The Austrian capital is having a Renaissance, with flamboyant restaurants, craft cocktail bars, and fashion-forward hotels.

Austria’s cuisine has been described as excessively tradition-bound.

“This city lives much more of its life out in public now.

A small boat on the Donaukanal, a tributary of the Danube

The Donaukanal, a tributary of the Danube.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

There’s street life here, the kind you might expect to find in Naples or Dubrovnik.”

“People sometimes ask us whether this neighborhood is even still in Vienna,” he told me.

These days, the kids from Berlin are just as often taking the night train to Vienna.

Scenes from Vienna, including a cocktail at the Birdyard hotel, and friends in a cafe

The Zehnzehn, a cocktail of gin, vermouth, champagne, and gentian at the Birdyard.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

“There’s street life here, the kind you might expect to find in Naples or Dubrovnik.”

None of this is unprecedented."

“Except, I suppose, the kombucha caipirinhas.”

A guest room at the Altstadt Vienna hotel in Austria

The Josef Frank Suite at the Altstadt Vienna hotel.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

“Mozart who?”

The rooms at the Bristol are every bit as cushy as one would expect.

Mine had a balcony with a view of theVienna State Operaand something called a “pillow menu.”

Scenes from Vienna, Austria, including the exterior of the Hotel Bristol decorated with flags, and the father and sons team at Mraz & Sohn restaurant

From left: The Hotel Bristol, a Vienna mainstay since 1892; Lukas, left, and Manuel Mraz with their father, Markus, at their restaurant Mraz & Sohn.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

(I’m still kicking myself for not trying out the Muhldorfer horsehair body cushion.)

“you’re able to see this in the places people are going to eat.

It’s almost impossible for them not to be bringing all sorts of unfamiliar elements here.”

People drinking coffee in a Viennese cafe

Café Espresso, in Vienna’s seventh district.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

Greek-born and U.K.-educated, Ellie spent her childhood traveling the world on container ships with her engineer father.

To my surprise, however, Ellie actually thinks of herself as a local.

“I feel at home here,” she told me, when I pressed her to explain.

Brightly painted interior of the Birdyard cocktail bar in Vienna, Austria

The Birdyard, a flamboyant cocktail bar in the eighth district.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

“I’m not Austrian, of course not even close.

But, in some bizarre way, I am Viennese.”

Deval(four-course tasting menu from $78) is an Indonesian fusion restaurant near the Ringstrasse.

Chef Daan de Val preparing a dish in the kitchen of Deval, an Indonesian-fusion restaurant in Vienna, Austria

Chef Daan de Val in the kitchen of Deval, an Indonesian-fusion restaurant.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

For a sampling of Vienna’s vaunted cafe culture, visitCafe in der Burggasse 24orCafe Espresso.

Expect a dazzling display of colored lights and more than 150 stalls selling ornaments and sugary treats.

A version of this story first appeared in the November 2020 issue ofTravel + Leisureunder the headlineThe Viennese Hour.

Wood-paneled interior of the bar at the Hotel Bristol in Vienna

The bar at the Hotel Bristol has retained its original paneling and furniture.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

Friends greet each other in Vienna’s Museumsquartier

Meeting in the Museumsquartier.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

Gloved hands holding a plate with fried dough and sauerkraut at a Christmas market in Vienna, Austria

Fried dough with sauerkraut at a Christmas market.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek

The swings ride at the Prater amusement park in Vienna, Austria

The amusement park at the Prater, a public garden in Vienna’s second district.Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek