco add to the amazing views from the outdoor
terrace. |
 Kaisermühlen
VIC (Line U1) |
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| This plush cocktail bar, restaurant, cafe
and terrace is located on the seventh floor of the upmarket Steffi
department store. Accessed by a lift directly from the main Kärntner
Straße shopping sreet below, the dark, modern interior and the
glass front offer some of the best views of Vienna as well as the vineyards
on the outskirts. With live piano jazz Monday to Friday and DJ's on
Saturdays, it is the place to see and be seen. |
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| Austria's biggest alternative culture centre,
this graffiti-covered not-for-profit concert venue and bar is famous
for the scene
in "Before Sunrise" where Jessie and Celine flirt over
the pinball machine . However, it's fame doesn't end there. On the
27th June 1976, a beautiful old slaughterhouse was set to be demolished
so a group of protestors calling themselves the
"Arenauten" started to occupy it, offering a place for alternative
youth culture, far removed from the high society culture Vienna could
only offer at that time. More than 200,000 people are said to have
visited the site during the occupation and Leonard Cohen even described
it as being "the best place in Vienna, the best place in Europe
and the best place in the world." Sadly, the Viennese politicians
went ahead and demolished the building four months later but the tone
had been set for future demands and the plan of the "Arenauten" to
establish an independent cultural centre finally materialised on a
smaller scale in an old neighbouring slaughterhouse. Today, the venue
is split into five areas. The Dreiraum plays host to artistic ideas
by three young organisers, Kleine Halle offers smaller concerts, parties
and solidarity events, whilst Grosse Halle plays host to larger International
acts, especially from the punk and metal scene. In the summer, the
Open Air large meadow is one of the highlights of Vienna, attracting
large International musicians and offering a "Gastro Meile" collection
of bars and takeaways to the 3,000 customers. There's also an Open
Air Kino in the courtyard with its alternative movies. Whilst in the
area, you should also check out Gasometer.
Four former gas tanks, used from 1899 to 1984, they have been converted
to residential apartments, student dormitories, a cinema and large
concert venue which attracts top names. |
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| This famous cocktail bar transports you
straight back to the 1930s with its stunning rounded wooden ceiling,
old leather bar stools and water plant aquarium, which were all transferred
here from the old Mounier Bar across town. You can picture the glamour
of days gone by and imagine Sean Connery as James Bond, sat at the
bar, sipping on his Vesper Martini and smoking a cigarette whilst chatting
up a local frauline. Open until 4am daily, the cocktail list boasts
over 200 classics whilst the soundtrack is purely jazz and blues, with
live musicians also appearing. |
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| This tiny bar from legendary Loos bar manager
Roberto Pavlovic opened in January 2014. It pays more than a nod to
the 1920s with its choice of classic cocktails and a stunning art deco
chandelier, made from 80,000 pearls, which dominates the room. The
atmosphere is very friendly and it's open until 4am each night, but
can get crowded and smokey during busy periods. |
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| Whilst far from offering the best alcohol
collection in Vienna - our waitress even advised us against trying
either of their two wines - this historic establishment best sums
up Vienna's cafe culture more than any of the other 550 in the city.
Dating back to 1880, it became the regular hangout for artists, writers,
high ranking officers and even royalty until the Nazis came to power
in 1942; their distrust of Cafe Sperl's regular customers saw them
stamp out any such gatherings. Today the cafe is perhaps most famous
for the "telephone
scene" in the Before Sunrise movie and it's not unusual
to see tourists ignoring the "no phones" policy to take
photos recreating the scene. A piano player provides a nice soundtrack
to some of the best coffee in Vienna whilst there are also four pool
tables and a nice courtyard to enjoy a nice cold beer in the hot
summer months. |
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€4,10+ €2,60+ |
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| "Don't forget... you are stardust!" are
the famous words said by the fortune teller to Jessie and Celine in
Before Sunrise, as they drink in the beautiful square outside this
tiny bar. You'll feel a lot bigger than stardust here though, as there's
literally only room for a handful of people and the locals seem to
know how to get there before the tourists who are reinacting the movie.
There's a very smoky backroom, which offers some standing room but
is less pretty, and the modern rock playlist kind of detracts from
the charm of the front room or the outside seating in summer. The drinks
list is basic but nonetheless, there's a reason it's so popular with
locals and tourists alike |
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€4+ €2,20+ |
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| This three-roomed nightclub in the historic
Volksgarten is probably the most famous disco in Vienna. Open Thursday
to Saturday, it is split into the Wintergarten bar with its 1950s furniture,
the main Discothec area and, operated as a separate club, the Cortic
Säulenhalle
(Column Hall) with its outdoor gardens built around
the neoclassical Theseus Temple, completed in 1821, where the party
continues underneath the stars. The playlist covers everything from
house to pop and rock, appealing to both a young and 30 something crowd,
and varies in each of the rooms. Entrance is around €10
- €15
and the queues are normally long. |
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| This beautiful pub, set over two floors,
next to the Rathaus is one of the busiest drinking holes in Vienna.
