Vienna, The Café Central
The Café Central, located in the center of Vienna, was opened in 1876, and in the late 19th century it became a key meeting place of the Viennese intellectual scene. “Over coffee, cake and the odd cigar, some of the greatest poets, philosophers and – it has to be said – storytellers the world has ever seen, got together in Vienna’s most attractive coffeehouse.”
Peter Altenberg, Theodor Herzl, Alfred Adler, Egon Friedell, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Anton Kuh, Adolf Loos, Leo Perutz, Alfred Polgar, Adolf Hitler, and Leon Trotsky were just some of their well known customers. In January 1913 alone, Josip Broz Tito, Sigmund Freud, Joseph Stalin, Hitler, and Trotsky (the latter two being regulars) were patrons of the establishment.
“As the name suggests, Café Central is the real centre of Vienna – not St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The entrance to this coffee and cake lovers’ paradise is on the corner of Herrengasse and Strauchgasse in the first district. The city’s best-known sights and museums and its most exclusive shopping streets – Graben and Kärntner Strasse – are all within easy walking distance.”
There is always a line, get there before it opens OR make reservations ahead of time. https://www.cafecentral.wien/en/
