WINTER IN VIENNA

With indulgent cafes, artsy shopping and beautiful palaces, the Austrian capital is seriously cosy this time of year. This is what to look forward to...

ATMOSPHERIC SHOPPING

The capital of Austria comes with amazing shopping. Among the boutiques, galleries, and vintage shops in Vienna’s cool 7th district, visit Schokov (schokov.com) for organic chocolate in flavours from chili to banana curry or pumpkin seed. Meanwhile, one of the coolest shops in artsy Freihausviertel, Gabarage Upcycling Design (gabarage. at) takes other people’s tat and turns it into treasure – tarpaulins become bags, traffic lights lamps and bowling pins vases. Finally, look at hand-blown glassware, chandeliers, porcelain and Biedermeier and Modernist pieces at J&L Lobmeyr (lobmeyr. at), founded in 1823 to supply the imperial court.

GRAND PALACES & GALLERIES

Vienna loves winter, and icy weather is a great excuse to curl up inside. People enjoy the cocoon-like warmth of the city’s coffee houses and its parade of galleries and palaces, up there among Europe’s finest. Start at baroque Schloss Belvedere (belvedere. at) and its palaces, where you’ll be floored by lavishly frescoed halls. The Upper Belvedere presents the best of Austrian art – Schiele, Kokoschka and Klimt and his masterpiece, The Kiss. Outside, the fountain-studded gardens appear like a scene from an old black-and-white movie on chilly winter days.