Visiting the 7th district?
You are visiting the 7th district (in the near future) and you want to know where to go, what there is to see and to experience? We’ve got the insights and are happy to share them with you.
Vienna is more than Sissi-kitsch and horse carriage rides (we call them Fiaker here). If you stay in one of the accommodations in the 7th district you’ve already made an excellent choice.
Historical facts about the 7th district
The district is called “Neubau” and it consists of the former suburbs “Schottenfeld”, “Neubau”, “St. Ulrich” and “Spittelberg”. When the area became the 7th district of Vienna in 1861 parts of “Mariahilf”, “Laimgrube” and “Altlerchenfeld” were included in the zone. Until today each of these areas has retained a very special and unique flair of its own: some of them are shopping areas, some have small shops for handcrafted products, others are cultural spots, or are known for their restaurants and bars.
What made the area so attractive in the first place
The 7th district is the third smallest district of Vienna. The first settlements in the area date back to 1100 which makes it the oldest inhabited Viennese area outside of the (old) city wall and there is a very simple explanation for it: The 7th district is the only elevated spot near the city center. If you lived here in the olden days you had a pretty good view and you were able to spot possible raiders. Imagine yourself on a little hill. In the north was a little stream called “Ottakringer Bach” and in the south you had the valley of the “Wienfluss”. So if you were in the farming business, it was a marvellous place to live.
Then something else happened
The area of “Schottenfeld” is also referred to as “Brillantengrund” which means “diamond grounds”. The byname dates back to the late 18th century, when emperor Joseph II. – you are probably familiar with his mother empress Maria Theresia, whose statue is located between the Museum of Natural History (“NHM”) and the Museum of Art History (“KHM”) – summoned immigrants from southern Germany and Görz to bring economic prosperity by producing silk, velvet and other products related to textile. Alias “Brillantengrund”.
Very important useless trivia
When you write “Brillantengrund” as often as we do, you eventually find out that brilliant is spelled with an extra “i” in English. So “brilliant” is English and “brillant” is German – it’s weird but it’s true. You know what the weirdest part about it is?!: We pronounce the non-existant “i” in German! So we say “brilliant” but in writing it’s “brillant”. How brilliant is that?! We guesstimate that 80 % of German speakers would spell it wrong.
Explore the 7th district
The 7th district is all about discovering. Since it only stretches over 0.62 square miles you can easily explore it on foot.
Public transportation is also very good in Vienna (we are very proud of that).
There are the tram lines with the numbers 5 (on “Lerchenfelder Straße”, “Kaiserstraße”, “Neustiftgasse/Kaiserstraße”, “Burggasse/Kaiserstraße”), 46 (on “Lerchenfelder Straße”) and 49 (hop on at “Museumsquartier”/”Volkstheater” and drive up all the way through the restaurant and bar area on “Siebensterngasse”, it then turns onto “Westbahnstraße” with all sorts of specialised small shops (locally manufactured clothes, fabric, homeware, delicacies and more), and leaves the 7th district at “Burggasse/Stadthalle” where you’ll find our city library as well as the town hall (“Stadthalle”), one of Vienna’s largest event locations.
Hop on one of the busses on the route of 13A and 48A or take the underground U2 (not the band … sorry, no singing Bono or guitar playing Edge), U3 or U6. You might even rent a bike at ig fahrrad (bike rental: Otto-Bauer-Gasse 16, 1060 Vienna).
However, first things first: Get yourself the second volume of the 7er plan! It’s a pocketsize booklet that guides you through the district – it’s free of course! It includes a fold-out map, five ideas for fun routes through the area as well as activities which you can only experience here. You’ll be able to pick one up at most shops and restaurants on “Westbahnstraße” and “Kaiserstraße”.
We totally understand if you need a quick tip upfront. So without much explanation we will propose a few places here:
Coffee and cake in the 7th district
Café Konditorei Smolinka, Westbahnstraße 19, 1070 Vienna, Read more about Café Konditorei Smolinka (in German).
