Vienna
Bar Guide

Vienna's historic centre holds the Loos American Bar, the American Bar at the Hotel Sacher, and a string of historically significant drinking rooms that no other city can match. 28 bars in our Innere Stadt guide. The prices reflect the postcode and the setting. Come for a special occasion, for the Martini at the Loos, or for the hotel bars on the Kärntner Ring. Classic cocktail bars in the Innere Stadt.

The neighbourhood that runs from the Naschmarkt to the Ringstrasse holds Vienna's most interesting wine bars and some of its best cocktail rooms. 24 bars in our guide. The Naschmarkt closes at 6pm on weekdays, at which point the surrounding bars fill with the market traders, the wine importers, and the restaurant crowd. Come between 7pm and 10pm for the overlap. After-work bars near the Naschmarkt.

Vienna's Seventh District has been taken over by independent designers, record shops, and natural wine bars that attract the city's youngest and most interesting crowd. 22 bars in our Neubau guide. The bars here close late and have the best music in Vienna. Come on a Friday evening when the district transitions from working neighbourhood to social hub. Hidden gems in Neubau.

The vast green park east of the centre holds Das Loft and a cluster of hotel rooftop bars with views that extend across the Danube plain. 16 bars in our Prater guide, including the city's best outdoor beer garden and the most dramatic cocktail terrace in Austria. The Prater works in summer when the rest of Vienna feels contained. Rooftop bars with Prater views.

The Eighth District, home to the Burgtheater crowd, holds Vienna's most literary bar scene. The Lob and Karntnerhalle on Lange Gasse have been serving the same clientele since the city was rebuilt after 1945. 14 bars in our guide. The conversation here is worth as much as the drinks. Come on a Tuesday or Wednesday when the atmosphere is unhurried. Quiet date night bars in Josefstadt. For another European city that takes its drinking as seriously as its history, see the Edinburgh bar guide.

The Heurigen district on the northern edge of Vienna, where winemakers open their own bars to sell the new vintage directly. This is the most distinctively Viennese drinking experience: white wine served in Viertel glasses, eaten alongside cold cuts and cheese, in a garden courtyard with a view of the vineyards that produced the bottle. 11 Heurigen in our guide, open seasonally. Austrian wine bars in Vienna.