Photograph by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
Vienna entices visitors with its lavish, Old World charm. Gothic cathedrals tower over richly ornamented baroque buildings and copper-dome palaces from the glory days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The romantic city on the Danube is famous for its coffee, confections, and cafés; lipizzaner horses and leafy boulevards; Sigmund Freud and wiener schnitzel, but it is a rich musical tradition—symphony, opera, philharmonic orchestra, and waltz—that unites Vienna’s 23 distinct districts. Walking down the narrow cobblestone streets of the city’s historic First District, one can almost hear the classical compositions of Mozart, Schubert, and Strauss in the melodic clatter of old-style horse carriages.
