Vienna: Romance for All

Aug. 22 2017

by misterb&b

With its successful blend of imperial tradition and contemporary creativity, Vienna has established itself as a major player in the global tourism. In 2015, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranked Vienna in the fourth place. The city is a perfect destination for your gay bucket list of places to discover. The Austrian capital is also the place to be to enjoy a romantic time with your partner.  

© WienTourismus/Peter Rigaud

Vienna is always worth the trip for gay travelers. Countless cultural and shopping attractions shape live in Austria’s tolerant and open-minded capital, which is also home to a vibrant gay scene. Vienna has a fascinating gay history. Various leading historic figures are said to have had same-sex relationship. It includes Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663 – 1736) who commissioned the famous Belvedere palace as his summer residence and the impressive Winter Palace in Vienna’s historic city center. “Vienna has a variety of sights, restaurants and the kind of spectacular and constantly changing gay nightlife that the other major European cities are hard pressed to match”, says scene stalwart and bar owner Frank Liebetegger.

 
© WienTourismus/Peter Rigaud

This is also the place to be if you want to take part to romantic balls with your partner. Indeed, for more than two centuries Vienna has been the uncontested ball capital of the world. Each year the city hosts around 450 events, from elegant high society galas to wild carnival parties including the worldfamous and outrageously gay Life Ball. A unique blend of age-old Austrian traditions and magnificent court ceremonial has seen the capital’s ball industry turn into one of the nation’s best-loved exports, with replica events playing out around 30 cities worldwide, from New York City to Moscow. But nothing beats the original. In Vienna, the romance and charm puts the ball season in a league of its own. The capital’s ball season starts on November 11 for “Fasching”, the carnival season. On this day crowds of dancers flock to the Graben shopping street in the old town to dance the waltz in a spectacle led by the city’s top dance schools.

© WienTourismus/Peter Rigaud

The juxtaposition of what is traditional, like coffeehouses and wine taverns with typical Viennese congeniality, and what is modern such as the Life Ball and the Festival of Electronic Music, conveys a lifestyle that appeals to the modern tourism in Vienna. Vienna’s longest shopping street, Mariahilfer Strasse is located right next door to the MuseumsQuartier, with hundreds of stores selling fashion jewelry and accessories. Smaller original shops can be found lining the side streets concentrated around Neubaugasse and the romantic cobbled streets of Spittelberg, where cult fashion boutique Tiberius has a well-established retail presence. The majority of gay bars can be found on the Rechte and Linke Wienzeile, just a short distance from the old town. 

© WienTourismus/Peter Rigaud

If you are searching for a place to stay, you can go to the very gay friendly hotel 25hours Hotel. The Viennese gay scene is bursting with coffeehouses and bars. One of the figureheads is  Café Savoy,, that was established in the nineteenth century and built by a student of gay architect August Sicard von Sicardsburg. If you want to have a drink you can go to Mango Bar that is part of the “gay empire” build up by the leading figure on Vienna’s gay scene: Frank Liebetegger. He is also the man behind the Why Not disco, Felixx bar, Sportsauna and Village bar or the Mango Bar. While Felixx bar treats its patrons to excellent wines and overflowing cocktail menu, it’s the clientele at Village bar that reads like a who’s who of the capital’s gay scene.