AD’s Vienna walking city tour guide is a stroll through time when Art Nouveau architecture was slowly giving way to Art Deco. How the local creatives responded – an artistic rebellion, no less – created a mini design movement in itself. Luckily, the results are preserved in all their glory and line the beautiful avenues of Vienna.
“What is Vienna… it never completely is,” says my guide Gilles Gubelman as he leads me through the Innere Stadt, Vienna's historic heart. A stroll along the 5.3-kilometre Ringstrasse, a grand circular boulevard encircling the old town of the Austrian capital, reveals a montage of global design movements arranged in no particular order. The aesthetic shifts from one building to the next, as do the centuries. In this architectural pastiche of pointed Gothic arches, Greek mythological Renaissance sculptures, and the domes of Byzantine churches, Vienna’s ever-evolving cityscape comes into view.
After all, the Danube metropolis was built to dazzle. The Habsburg Empire envisioned a capital to rival Paris and Rome. Its architects travelled across continents to gather inspiration like prized souvenirs. They returned with fragments of distant styles and stitched them into the Viennese skyline, and Vienna became everything, everywhere, all at once.
Yet, there is one design movement the Viennese could call their own as much as their Wiener Melange: The Secession.
It’s 2025, and while the world is busy celebrating 100 years of Art Deco, Vienna invites you to take a step back and look at its predecessor: Jugendstil, central Europe’s distinctive take on Art Nouveau that flourished from 1890 to 1920 and coincided with Vienna taking control over its own design legacy.
At the cusp of Art Nouveau becoming Art Deco, over a dozen Viennese artists declared rebellion: Naturalists, Modernists, Impressionists. Gustav Klimt, Otto Wagner, and Josef Hoffmann, among others, decided Vienna would no longer imitate but innovate. From that defiant spark, the Secession was born.
Think of it as Art Nouveau’s sleeker, more self-assured sibling. Gone were the Moulin Rouge swirls and Gaudí curves. In came clean lines, gilded cubes, delicate florals, and the iconic Tree of Life. The Vienna Secession was not an outright rejection of the fussy design aesthetics of the past, as the Bauhaus would later be, but it came quite close.
Here’s your design lover’s guide to Vienna, tracing golden lines and floral forms as they evolve from Art Nouveau to Art Deco, with the Secession blooming brilliantly in between.
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Stroll through history with AD’s Vienna walking city tour guide
Whenever an art movement takes hold of our collective imagination, it doesn’t just shape grand monuments; it filters into homes, shops, railway stations, gardens, and even bridges. The best way to experience Vienna’s artistic evolution is on foot, wandering through its historic core and taking in its distinct Art Nouveau architecture up close.
You can join a guided walk with Gilles Guide Vienna, or go DIY by pinning the stops on Google Maps and exploring at your own pace.
Start at Apotheke zur Weisen Engel (White Angel Pharmacy), constructed in 1901 by Oskar Laske in the Vienna Secession style. The building is known for its twin lilac mosaic angels.
Building a clock as an advertorial monument, flanked by symbols of life and death, is a clever way to attract attention to an insurance company. Commissioned by the Anker Insurance Company, the Anker Clock sits on a bridge connecting two buildings at Hoher Markt. Designed in 1914 by Franz von Matsch, it features gilded bronze details and Jugendstil ornamentation. Every day at noon, the clock puts on a show as twelve historical figures glide across its face, accompanied by music.
Otto Wagner shaped modern Vienna as much as Michelangelo shaped Renaissance Florence. At the Postsparkasse, Wagner stripped Art Nouveau to its bones. Instead of a painted, ornate façade, he chooses marble and aluminium, celebrating material honesty and structural clarity. Rows of evenly spaced rivets make a bold statement about restraint and rejecting decoration for decoration’s sake. Completed in 1906, the building marks a quiet evolution of Viennese Jugendstil and almost becomes a Bauhausian edifice before the world officially announces it.
Stadtpark, opened in 1862, remains one of Vienna’s beloved public spaces. The Wien River flows through the park, which features Jugendstil elements such as large blue ceramic pots and sculptural details along the riverfront. It also houses the Johann Strauss Monument, created in honour of the composer.
Karlsplatz, the Stadtbahn Pavilion, built in 1899 by Wagner, served as a former station for the Vienna Stadtbahn. The structure follows the Secession style, with a central rectangular core flanked by smaller side volumes. Clad in marble with gold reliefs, it now functions as an underground station entrance, exhibition space and café.
At Linke Wienzeile, House No. 40 (the Majolikahaus), built by Wagner in 1898, features a façade covered in ceramic floral tiles, showing that functional material can also be visually striking. Next door, House No. 38 (the Medallion House), also by Wagner, includes stylised plant motifs and sculpted medallions in gold stucco, typical of the Secession style.
Explore Museums and Exhibits in Vienna
Belvedere: The most striking feature of the Belvedere is its Versailles-style gardens, with elegant fountains, sculptures and manicured hedges. Built in the early 18th century as a Baroque residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy, it now serves as one of Austria’s most important museums.
Its rooms are dedicated to various artistic movements and house the world’s most extensive collection of Gustav Klimt’s work, including The Kiss, which features real gold leaf, silver and platinum.
Leopold Museum: Established by Dr Rudolf Leopold, the Leopold Museum offers a journey through Viennese Art Nouveau and Expressionism. Highlights include works by Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, from his theatre commissions to his iconic portraits and magazine illustrations.
