Cafe Schwarzenberg

Opened in 1861, Cafe Schwarzenberg is one of the well-known, historic coffeehouses of Vienna, lining the famous Ringstraße. If you wonder how the place earned its moniker, all you need to do is peek outside, toward the equestrian bronze statue of field marshal Prince Karl Philipp Schwarzenberg, who fought Napoleon in several military campaigns.

Try to sit in the section left of the entrance, formerly the women's salon, which is brighter, cozier, and overlooks the Ring. The walls are crowded with reprints of old masters paintings but the reason turns out to be less than poetic: the owners of Schwarzenberg also manage the glitzy cafe inside the nearby Kunsthistorisches Museum. Note that price points are steep.