Text Tabitha Lasley
After a day of high culture, change the mood by visiting one of Vienna’s coolest nightspots
4 of the best: Bars in Vienna
All soaring Hapsburg architecture and imposing imperial palaces, Vienna must be the most classically beautiful city in central Europe. But there’s more to the capital’s nightlife than waltzing and coffee…
EUROPA 8
Zollergasse, www.hinterzimmer.at
What Ostensibly a kitschy 50s-feel bar with a pretty street terrace. But behind the deceptively homely façade there’s a backroom club, the Hinterzimmer.
Who Artists, musicians and modish locals.
Drink The Santora coffee – it’s meant to be Vienna’s best.
LUTZ DIE BAR 3
Mariahilfer Strasse, www.lutz-bar.at
What An achingly stylish bar in the heart of Vienna’s interior design district – think dark woods, wrought iron, coffee-coloured upholstery and plenty of low-slung seating.
Who Furniture fetishists and lounge lovers.
Drink A Caps Aperol – a blend of bitter Italian aperitif Aperol, Bombay Sapphire gin, orange juice, a trickle of elderberry syrup and a dash of lime.
PASSAGE
Babenbergstrasse, www.sunshine.at
What Once a neglected underpass that ran beneath the Ringstrasse, the space was transformed into a subterranean club that has gone on to become one of the city’s most kinetic nightspots.
Who An oddly eclectic blend of students, trustafarians and committed clubbers.
Drink A Flying Maria – grapefruit juice blended with Licor 43 (a Spanish liqueur made with citrus fruit).
AUX GAZELLES 5
Rahlgasse, www.auxgazelles.at
What An arabesque oasis on the edge of the Museums Quarter, Aux Gazelles calls itself a ‘hotel without rooms’. Choose from the Champagne and oyster bar, the restaurant or the candle-lit Salon de Thé. It’s even got a hammam.
Who Vienna’s bright young things – the club’s especially popular with the city’s Middle Eastern population.
Drink La Vie en Rose – champagne with grenadine and rose water.
Make March the month to…
try out the soothing Killer Heels treatment at Renaissance Chancery Court’s sumptuous spa in London. If you’re the sort of barfly who routinely swaps her Converse for her Christian Louboutins, your feet will love you for it. spachancerycourt.com
Cocktail corner
Espresso Martini
If you’re reading this during early March – the month that ‘comes in like a lion’ weather-wise – you might well need a little inducement before stepping out to brave the cold. Step forward espresso martini – sweet enough to soothe, yet with a jolt of caffeine that stops it straying into soporific territory. In fact, it’s the perfect pre-party pick-me-up whatever the weather. Here’s how to prepare it:
Shake one part cold espresso, one part white crème de cacao, two parts Kahlúa and two parts Vanilla Stolichnaya with ice, stir and pour into a chilled martini glass.
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