Vienna
District Guide
The districts of Vienna have names, but are also numbered from 1 to 23. The city can be divided into four different parts. First, there is the center, the 1st District. Here, you will find the famous Ringstrasse, built by Emperor Franz Joseph I instead of medieval city walls. Districts numbered 3-9 lie between the "Ring" and the "Gürtel" (belt) boulevards, whilst the 1st and the 2nd Districts are separated by a small river, the Donaukanal. Beyond the Gürtel, south, west and north of the 1st District, you will find Districts 10 to 20 and the two districts on the opposite bank of the river Danube, dubbed by the Viennese the "Transdanubien." Lastly, District 23 is situated south of the city center.The 1st District—Innere Stadt: The Historic Centre
This is the first, most elegant and one of the most expensive of Vienna’s districts. Splendid boutiques, expensive hotels, the Burgtheater, the State Opera and most of the historic monuments are all located in the 1st District or "Innere Stadt" (inner city). This area is also the home of many important politicians and the Austrian President. Here you will find medieval Vienna: old houses, narrow cobbled streets and romantic squares where one almost expects Mozart to appear around the next corner. Right through the 1st District runs Kärtnerstrasse, a pedestrian zone and shopping boulevard with the State Opera at one end and Stephansplatz with Stephansdom at the other. In the small streets around Kärtnerstrasse you will find jewelery shops, expensive fashion boutiques (from Chanel to Gucci to Prada) as well as antique stores and some of the best cafes in town such as the popular Demel.
The 2nd District—Leopoldstadt: Schnitzler, Strauss & Mahler
Leopoldstadt, the city’s 2nd District, is separated from the center of Vienna by the Danube Canal and, along with the 20th District, Brigittenau, forms a misshapen island bordered to the east by the main arm of the Danube. For the most part, this area is an uninteresting residential suburb only redeemed by the Prater, the vast city park with its funfair, Ferris wheel, woods and numerous recreational facilities. Between 1600 and 1939, Leopoldstadt was the center of Vienna’s Jewish community. In the mid-19th century, thousands of Jews took the opportunity to leave Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary and Galicia and migrated to the capital of the Habsburg Empire. The majority arrived by train at Wien Nord and settled in the surrounding district of Leopoldstadt, where housing conditions were poor and rents cheap. The Strauss family, Sigmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Arthur Schnitzler and Theodor Herzl all lived here at some point, before moving up in the world to the city’s richer suburbs.
The 3rd District—Landstrasse: Rich & Poor
Vienna’s 3rd District lies to the east and southeast of the Innere Stadt, framed to the east by the Danube Canal (Donaukanal) and to the west by Prinz-Eugen-Strasse and Arsenalstrasse. It is predominantly a working-class area with a high immigrant population, mostly refugees from the former eastern-bloc Yugoslavia. The one exception is the diplomatic quarter close to Schwarzenbergplatz and around the Belvedere. Here you will find splendid houses, expensive hotels and excellent restaurants. But, the most important sight in the 3rd District is the Belvedere itself, probably Vienna’s most beautiful rococo palace. Other sights, such as the KunstHausWien (designed by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser), the Hundertwasserhaus, the Wittgensteinhaus, the Museum of the 20th century and the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum are widely dispersed throughout the district.
The 4th District—Wieden: From Belvedere to Naschmarkt
In Wieden, situated between Karlsplatz, Wienzeile and Gürtel, the atmosphere is rather more splendid than in the neighbouring 3rd District. The 4th is one of the more well-presented residential suburbs close to the city center with patrician houses, pretty restaurants and chic bars. Here, you will find Radiokulturhaus, the Theresianum and the Naschmarkt, Vienna’s biggest and most adventurous market.
The 5th District—Margarethen
Margarethen lies next to Wieden between Gürtel and Wienzeile and is mostly a working-class suburb. There are no major attractions besides the Flea Market in Wienzeile, which takes place every Saturday.
The 6th & 7th Districts—Mariahilf & Neubau: Artists, Students, Bohemiéns
Between Wienzeile and Lerchenfelderstrasse, Ringstrasse and Gürtel you will find Mariahilf and Neubau, divided by Vienna’s biggest shopping boulevard, the Mariahilferstrasse. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, this area was rather dull, poor and not all that beautiful. Once home to many warehouses and beautiful patrician houses, housing conditions during the 1950s deteriorated and rents fell, making this area very attractive to artists and students. Today, the old warehouses are chic studios and flats; the old Biedermeier quarter of Spittelberg was saved from demolition and has been refurbished. In addition, Mariahilferstrasse became a splendid shopping area. With lots of good restaurants, chic bars and nightclubs, the 6th and the 7th Districts offer the busiest nightlife in town.