Choose to sit under the arcades outside or head for the the
large beer keller area inside, with its enclaves and platforms. Alternatively,
head upstairs to the 150 person balcony with its impressive ceiling
and huge portrait of old Albert himself. |
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| When Engelbert Drechsler's coffee house,
which dated back to 1919, re-opened in 2007 following a redesign by
Sir Terence Conran, nobody could have predicted how stylish it would
be. Located opposite Naschmarkt (see above) this really is a 21st century
take on the traditional Viennesse cafe culture complete with cocktails
and DJs. |
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| Vienna's first brewpub, this large brewery
and beer garden has been producing their our own tasty beer since
1985. The refreshing, naturally cloudy Fischer Bright beer is joined
every 4 to 6 weeks with a special brew, such
as Easter, summer and Christmas ales, or the home-brewed wheat beer.
Ornate tiles on the outside complement the copper bar and cosy interior
whilst live jazz every Sunday lunchtime, make it the ideal place to
head for a lazy boozy weekend afternoon. |
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€3.70+ €1,90+ |
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| Hidden underneath the gigantic pink rabbit
next to the Wiener Staatsoper, you'll find Vienna's most stylish dinner
club. A restaurant which becomes a discoteque with live singers and
musicians joining the DJs who spin funk, classic 70s disco, house and
soul, you could easily be forgiven that you were in New York or Tokyo
rather than underneath the busy Opernring road. |
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| One of the most celebrated cocktail bars
in Vienna, this American-style bar offers a huge cocktail list which
includes some of their own International award winning creations.
In a city which boasts more than its fair share of nostalgic Dean
Martin, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong era "American bars",
this is arguably the best and claims to have the largest bourbon
collection in Austria. |
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This charming looking bar on a pretty
street may resemble nothing more than a British pub on the inside,
however you should head here if gin is your tipple of choice. With
over 290 varieties and 16 different tonics, it can easily claim to
offer the biggest selection in Austria. In fact, if you visited here
for a different combination of G&T every day, it would take you
over 13 years before you'd work your way through the menu. |
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€3,50+ €2,70+ |
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| This industrial chic, 1980s-style, multi-coloured
gin and tonic bar next to the famous Figlmueller restaurant is the
perfect place to go to try one of more than 30 different G&T combinations,
each served with its own unique garnish. There's a good selection of Austrian gins to choose from too. Visit before 20:00 every day
(including weekends) to take advantage of the popular Happy Hour offers. |
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| Enjoy a selection of home brewed beer specialities made in the heart of Vienna. Whilst you could easily mistake this very popular brewpub and burger joint for just being a large American theme bar (even the young staff are more likely to speak English than German), it actually offers a range of delicious beers made on the premises, including a distinctively hoppy lager, a Black & Tan, a cascade hopped Weissebier and their best-selling Victory Hop Devil IPA. The seasonal beers and barrel aged special editions are also excellent and you could spend hours in here trying each on - fortunately they come in four different sizes, ranging from 0.1 to 1.5 litres. |
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€4+ €2,90+ |
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| This vintage cycle shop doubles up as a
fantastic bar and coffee house (or vice versa) and is certainly a cool
place for cyclists to hang out. Decorated by the 1980's steel framed
Italian racebikes on sale, there's plenty of booze on offer, organic
apricot nectar from 70 year old trees and, it's also said, they serve
the best espressos in Vienna, made using an original old Faema coffee
machine. Whilst there's no cocktails, their long drinks are named after
famous cyclists like Eddy Merckx, Alfonsina Strada and Alex Moulton. |
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€3,70+ €2,60+ |
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If it wasn't for the fact we're supposed
to be sworn to secrecy about this bar, it would appear a lot higher
up our list of best bars in Vienna. Not to be mistaken with
the X-Bar gay cafe across town, "Xtrazimmer" basically
translates as "speakeasy" in
English and they don't come much more exclusive than this huge basement
cocktail bar, restaurant, club and gallery. Located on the historic
Wollzeile street, it belongs to the stunning Yoshi‘s
Corner art gallery next door and is the playground for the owners
of the Dots sushi restaurant chain. The clientelle is made up of
friends and family - you need a key to access the premises and there's
only 1,000 given out - with the likes of the Stereo MCs and Wu-Tang
Clan performing DJ sets here. There's no menu. Instead the talented
mixologists and chefs work around your preferred ingredients with
the steaks and prawns just as celebrated as the fantastic cocktails
(by those in the know). This is one exclusive party you should try
and get an invite to. |
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© Best Bars Europe 2014 ~ Prices quoted correct in February 2014 |
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