Vienna is considered as ultimate destination and space for someone who has great passion for culture and is highly inclined toward intellectualism. Vienna lets a person to have all the best of use his desires related to culture as well as combined with materials to be being fulfilled there. For many persons who have there is much love for shopping though they are at cultural tour of the city, one can visit at city’s shopping mile, Mariahilfer Strasse, as why Vienna is yet at the core and center of European shopping. The real beauty of shopping complexes of Vienna lies in beautiful windows displays of specialty shops and boutiques situated on the ground floors of historical buildings make a shopping experience in Vienna a true and a unique experience.

• Fashion in Vienna: If you are quite a fashion enthusiast then the real place for you to roam around in Vienna is the historic center of the city of Vienna. The small and compact location of fashion center of Vienna is at the exact middle of the circle that gets formed by the Ringstrasse. All the shopping places at the Vienna center are so connected with each other that there is absolutely no need to bring  your in between. At the historic center proximity of many historical monuments with each other, have made it to be area phobic to huge shopping malls.  For renowned fashion designer labels you would have to visit through popular chains. Some of the popular centers for fashion shopping in district center are:  the Graben and Rotenturmstrasse (U-Bahn: Stephansplatz) with the spectacularly modern shopping centre of Haas House, Kärntnerstrasse (U-Bahn: Karlsplatz);   Kohlmarkt (U-Bahn: Herrengasse); Favoritenstrasse (U-Bahn: Süditrolerplatz); and Landstrasser Hauptstrasse (U-Bahn: Schlachthausgasse).

• Confectioneries in Vienna: Next to fashion the next uniqueness for what Vienna should be remembered is its chocolate topped Sachertorte. This is always advisable for sweet lovers as wells as not to sweet lovers those they should always visit state of the art confectionery shop in Vienna.  Below are mentioned some popular sweet shops in Vienna that a person should always pay interest and heed while on a tour of Vienna. The shops follows like as:

1. Grand Cacao: Located in Schleifmühlgasse, never fails to astonish chocolate connoisseurs with such rare treats as Tuscanian choco noodles or beans with choco rasps.

1. Xocolat: At Palais Ferstel arcade, it gives around 150 different types of chocolates to taste.

1. Schokoladekönig: Occurring near to St. Peter’s Church, has an in-store choco fountain into which customers can dip fresh fruit.

1. Sacher Confiserie: Towards the State Opera House, has been producing the most famous chocolate cake in the world since 1832

• Shops in Vienna: Shopping in Vienna is a pure pleasure. The city attracts tourists with its large department stores, the most prestigious being Ringstrassen Galerien. The main shopping district is marked by four major streets: Mariahilferstreet, Graben, Kärntnerstreet and Kohlmarkt. There, you can choose from a variety of fashionable boutiques, from the most luxurious by Louis Vuitton, Escada, Gucci and Chanel to the more affordable H&M and Jackpot. There are also numerous gourmet temples such as Meinl at the Graben, Sacher, or Demel, where you’ll find traditional Viennese delicacies such as apple strudel or Schwarzwälder Kirschbombe. As the city of porcelain, Vienna also boasts several manufactures, such as the noble Augarten Porzellan, offering a wide variety of beautiful hand-crafted china figurines. On the outskirts, there are huge factory outlets such as Parndorf and Leoville, where you can buy original designer clothes at low prices, just one hour by car from Vienna.

• Malls in Vienna: However, if it is a fancy for you or you found real enjoyment of shopping in Mall then even at that front too, thee  you would get and see Vienna anyway hardly away from your dreams and there malls has to offer all from jeans to traditional souvenirs. A distance away from the city is located designer cloths on very reasonable and attractive prices.

• Gift Shops in Vienna: There many a good surprises are stored for shopaholics other than the big and large departmental stores. There too are many a good number of smaller shops in Vienna that offers   goods specializing in music, books and antiques. When you searching for a gift in Vienna then you should always visit for city’s centers of attractions like Meinl at the Graben, Sacher or Demel. There you get traditional Viennese delicacies like as Mozart pralines and marzipan truffles. You too also go to factories making porcelain that offers beautiful hand-crafted decorative items. Any you would always get something always to shop there at Vienna with respect small and miniatures items to be gifted away.

• Markets in Vienna: Vienna is too known and is better famous for its conventional Christmas markets that are famous among locals as well as tourists with common interest and tastes. These event markets get organized at the primary squares of the city like as at the Vienna Christmas Market in front of City Hall. Other than handmade Christmas tree decorations, there you can get your rare books and number of precious antiques shops though some permanent and proper markets in Vienna to shop around are Innere Stadt, Leopoldstadt, Landstraße, Wieden, Margareten, Mariahilf, Neubau, Josefstadt, Alsergrund, Favoriten, Simmering, Meidling, Hietzing, Penzing, Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus, Ottakring, Hernals, Währing, Döbling, Brigittenau, Floridsdorf, Donaustadt and Liesing.