The 8th & 9th Districts—Josefstadt and Alsergrund: Home of the Patricians
Between Ringstrasse and Gürtel and separating the Lerchenfelderstrasse from the Donaukanal, you will find the districts of Josefstadt and Alsergrund, two very nice residential areas with large patrician houses. Many wealthy Viennese, who prefer to live in the city center and not in a villa outside of town, have flats here. The main attractions (besides a good many restaurants and bars) are the Theater in der Josefstadt, the Volksoper, the university campus and the house in which Sigmund Freud used to live.
The 10th, 11th & 12th Districts—Favoriten, Simmering & Meidling: Working Class Suburbs
The only significant sight in these districts south of the Gürtel is the Zentralfriedhof in the outskirts of Simmering. Generally speaking, these are unattractive working-class suburbs dominated by flat buildings, ranging from the 1920s tenement housing to the huge council blocks-type of the 1980s and 1990s.
The 13th District—Hietzing: Gardens, Mansions, Palaces
This area of town is a pleasant, fashionable garden-suburb west of the 5th district with lots of splendid villas and gardens, ranging from the Biedermeier summer residences (enjoyed by the 19th-century nobility), to the Jugendstil (art nouveau) and modernist villas favored by the more successful artists and businessmen of late-imperial Vienna. Here, you will find Schloß Schönbrunn with its park as well as the Lainzer Tiergarten, the former imperial hunting ground, nowadays Vienna’s second biggest park, smaller than only the famous Prater.
The 14th, 15th & 16th Districts—Rudolfsheim & Ottakring: Turn-of-the-Century Vienna
The 15th and 16th Districts with their patrician houses (situated between the Gürtel and the Wienerwald, west of the city center) were all built at the same time as the Ringstrasse; but today, housing conditions are very poor (lots of flats still don't have indoor bathrooms). Once working class areas, Rudolfsheim and Ottakring now have the highest immigrant populations in Vienna. In the hilly part of Ottakring, you will find some beautiful old villas, as well as Schloß Wilhelminenberg and Villa Aurora.
The 17th, 18th & 19th Districts—Hernals, Währing, Döbling: Villas, Vineyards, Vienna Woods
Beyond the Gürtel and towards the Vienna Woods north of the center, the villas get bigger, the surroundings greener and the streets more splendid the further you go up the hills. Those who want to live in a green, quiet area (and have the money to do so) flock here. In these districts you'll have ample opportunities for relaxing walks in the woods, and you'll also find beautiful Heurigen (traditional Austrian wine taverns), especially in Grinzing and Neustift am Walde, both in the 19th district. Vienna’s greatest and most beautiful public swimming pool, the Krapfenwaldlbad, is situated in Döbling on a hill high above the city and, besides being very relaxing, offers a wonderful view over the city.
The 20th District—Brigittenau: Vienna's Youngest District
Named after the 17th-century Brigittakapele, much of the land on which this district sits was claimed from the Donau River after its containment in 1870. Around 1900, the 20th District was divided off of the larger 2nd to become Vienna's last district. Brigittenau lacks the historical attractions of many of the other districts, but contains the Millenium tower, a high-rise spectacle, and the Hannover Market.
The 21st & 22nd district—Floridsdorf & Donaustadt: Transdanubia
The Viennese call these districts Transdanubien (beyond the Danube) because they are situated on the other side of the riverbank, east of the city center. Here, you will find Vienna’s most popular recreational area, the Donauinsel. This is a very thin, very long, artificial island in the river Danube—a paradise for rollerblading, cycling, jogging, walking (with or without your dog), as well as swimming and sunbathing in the summertime. Furthermore, the area close to the U1-underground station known as the "sunken city," has a very busy nightlife with bars, restaurants and nightclubs that are generally open from June to September.
Both districts have rather cheap (and somewhat rough) residential areas. Nevertheless, the Donaustadt is the district of Vienna in which the "real" Viennese people are said to live. There is even a television soap opera called Kaisermühlen-Blues (Kaisermühlen is a part of Donaustadt) that describes the life of the everyday people who live here.
The 23rd District—Liesing: Small Houses, Huge Council Blocks & Heurige
Liesing, which sits to the south of the city center, is huge with its small detached houses, council block buildings and some nice Heurigen places. Villages such as Mauer and Atzgersdorf are part of the 23rd district. They are so rural that it is sometimes hard to believe you are still in Vienna. The attractions in this area are limited to a handful of decent Heurigen restaurants; there are no major tourist sights here.
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