Culture in Vienna

There may not be a lot of mugging in the city centre these days, but anyone who vaguely resembles a tourist is sure to be nobbled if he goes within an inch of St. Stephen's Cathedral. Bands of incredibly charming fellows in eighteenth century costume will have you cornered before you can say schlagobers. Frankly there's no escape.

But whilst being lured to a concert of one of Vienna's vintage greats - Mozart, Schubert or Strauss - is hardly a fate worse than death, Vienna has many more strings to her bow. For it was Vienna that blazed the modernist trail. Mahler, Klimt, Loos, Freud, Schoenberg and Otto Wagner - they ran rings around the old guard. And on the museum and gallery fronts, Vienna takes some beating. The old stalwarts are still there to be savoured, but new arrivals such as the vast Museumsquartier have added a fresh feather to Vienna's cultural cap.