Let's Go Europe 2019. Harvard Student Agencies

      MuseumsQuartier, Museumsplatz 1; 1 52 57 00; www.leopoldmuseum.org; open daily M-W 10am-6pm, Th 10am-9pm, F-Su 10am-6pm

      The Leopold Museum, one of the major institutions within Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier, is known for its collection of works by painter Egon Schiele, who was inspired and advised by (guess who?) Gustav Klimt. The founder of the Leopold Museum, Rudolf Leopold, spent more than a half century compiling the collection of Schiele’s work. (Can anyone say, um, stalker?) Though Schiele is particularly well-known for his self portraits, one of our favorite pieces is House Wall on the River (1915), which depicts a patchworked house. But in front of the cracked and graying concrete façade, a clothesline is strung with colorful shirts and fabrics. The oil paint is raised from the canvas especially on these fabrics, so that they seem to float in the foreground of the scene.

       i Admission €13, students €9, audio guide from €4; wheelchair accessible

       MUMOK

      MuseumsQuartier, Museumsplatz 1; 1 52 50 00; www.mumok.at; open M 2pm-7pm, Tu-W 10am-7pm, Th 10am-9pm, F-Su 10am-7pm

      You never can guess what’ll be showing at mumok, the museum of modern arts, though it’s sure to be something that piques your curiosity. With exhibitions curated by both the artists themselves and guest curators, the museum provides an uninhibited space for the curator’s vision, allowing it to be completely transformed with the intention of display in mind. In effect, the museum itself becomes part of the exhibition. This is all very vague, we know, but mumok holds the true surprise in its MuseumsQuartier location.

       i Admission €11, students €7.50; tours in English Sa 4pm; wheelchair accessible

       WIEN MUSEUM KARLSPLATZ

      Karlsplatz 8; 1040; 01 505 87 47; www.wienmuseum.at; open Tu-Su 10am-6pm

      The Vienna Museum focuses on the history of the city itself. Though it displays many exhibitions from Viennese artists and features installments tracing the history of the city’s nobility, our favorite pieces are those dedicated to the city’s physical form. These include several large, wood-carved models of Vienna over time, which attempt to define the whole of Vienna, finding only that their image of the whole will never be objective or complete. It’s all very “existential teen realizing there are no universal truths,” but we’re into it.

       i Admission €10, students €7, free first Su of the month; free tours Su 11am; wheelchair accessible

      OUTDOORS

       THE CANAL

      The Canal; open daily 24hr

      In the summer months, the canal is the perfect place to see the city and the river come together. Wide walkways give lots of room for foot traffic, biking, and rollerblading. Friends and couples out for a stroll often sit on the edge of the canal wall and dangle their feet above the water. Check out the canal area next to Schwedenplatz square. Here, you’ll find beverage and snack stands with sand areas and lounge chairs for reclining in the sun (somebody call Corona because it may be artificial, but we found our beach). Nearby, the Badeschiff Wien offers a pool above the river, a restaurant, and a sun deck. Be aware that more forested parts of the canal may be unsettling areas to walk alone at night.

       i Pool day-pass at Badeschiff €5; stairs at most access points

       FOOD

       AMERLINGBEISL ($)

      Stiftgasse 8; 1070; 15261660; www.amerlingbeisl.at; open summer daily 9am-2am; winter M-Sa noon-midnight, Su 9am-midnight

      The outdoor seating is major key when it comes to Amerlingbeisl restaurant. With garden and patio space, outdoor seating is extensive but often full. Tendrils of hanging vines dot the garden, nearly tickling the heads of guests walking through to find their seats. Eat amid soft yellow light from wall lamps that sit in vinyl records molded into lampshades. The food is mostly standard Austrian fare, and we recommend the beef goulash with bread dumplings, though this may be personal bias because we are suckers for bread dumplings.

       i Entrées from €6; vegetarian options available; limited wheelchair accessibility

       CAFÉ TIROLERHOF ($)

      Führichgasse 8; 1010; 01 512 78 33; open M-Sa 7am-10pm, Su 9:30am-8pm

      A café house that feels a bit like a Sherlock Holmes movie, Café Tirolerhof features those old tea room style booths that we don’t know the name of but find delightful and intriguing. Take a seat at a velvety booth rounded inward to hang out with friends, or at one rounded outward to sit with your back to your arch nemesis Moriarty and inconspicuously whisper threats to each other without ever seeing the other’s face. Serving Viennese breakfast until 11am, it also has an all-day menu consisting mostly of egg dishes.

       i Entrées from €4; vegetarian options available; limited wheelchair accessibility

       MOZART’S ($$)

      Haidmannsgasse 8; 1150; 1892 08 78; www.mozartsvienna.com; open daily M-Th 6pm-2am, F-Sa 6pm-6am, Su 6pm-2am

      Mozart’s is a dinner and late-night restaurant serving delicious Austrian cuisine. Grab a booth, hang your hat on the coat rack, and take a seat on a sheepskin rug covering the restaurant’s smooth wood benches. We recommend the pan-fried dumplings and scrambled eggs (€6.90), a savory scramble of potato, egg, and onion that is comfort food at its finest. For dessert, go for the apple strudel (€4.20) or try the pulled fluffy pancakes with rum-soaked raisins and stewed plums (€6.80), which come as easily-shareable, bite-sized poppers. If that wasn’t enough, put in an order online and they’ll deliver.

       i Entrées from €6; vegetarian options available; no wheelchair accessibility

       VOLLPENSION ($)

      Schleifmühlgasse 16; 1585 04 64; www.vollpension.wien; open Tu-Th 9am-10pm, F-Sa 9am-midnight, Su 9am-8pm

      In a brick basement, amid a soundtrack of tunes from the golden oldies, Vollpension has created an antique living room café. You might recognize it from I Love Lucy reruns, all the time you spent obsessing over mid-century aesthetics on Tumblr, or your actual grandma’s house. With offerings made by a group of grandparents, watch an 80-year-old man bake cake after cake right at the counter while you sip a cappuccino or a wine spritzer. Live a Pink Lady fantasy when you order Gerti’s Breakfast, a bun with butter and homemade jam served with a glass of prosecco, a tabloid magazine, and pink nail polish (€4.80). Or treat yourself to a tart (€3.90). Pastry selections vary by chef, dictated by which of their own family recipes they’d like to share with the world.

       i Cake €3.20, tart €3.90, breakfast from €4.80, other light dishes from €4; gluten, vegan, and vegetarian vegetarian options available; no wheelchair accessibility

       CENTIMETER II RESTAURANT ($$)

      Stiftgasse 4; 1070; 1 470060 642; www.centimeter.at; open M-Th 8:30am-midnight, F-Sa 8:30am-1am, Su 8:30am-midnight

      For