Vienna's most magnificent coffee house — a soaring neo-Gothic hall where Freud, Trotsky, and Musil once debated, now serving Viennese pastries and coffee to the world.
Why It Belongs on the List
Opened in 1876, Café Central occupies a magnificent neo-Gothic arcade in the Palais Ferstel and represents the coffee house tradition at its most theatrical. Freud came here daily; Leon Trotsky and Robert Musil were regulars. Today it remains the most architecturally spectacular coffee house in the city — order a Melange (Viennese coffee with milk) and an Apfelstrudel and take your time. The pianist plays daily. Touristy, but worth every cliché.
What Stands Out
- Opened in 1876
- Set within the Neo-Gothic Palais Ferstel
- A favorite of Sigmund Freud
- Live pianist daily
- Known for Melange and Apfelstrudel
- One of Vienna’s most spectacular interiors