Hotels near The Viennese Coffee Houses

The Viennese coffee house is on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage, and the listing describes it exactly: a place where time and space are consumed but only the coffee appears on the bill. October is when this stops being a curiosity and becomes the reason you are in the city. Cafe Central on Herrengasse, under its vaulted ceiling, was Trotsky's local. Cafe Sperl in the 6th district has kept its 1880 billiard tables. Cafe Landtmann on the Ring was Freud's.

Order by name and you will be treated better: a melange is the standard milky coffee, a grosser Brauner is a double with cream on the side, an Einspanner is black coffee under whipped cream in a glass. Every coffee arrives with a glass of tap water, and a refill of that water is the waiter's way of saying you are welcome to stay. Newspapers on wooden rods are free to read.

Pro Tip: Skip Cafe Central between 11am and 3pm, when the queue outside runs down Herrengasse. Go at 8am instead, or pick Cafe Sperl or Cafe Pruckel, which are the same institution without the coach parties and cost noticeably less.