Museumsquartier & Naschmarkt

The MuseumsQuartier is a 60,000 m² cultural complex in the former imperial stables — a brilliant blend of Baroque architecture and contemporary design. The museums are world-class, but the MQ is more than culture: It is Vienna's urban living room. In the courtyard, the famous Enzis (colorful designer furniture) invite Viennese and tourists to sit in the sun, read, drink, and enjoy the atmosphere.

The Three Major Museums

• Leopold Museum: The world's largest collection of Egon Schiele (over 40 oil paintings!) plus significant works by Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, and the Wiener Werkstätte. Schiele's "Houses by the Sea" and "Dead City" are disturbingly beautiful. Admission: €15.
• mumok (Museum of Modern Art): Austria's largest museum for contemporary art — from Pop Art (Warhol, Lichtenstein) to Viennese Actionism to current installations. The building itself (a dark basalt cube) is a statement. Admission: €14.
• Kunsthalle Wien: Temporary exhibitions of contemporary art — no permanent collection, but always current, often provocative shows. Admission: €9.

Court & Enzis

The courtyard of the MQ is Vienna's answer to an Italian piazza: In summer, hundreds of people sit in the colorful Enzis (in different colors depending on the season), drink spritzers (white wine spritzers) from the surrounding bars, and enjoy the evening. In winter, the courtyard becomes an ice rink. Access to the courtyard is free — a perfect place to arrive in Vienna.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) is Vienna's jewel and one of the five most important art museums in the world — alongside the Louvre, the Prado, the Hermitage, and the Uffizi. The collection stems from the Habsburgs' love of art, who gathered Europe's finest works over centuries.

The Highlights

• Pieter Bruegel the Elder: The world's largest Bruegel collection — 12 paintings, including "The Tower of Babel" (1563), "Peasant Wedding", "Hunters in the Snow", and "Children's Games". This room alone justifies a visit to Vienna.
• Vermeer: "The Art of Painting" — one of only 35 known Vermeer paintings worldwide.
• Velázquez: The Infanta portraits — royal children's portraits of impressive depth.
• Caravaggio: "David with the Head of Goliath" — dramatic chiaroscuro.
• Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt — the collection is a who's who of European art history.

The building itself is a work of art: The entrance hall with marble staircases, ceiling frescoes, and gilded decorations is breathtaking. In the café in the dome hall, you can eat Sachertorte under frescoes. Admission: €21.

The Naschmarkt is Vienna's culinary heart — 1.5 kilometers long, located here since the 16th century, and today a multicultural paradise with over 120 stalls and restaurants. Here, Viennese housewives, top chefs, tourists, and hipsters meet — the Naschmarkt is a cross-section of Vienna.

What's Available?

• Delicacies: Austrian mountain cheese, Tyrolean bacon, Hungarian salami, Greek olives, Persian spices, Turkish dried fruits — a feast for the senses.
• Restaurants: From Vietnamese pho soup to Israeli hummus to classic Wiener Schnitzel — the Naschmarkt has it all. Especially popular: Neni (Israeli-Oriental), Umar (fish restaurant), Tewa (Thai).
• Saturday Flea Market: At the western end (towards Kettenbrückengasse), the famous flea market takes place on Saturdays: antiques, vinyl records, vintage furniture, curiosities. Bargaining is common and expected.

Around the Naschmarkt

• Spittelberg (7th District): Biedermeier lanes with boutiques, galleries, and the famous Spittelberg Christmas Market (the most atmospheric in Vienna). Bars and restaurants for the evening.
• Mariahilfer Straße: Vienna's largest shopping street — 1.8 km pedestrian zone with everything from H&M to local concept stores.
• Otto Wagner Houses (Linke Wienzeile): Two Art Nouveau residential buildings by Otto Wagner — the Majolikahaus (No. 40) with its flower-adorned facade and the Medaillonhaus (No. 38). Architectural jewels, right at the Naschmarkt.