When there arouses question of understanding Vienna in a better perspective whether historically as well as culturally then, there are many landmarks of Vienna that tells about city with a common as well from a tourist’s point of view. Below is provided selected list of must-see landmarks of Vienna.

•    Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts):  It is one of the world’s greatest art museums and is a serious treat for art lovers. It is called as mother of all Austrian museums. The museum contains world renowned exhibit of the Habsburgs’ art collection including Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Bosch, and Brueghel. The Museum also has an excellent collection of ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art. The coin & medals collection is enormous in its collection.

•    Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury):  It is situated in the Neue Hofburg, and contains the Habsburgs’ collection of jewels, crowns, and other valuables.  There are about 20 rooms of priceless treasures that present very accurate feeling of Habsburg court life over the centuries.

•   Hofburg Palace: Hofburg Palace is a palace situated in Vienna, Austria, that housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It presently is the official residence of the President of Austria. The New Palace is the newest and largest section of the Imperial Palace. It contains the Ethnological Museum and three branches of the Museum of Fine Arts. The Ephesus Museum contains classical art from Asia Minor. The Collection of Historical Musical Instruments is self-explanatory, but the jewel of the New Palace is the Collection of Arms. This collection, second largest in the world, houses an immense and exhaustive representation of weaponry from past centuries.

•    Schloss Schönbrunn: It was a former imperial summer residence in Vienna, Austria and among one of the most important cultural monuments in Austria. Its   palace and gardens illustrate the tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs. It was till 1996 was in the UNESCO World Heritage site. It gives an ultimate palace experience in Vienna. Its garden and zoo are worth visit. The Palace Park has a good number of attractions like Privy Garden, a Maze and Labyrinth and the top of the hill Gloriette with its Panorama Terrace.

•   St. Stephen’s Cathedral: This is an example of architectural building in different architectural style, predominantly with Gothic impression. It is difficult to found out its original construction remains, yet its oldest extant sections are the 13th century Giant Gate (Riesentor) and Towers of the Heathens (Heidenturme) and both of which are in Romabesque design. Likewise there are many remains it the building as existed from time to time like 448 ft South Tower, the Pummerin, a huge bell cast from melted-down Turkish cannons and other are worth visiting.

•    Votivkirche: It is one of the most recognized Neo-Gothic religious architectural sites in the world constructed between 1856 and 1879. The Votivkirche  is situated upon a large square just outside the Ringstrasse boulevard in proximity to the University of Vienna. This church is on the location where an unsuccessful attempt to assessinate Emperor Franz Joseph took place in 1853. The Votivkirche is made up of white sandstone, like Stephansdom, that too is very susceptible to air pollution and acid rain making regular renovations necessary.

•   The Wotruba Church: It is a lovely cubist church that is situated on the top of the hill overlooking towards the woods. Adjacent to church there is situated an open air planetarium next to the church.

•    Kirche am Steinhof: It is a special church constructed by the Viennese master architect, Otto Wagner and is situated in a psychiatric hospital on the hills near the wood looking towards Vienna.

•    Austrian National Library: Along with the impressive collection of Emperor Josef II dissolving all the empire’s monasteries it gained 300 manuscripts, 3,000 printed books and 5000 diplomata, the library has collection of about six million items and books and is the best in Austria.  The library us also known for pioneering digitalizing and keeping its collection online.

•   Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper): It is one of the best places where most beloved symbols of Viennese arts are kept. It was made from 1861 to 1869 by Eduard van der Nüll and August von Siccardsburg for then-emperor Franz Josef I. The first performance was Don Giovanni, an opera by Austrian native Mozart, on 25 May 1869. During WWII opera suffered massive bombing and reopened when the war was over.

•   Prater (Park) with the Giant Ferris Wheel: This parks was started as leisure place for nobility like many other European parks Around 1896-97 an English engineer firm Walter Basset constructed Giant Ferris Wheel that is now recognized being as renowned symbol of Vienna. It contains fifteen gondolas of some of which are large enough to accommodate an extended family inside it.

•   Secession Building: Architect Josef Maria Olbrich constructed this German-style Art Nouveau building 1897-98 for a place of exhibition for artists working in the new Secession artistic movement. At its top there is a giant frothy golden ball lovingly been called Krauthappel by Viennese.

•    Lainzer Tiergarten: This natural reserve situated along the border of Vienna is attached to near by forest. Earlier this forest used to be the personal hunting ground of Emperor. This forest also has fancy “Hermesvilla” – the favorite mansion of Empress Sisi in Vienna. In present times a major part of the park remains closed in winter time, however in summer tourists can see wild pigs, deer and many other Viennese families. For making an entrance to park one can take tram 49 to its last stop

•    Museumsquartier: It is a Museum District of Vienna serves as a cultural district of Vienna since 2001. Apart from many museums and cultural institutions are located there, it is not only a place for art but also is a fine urban settlement to spend out some leisure time out there.

