It’s true what they say. Vienna has the most amazing coffee scenes. There are many cafes to choose from and each of one of them has a unique story to tell. However, there was not enough time to visit all of them as I wanted to enjoy every moment rather than moving hurriedly from one cafe to the next. Here are four cafes in the heart of Vienna which I had the opportunity to enjoy during this Vienna trip.

Cafe Diglas in Fleischmarkt was the first cafe I visited. It was just down the street from the hotel. Cafe Diglas was established in 1875. There was a homely feeling about this place. Maybe because it has been around for a long, long time. The place serves good coffee and it has a huge selection of cakes to choose from. But of course, I decided on the Apple Strudel! It was a perfect choice. There was nothing not to like about this place.

There was a queue outside of Cafe Central. I was not about to go in but there was this feeling inside me that I have to. Cafe Central was established in 1876. The place was a bit pretentious. There was also a huge selection of cakes by the entrance. But I ordered the Kaiserschmarren, of course, because it has to be tried. It was a large portion, making it quite difficult to finish up. The cafe has a beautiful interior but very busy. The waiters were rushing about, knowing that the queue outside was not getting any shorter. It was an okay experience but it would have been fine to skip it too.

Next stop was Cafe Schwarzenberg which has been on the premises since 1861. The cafe has certainly an old Vienna charm with its old style decor and nice ambience. Its says that the interior has remained largely unchanged. It has old fashioned waiters too who served me a wonderful Sachertorte, of course. It was a good choice for my birthday cake!

The last cafe was Café Hawelka. This was the most interesting cafe I have ever been. And mind you, I have visited many cafes in many countries. The Café Hawelka was opened by Leopold Hawelka in 1939.

There was a queue outside too which made it quite a gamble since I can’t even see from the outside what the inside looks like. Upon entering while still in queue, I wondered how this will work out as the place was packed. It was a tight mass of people! But they seemed to be enjoying the relaxing ambience. Conversations and laughters were flowing. People seemed to be in no rush whatsoever. The friendly waiter approached with no menu at all. With the three dishes on his mental list, Goulash was the most appropriate. And it was a good choice. It was tasty!

It was amazing how this chaotic place has so much order. For this, I definitely recommend this cafe for such an authentic experience.

All photos by arivitikainenphotography.com