It is difficult not to be moved to hum a Brahms lullaby or a Strauss waltz as you explore the sights of Austria's beautiful Baroque capital, Vienna, which for centuries was the centre of the splendid Hapsburg Empire. The city remains infused with the grand imperial spirit in the form of magnificent palaces and grand mansions peppering the Innerestadt. The city's cultural heritage is mainly musical, the great composers like Strauss, Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn and Mozart all having lived and performed here. Today the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the State Opera House help keep alive the city's tradition by offering more classical music performances a year than any other city in the world.

Vienna is a city of music, but it is also synonymous with gourmet fare, cream cakes, superb coffee, the angelic strains of the Vienna Boys' Choir and the proud prancing of the Lippizaner stallions at the world-famous Spanish Riding School.

Vienna started out as a Celtic settlement on the banks of the Danube and became one of the Roman's most important central European bases. Its central location on the strategic river contributed to the city becoming a mighty empire, reaching its peak during the tumultuous reign of the dazzling Hapsburg dynasty. At the end of the 19th century the golden age of empire began to decline as Vienna's coffee houses filled with radical intellectuals like Freud, Klimt and Mahler. The Second World War Nazi occupation left scars, but Vienna survived it all to remain a captivating capital that blends Italian romanticism with a Germanic orderliness.

Most of the city's tourist attractions are within the largely pedestrianised inner city area, which was once enclosed by the city walls. The walls have been replaced with the Ringstrasse, a wide ring road. Further out in the suburbs is the thrilling Prater amusement park with its massive ferris wheel, and the opulent Schonbrunn summer palace. Visitors also should not miss a trip to the Vienna Woods, peppered with ancient 'heuringen' (wine taverns).

Hofburg

Address: Innerer Burghof 1, Kaisertor Vienna

Admission: EUR10.50 (adults), EUR6.50 (children 6-18); other concessions available. Daily 9am to 5:30pm (until 6pm in July and August).

Telephone: (0)1 533 7570

Spanish Riding School

Address: Michaelerplatz 1 Vienna

Admission: Prices vary according to season, attraction and seating options; see website for details. Daily 9am to 4pm. Performances Fridays 9am to 7pm.

Telephone: (0)1 533 9031

Karlskirche

Address: Kreuzherrengasse 1 Vienna

Admission: EUR6 (adults), free for children under 10yrs. Concessions available. Monday to Saturday 9am to 12:30pm, 1pm to 6pm.

Schönbrunn Palace

Address: Schönbrunner Schloss Strasse 13 Vienna

Admission: Grand Tour: EUR15.50 (adults), EUR11 (children 6-18). Various other tour options available. Palace: daily 8:30am to 5pm (April to June, September, October); 8:30am to 6pm (July, August); 8:30am to 4:30pm (November to March). Park: daily at 6am (6:30am from November to March), closing times vary according to the season, between 5:30pm and 9pm.

Telephone: (0)1 8111 3239

Giant Wheel

Address: Prater 90 Vienna

Admission: EUR8.50 (adults), EUR3.50 (children 3-14), concessions available. Open daily but hours vary seasonally, see website for details.

Telephone: (0)1 729 5430

Belvedere

Address: 27 Prinz Eugen Street Vienna

Admission: EUR14 (adult), Children free. Concessions available. Daily 10am to 6pm; lower Belvedere and the Orangery open until 9pm Wednesdays.

Telephone: (0)1 795 570, or (0)1 79 557 134

Vienna State Opera

Address: Opernring 2 Vienna

Admission: Guided tour: EUR5 (adults), EUR2 (children). Opera tour and Opera museum combination ticket: EUR6.50 (adults), EUR3.50 (children). Other combinations and concessions available. Guided tours are offered Tuesday to Sunday; check dates and times online or via telephone

Telephone: (0)1 51444 2250

St Stephen's Cathedral

Address: Stephansplatz Vienna

Admission: Free admission to the cathedral. Cathedral Tour: EUR14.50 (adults), EUR12.50 (children). Other packages and concessions available. Daily 6am to 10pm (from 7am on Sundays). Various guided tours take place daily.