There always remains something in our past and our ancient cities let us to explore everything that they have to offer and which we can learn from them. Ancient cities are reminiscent of how people lived millenniums ago. It tells about the physical appearance of cities. Below is provided some brief information about some of the ancient cities of Europe:

1. Choirokoitia (Cyprus): Located in Cyprus it is one of the most old and valued pre- historic site as old as to 7000 years. The site is partly recovered and work of excavation is still going on.
2. Athens (Greece): With historical span of 3, 400 years   is one of the oldest cities and is a Greek capital. In old days Athens was a powerful city and center of arts, learning and philosophy. It was the birth place of Socrates, Pericles, Sophocles and other major philosophers.
3. Lisbon (Portugal): Capital and largest city of Portugal was under Roman control around 205 BC was already 1000 years old city.  It was made municipium called Felicitas Julia by Julius Caesar.
4. Sofia (Bulgaria): 7000 years old city of Bulgaria is the 12th largest city of Europe by population. Traces of prehistoric settlements were found at the center of present city near the royal palace as well as other districts like Slatina and Obelia. The well preserved town walls go back to as far as to 7th century BC.
5. Cadiz (Spain): Cadiz is the oldest regularly lived city in Spain and more in southwestern Europe. It had been the principal home port of the Spanish Navy since the accession of the Spanish Bourbons in the 18th century.
6. Rome (Italy): Two and half thousand years old is one of the founding cities of Western Civilization and presently is capital of Rome. It was center of power for Roman Empire that prevailed over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for over four hundred years from the 1st Century BC until the 4th Century Ad.
7. Istanbul (Turkey): Known in history as Byzantium and Constantinople is the largest city in the Turkey and fifth largest city in the world with a present population of 12.6 million. In its long history the city has served as capital city of Roman Empire the Roman Empire (330–395), the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922).
8. Naples (Italy): Nearly 2, 800 years old city Naples in Italy is capital of the region of Campania and the province of Naples. It is located halfway between two volcanic areas, the volcano of Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields by the Gulf of Naples. The city has witnessed a number of civilizations coming forth and going away and is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
9. Vienna (Austria): A Celtic settlement founded around 500 BC; Vienna became a Roman frontier city (Vindobona) to protect Roman Empire against Germanic tribes to the north. Presently Vienna is capital of Austria and one of the important cities in Europe.
10. Belgrade (Serbia): Belgrade the largest city and capital of Serbia is one of the oldest cities in Europe and its archeological evidences trace its existence as back as to 6th millennium BC. Belgrade’s wider city area is known to be the birth place of largest prehistoric culture of Europe. During the 3rd century BC the city was founded by Celts who named it White City. Due to its strategic location city was fought around in 115 wars and demolished 44 times since the ancient time by countless armies of the East and West.

Vienna is the capital city of Austria. It is one among nine cities that are found in this European country. The city has a population of 1.7 million. About 2.3 others live in city’s metropolitan areas. The city was designated as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2001.

Many people create mental images of ladies in white fur coats with the mention of Vienna. This perception is due to the conservative nature of people in this city. Vienna has even more amazing attractions that reveal the greatness that defines its rich cultural and magnificent heritage. Hansburg palaces and magnificently dressed people are a part of this city. The city has a tendency to feed that imperial nostalgia with which it is viewed by many foreigners. Yet it is a very welcoming city. Aristocratic buildings, most of them built during the 19th century, all tell a welcoming story of how goods things can get here during summer.

The city is also known for its early scholars such as Freud, Schiele, Mahler and Klimt. The city’s famous coffeehouses are often with these early scholars. Many people consider the time when all these intellectuals lived as a “Golden Era”. The Austrian empire came to an end in 1918 and was replaced with the modern state as we know it, today.

The scars of the city’s troubled past are everywhere in this city, including the suburbs where anti-aircraft towers were built in an attempt to prevent Hitler’s Air Force from invading the city. Austria has been trying hard to live up to the greatness it once wielded in the past, often with success in some areas and failure in others. For instance, the city has maintained its status as a World Heritage Site but has failed to shrug off the xenophobia monster.

The most amazing thing about this city is that despite the problems that dog it, the city remains an attractive hot spot for visitors. Many orchestras that perform in this city attract thousands of international and local visitors. After all, Mozart, the greatest opera composer, was born and lived in this city, then an empire on its own.

Although this is an ageing city, night life is always lively, and the city has made a name for itself in terms of “cosiness”. Many people who come into this city for the first time mostly visit the central district to begin with.