Vienna

The Habsburgs' summer palace has more than a thousand rooms, of which around forty can be visited, from the state rooms where Mozart performed as a child to the apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi). The formal gardens, free to enter, climb to the Gloriette, a colonnade with a view over the city.

TipBook a timed ticket and go first thing in the morning; the gardens are lovely to walk after your visit.

The Habsburgs' winter palace in the centre of the city is a complex of courtyards and wings built over seven centuries. It houses the Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum, the Imperial Silver Collection and the Spanish Riding School, where the white Lipizzaner horses perform.

The Gothic cathedral at the heart of Vienna, with its soaring south tower and a roof of glazed tiles in a zigzag pattern. Climb the south tower's spiral stairs or take the lift up the north tower to see its great bell and views across the old city.

Two baroque palaces facing each other across formal gardens, built for Prince Eugene of Savoy. The Upper Belvedere holds the world's largest collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt, including The Kiss, as well as works by Egon Schiele and the Viennese art of 1900.

A colourful public housing block designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, with uneven floors, onion domes, trees growing from the balconies and not a straight line in sight. It's still lived in, so it's viewed from outside; the nearby Kunst Haus Wien, also his design, has a museum of his work.

The Museum of Art History, in a magnificent building on the Ring, holds the Habsburgs' collections, including the world's largest group of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Across the road, the MuseumsQuartier is a lively complex of modern museums, including the Leopold Museum, with its Schiele collection, and courtyards where locals gather on summer evenings.

One of the world's great opera houses, with performances on most nights of the season. Guided tours show the building, but the best way to see it is at a performance.

TipStanding-room tickets, sold online and at the box office, cost just a few euros and are a Viennese tradition.

A Habsburg palace on the old city ramparts that houses one of the world's great collections of drawings and prints, including Dürer's Young Hare, and a superb collection of modern art from Monet to Picasso. The terrace in front looks across to the State Opera.

Vienna's most popular market stretches for about one and a half kilometres along the Wienzeile, with stalls selling spices, cheese, olives and fresh produce, and many small restaurants. On Saturdays, a flea market adds to the bustle.

A former imperial hunting ground, now a vast park with long chestnut avenues and the Wurstelprater amusement park. Its giant Ferris wheel, the Riesenrad, built in 1897 and famous from the film The Third Man, gives views over the city.