Telephone: Guided tours: (0)1 5155 23526

The Albertina

Address: Albertinaplatz 1 Vienna

Admission: EUR9.50 (adults), concessions available. Children under 19 free. Daily 10am to 6pm (until 9pm on Wednesdays).

Telephone: (0)1 53483 525

Imperial Treasury

Address: Schweizer Hof Vienna

Admission: EUR12 (adults), EUR9 (concessions), children under 19 free. Wednesday to Monday 9:30am to 6pm

Telephone: (0)1 52524

Museum of Fine Arts (Kunsthistorisches Museum)

Address: Maria-Theresian Platz Vienna

Admission: EUR12 (adults), EUR9 (concessions); children under 19 free. Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm (until 9pm on Thursdays).

Telephone: (0)1 52524

Haus der Musik

Address: Seilerstätte 30 Vienna

Admission: EUR11 (adults), EUR5.50 (children 3-12); other concessions available. Daily 10am to 10pm

Telephone: (0)1 51648

Austrian National Library

Address: Josefplatz 1 Vienna

Telephone: (0)1 53410-444

Natural History Museum

Address: Maria-Theresien Platz Vienna

Admission: EUR10 (adults), children under 19 free. Thursday to Monday 9am to 6.30pm, Wednesday 9am to 9pm

Telephone: (0)1 521770

Wiener Prater

Address: Wurstelprater 9 Vienna

Vienna Woods

Address: Vienna

Minopolis – City of Children

Address: Wagramer Straße 2 Vienna

Admission: Fridays: EUR4 (adults); EUR8 (children). Other: EUR6 (adults); EUR15 (children) Open Fridays from 2pm – 7pm. Saturday, Sunday, Public and School Holidays from 10am - 6pm

Telephone: 0810 970 270

House of the Sea

Address: Esterházypark Vienna

Admission: EUR12.90 (adults); EUR5.90 (children) Open daily 9am-6pm. Thursdays 9am-9pm.

Telephone: 587 14 17

BOGI Park

Address: Gutheil-Schoder-Gasse 17 Vienna

Admission: EUR3.50 (ages 1 – 3 years); EUR8.90 (children 3 – 16 years); EUR4 (adults). Prices differ in the evening. Open daily 10am–7pm

Telephone: 01 23 000 00

Freud Museum

Address: Berggasse 19 Vienna

Admission: EUR7 adults, EUR2.50 children 12-18; other concessions available. Daily 9am to 5pm (closes 6pm from July to September). Guided tours from 10am to 4pm.

Telephone: +43 (1) 319 159

Vienna Ball Season

Where: Various,Vienna

When: December 2011 to February 2012

New Year's Day Concert

Where: Vienna Musikverein,Vienna

When: 1 January 2012

Vienna Festival (Festwochen)

Where: Various,Vienna

When: 13 May to 19 June 2011

Donau (Danube) Island Festival

Where: Donauinsel (Danube Island),Vienna

When: 24 - 26 June 2011

Austria Skate Marathon

Where: Prater,Vienna

When: 24 - 28 June 2011

Hietzinger Bräu

Address: 1130 Wien, Auhofstraße 1 Vienna

Food Type: Local

Café Central

Address: Herrengasse 14 Vienna

Food Type: Café

Altwienerhof

Address: Herklotzgasse 6 Vienna

Food Type: French

Wiener Rathauskeller

Address: Rathausplatz 1 Vienna

Food Type: Local

Café Demel

Address: Kohlmarkt 14 Vienna

Food Type: Café

Restaurant Imperial

Address: Kärntner Ring 16 Vienna

Food Type: International

Motto

Address: Schonbrunnerstr 30 Vienna

Food Type: Fusion

Wollzeile

Address: Wollzeile 5 (St Stephansplatz) Vienna

Food Type: Local

Steirereck

Address: Rasumofskygasse 2 Vienna

Food Type: Local

DO & CO

Address: Stephansplatz 12 Vienna

Food Type: International