Café Konditorei Smolinka briefly: for the sake of having delicious “Gugelhupf”
froemmel’s, Zieglergasse 70, 1070 Vienna, froemmel.at
froemmel’s briefly: traditional Viennese cakes
Jonas Reindl Coffee Roasters, Westbahnstraße 13, 1070 Vienna, jonasreindl.at
Jonas Reindl Coffee Roasters briefly: modern, flavourful cup of coffee to go
Food in the 7th district
Breakfast
caffè latte, Neubaugasse 39, 1070 Wien, caffelatte.at
caffè latte: great choice
Oben, Urban-Loritz-Platz 2, 1070 Wien, oben.at
Oben briefly: lovely view
ULRICH., Sankt-Ulrichs-Platz 1, 1070 Wien, ulrichwien.at
ULRICH. briefly: fresh, yummie, hip
Quick and easy
Berliner Döner, Zieglergasse 33A, 1070 Vienna
Berliner Döner briefly: street food – bring cash, one of the best turkish street food places in Vienna (choose veggie: Falaffel Dürüm)
Bäckerei Café Felzl, Kaiserstraße 51-53 and Lerchenfelder Straße 99-101, 1070 Vienna, felzl.at
Bäckerei Café Felzl briefly: sandwiches and yummie pastries you can easily munch on the go, bring cash
Lunch
Café Go West, Westbahnstraße 37, 1070 Vienna, cafe-gowest.at
Café Go West briefly: homemade good food with herbs from the owner’s garden
Feldberg, Westbahnstraße 21, 1070 Vienna, feldberg.at
Feldberg: fresh and healthy vegetarian restaurant
froemmel’s, Zieglergasse 70, 1070 Vienna, froemmel.at
froemmel’s briefly: typically Viennese lunch menu, homemade
Mitzitant‘, Seidengasse 39, 1070 Vienna, mitzitant.at
Mitzitant‘ briefly: must try when you want to get to know traditional Viennese cuisine
Dinner
toma tu tiempo, Zieglergasse 44, 1070 Vienna, tomatutiempo.at
toma tu tiempo briefly: tapas and holiday flair
Flatschers, Kaiserstraße 113-115, 1070 Vienna, flatschers.at
Flatschers briefly: steak and burgers
Drinks in the 7th district
Dachboden (on the roof of the 25 hours hotel), Lerchenfelder Straße 1-3, 1070 Vienna, 25hours-hotels.com
Dachboden briefly: unique cocktails
Die Parfümerie, Neustiftgasse 84, 1070 Vienna, dieparfuemerie.net
Die Parfümerie briefly: Santé
Flatschers, Kaiserstraße 113-115, 1070 Vienna, flatschers.at
Flatschers briefly: great if you’re hungry as well
Oben, Urban-Loritz-Platz 2, 1070 Vienna, oben.at
Oben: just so lovely to be above the buzzing of the city
Ruby Marie Hotel’s Rooftop Garden, Kaiserstraße 2-4, 1070 Vienna, Ruby Marie Bar & Café
Ruby Marie briefly: why would you go anywhere else when there is a rooftop garden?
Finding Souvenirs in the 7th district
For your (grand)kids who you promised a gift to: toys and or clothes for kids are available at
buntwäsche, Kaiserstraße 52, 1070 Vienna, buntwaesche.at – sustainable children’s clothes
daantje, Westbahnstraße 1, 1070 Vienna, daantje-shop.com – toys, clothes, shoes and more, all for little ones
Miranda World/partyshop.at, Bernardgasse 42/Lerchenfelder Gürtel 32, 1070 Wien, partyshop.at – locally produced items for dressing up as conductor/conductress, police officer, sturdy swords made from rubber foam and wood for little vikings and knights, very unique shop with long tradition
Spielwurm, Westbahnstraße 20, 1070 Vienna, spielwurm.at – lovely wooden toys for kids
Die Puppenmacherin, Schottenfeldgasse 92, 1070 Vienna – check out the lovely colourful bunch here.
For your wine loving friend: very fine natural wines are sold at vinonudo, Westbahnstraße 30, 1070 Vienna, vinonudo.at
also stop by at Un jour en France, Westbahnstraße 9, 1070 Vienna, unjourenfrance.at
For your sibling who is the essence of your life: a salt mill or a pepper grinder from WauWau Pfeffermühlen, Westbahnstraße 7, 1070 Vienna, wauwau.at
For your music loving relative: a CD or an English audiobook at Audiamo, Kaiserstraße 70, 1070 Vienna, audiamo.at
For the sweettooth: honey and truffle delicacies from Wald & Wiese, Neubaugasse 26, 1070 Vienna, waldundwiese.at
Exquisit
For your vintage loving daughter (in law): Scandinavian vintage design from the 1950s and 1960s available at designqvist, Westbahnstraße 21, 1070 Vienna, designqvist.at
For your design loving relative: A glass object from Glashütte Comploj, Westbahnstraße 18, 1070 Vienna, glashuettecomploj.at
For yourself: Locally manufactured clothes by modus vivendi, Westbahnstraße 7, 1070 Vienna, modusvivendi.at
and Wiener Konfektion, Westbahnstraße 4, 1070 Vienna, wiener-konfektion.at
Need help? | Miscellaneous
Pharmacy: Apotheke an der Kaiserstraße, Kaiserstraße 73, 1070 Vienna
opening hours: Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday: 8 a.m. – noon, www.wasilewski.at
Optician: Come and see at Sehprojekt, Westbahnstraße 6, 1070 Vienna, sehprojekt.at
Good shoes for happy feet: Schuhe für Frauen, Kirchengasse 28, 1070 Vienna schuhefuerfrauen.at
and Vega Nova, Westbahnstraße 12, 1070 Vienna, veganova.at
Lingerie: Lingeria Macchiato, Neubaugasse 51, 1070 Vienna, lingeria-macchiato.at
Your camera needs help?: United Camera, Westbahnstraße 23, 1070 Vienna, united-camera.at
Enjoy your stay in the 7th district and let us know what you liked best!
© photos (if not mentioned otherwise): Veronika Fischer
