Kleines Cafe

Places near Vienna’s #1 attraction, the Stephansdom, must be taken with a grain of salt, but the Kleines Café is no tourist trap. The outdoor tables overlooking the charming Franziskanerplatz are predictably nice, but be sure to also glimpse the inside. The truly small – kleines – cafe was designed in 1970 by the prominent Austrian architect Hermann Czech. In the vein of his idol, Adolf Loos, he used inventive solutions to maximize space, such as the mirror panels behind the leather booths split by vertical marble partitions. Dim, cozy, and positively strange.

The Kleines Cafe is packed at all times, but try to score a seat from which you can observe the crowd. In the evenings, when tourists have retired, it becomes a locals' spot with many of the stylish, longtime regulars. Price points reflect the central location.