Issue 41 / 2012
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TRAVEL 29 7
VIENNA FIVE REASONS TO VISIT
Prim-proper legacy turned experimental CULTURE
ALCOHOL
Vienna likes its wine. But more than alcohol, it's main tipple is a little more caffeine-based; Vienna is famous for its abundance of coffee bars, and the Kaffeehauskultur (Coffee House Culture) is the Viennese way of life when it comes to meeting friends, reading the newspaper, or going on a date.
NIGHTLIFE
Despite its slight reputation for being a 'proper' city, the nightlife is anything but quiet. Apart from the usual bars and cafes, parties and festivilles rage on through the night. The cafes in fact stay open until the early hours, not just on weekends but through the working week too.
BALL SEASON
If you are lucky enough to visit this wonderful city during carnival season, you should attend one of the exquisitely glamourous balls, many of them in such decadent sur- roundings such as the Holfburg or City Hall. The biggest one is The Opera Ball in the State Opera - it's a truly sensational experience.
EXCHANGE RATE
Austria is part of the Euro, and at the moment it's quite close; 1 quid equals just over 1.25 Euros. When you hear the name 'Vienna', you think of marble arches and stately homes - however, it's no more expensive than London, Paris or Rome, so your funds shouldn't be too stretched.
Vienna was the hub of classical music, so it's steeped in a lot of ornate history. While it has this prim-and-proper surface from such a background, Vienna is in actuality a very laid-back city, now famous of its electronic music output and cult record stores.