Secession Building: Once ridiculed, now iconic. Vienna’s famous “cabbage dome”, the golden cupola, crowns this striking structure by Josef Olbrich, a protégé of Otto Wagner. Designed as the movement’s permanent exhibition space, its pillarless, windowless white façade, flanked by crisp rectangular volumes, feels like a quiet prelude to modern cubism sans the dazzling cabbage!
Klimt Villa: Gustav Klimt passed away a century ago, and with him, most of his patrons and firsthand testimonies vanished. Many were tragically lost through persecution by the Nazis or forced into exile. Some of his works were destroyed or consumed by fire. The Klimt Villa offers perhaps the most intimate insight into the daily life of the artist, nestled in the serene setting where he spent his final years.
The villa carefully preserves the original garden house that flows from one room to the next, with each space meticulously restored to reflect the era. You can wander through rooms adorned with recreated artworks, stand in the very places where Klimt’s models once posed, and gaze upon the tranquil gardens that inspired him.
MAK Museum: Through silverware, china, glassware, textiles, paintings and decorative objects, the MAK by Wiener Werkstätte (an artists’ collective) offers a perspective on how design permeates everyday life. Highlights include bentwood furniture that redefined the Viennese coffeehouse by Thonet, Art Nouveau masterpieces by Gustav Klimt and ceramic works by Josef Hoffmann.
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Best Design Hotels In Vienna
Opened in 1912 at the height of Vienna’s Art Nouveau era, the Astoria quickly became a favourite among dignitaries, celebrities and creatives. Its exterior blends Baroque grandeur with Jugendstil elegance, while the interiors reflect strong Secessionist influences, with wood-panelled lounges and gold medallion motifs.
A 2024 renovation introduced contemporary updates to the rooms while preserving key historical features. The built-in furniture in the Hanl seminar room, for example, is original from 1912 and belonged to the hotel’s first director, Mr Hanl. Historic stucco work, parquet and marble floors, and the original lift system are all carefully maintained.
If you are after the full 1900s Viennese elite fantasy, book yourself a suite at Rosewood Vienna. The hotel comprises four 1830s buildings, once the Estate Bank and private residences. Today, it feels like stepping into a luxurious Viennese apartment from the turn of the century, when Art Nouveau gave way to Art Deco. There is quintessential gold leaf art on the walls, chequered floors, and floral light fixtures that nod to Secession artists. However, hand-painted walls, hand-blown glass vases, freestanding bars, and clean geometric lines unmistakably mark Art Deco. The rooftop restaurant and bar offer panoramic views of Vienna through floor-to-ceiling windows.
Designed in 1873 by the renowned Danish-Austrian architect Baron Theophil Edvard von Hansen at the height of the Neo-Renaissance period, nearly two decades before the advent of Art Nouveau. Anantara Palais Hansen is the only hotel he ever built. Conceived for the World Exhibition, the building showcases Hansen’s signature architectural language: symmetry, grand staircases, arched windows, and intricately detailed façades. Meticulously restored, it now blends 19th-century craftsmanship with modern luxury.
The palatial property blurs the lines between hotel and gallery. Each of the 152 rooms and suites is individually styled, many with restored original features such as lofty ceilings, historic windows, and plush textiles in rich earth tones, teal and imperial gold. While staying at the property, it is highly recommended to join the guided experience Following the Footsteps of Theophil Hansen, which takes you through his architectural landmarks, including the Austrian Parliament, Musikverein, and the historic Lobmeyr atelier.
Best restaurants, bars and cafes in Vienna
Glasswing at Relais & Châteaux Amauris: Named after a butterfly, Glasswing blends refined French dining with a moody, contemporary aesthetic. Chef Alexandru Simon draws on classical French cuisine, served in a setting that feels like a gallery in motion. Expect deep colour palettes, plush textures, gilt-framed oil paintings and a quiet, confident drama.
Zum Schwarzen Kameel: A cultural institution since 1618, it began as a spice shop serving the Habsburg court before becoming a restaurant in 1825. Zum Schwarzen Kameel is known for its Viennese cuisine and wines. Painter Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller designed the logo that is still used today, and Beethoven was once a patron. The place is dotted with gold floral reliefs, inlaid wood panelling and crystal curtains, giving it a very 19th-century feel. Booking ahead is recommended.
Salonplafond at MAK: The restaurant at the Museum of Applied Arts has been updated by modern-day designers like Oswald Haerdtl and Ernst Schwadron (chairs), Kalmar (lamps), and Josef Frank (upholstery). However, the original 19th-century coffered ceilings, adorned with wooden beadwork and gold floral motifs, are the ones that still steal the show.
Cafe Goldegg: Is where two Viennese passions meet: café culture and the Secession. Goldegg carries its century-old heritage like a dapper gentleman who still orders his coffee mélange with quiet confidence. Expect marble tabletops, velvet window seats, herringbone parquet floors and brass chandeliers casting a golden glow. Cusped mirrors and dark wood panelling offer a subtle nod to the fin de siècle.
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Best design shops in Vienna
Österreichische Werkstätten: Founded by Josef Hoffmann in 1948, this design house continues the spirit of the Wiener Werkstätte. With contributions from Klimt, Moser and Auböck, its flagship store on Kärntnerstrasse is a destination for fine crafts, textiles and decor.
J. & L. Lobmeyr: Established in 1823, Lobmeyr became purveyors to the Imperial Court and remains synonymous with Austrian glassmaking. Their crystal pieces, from lighting to stemware, are still hand-blown and engraved in Vienna.
