[13] Demel, on the Kohlmarkt, is filled with plump time bombs consuming vast creamy extravaganzas. You'll never want another extra helping of Schlag again. I got a tour back in the '80s from the then owner, who, by way of a come-on, said that he was a gun dealer while he showed off an upstairs lair of life-size sugar statues, including the King (in this case Elvis).

The architecturally magnificent, if confusing, [14] Hofburg palace contains the imperial apartments where 12-year-old Mozart once enjoyed a two-hour audience with Empress Maria Theresa. Music buffs can see the original score of his Requiem in the Hofburg National Library. The drafty castle was anathema to the depressive Empress Elisabeth (Sissi), wife of Franz Josef; an elegant Winterhalter portrait recalls her willowy beauty.

The [15] Spanish Riding School, famed for the Lipizzaner horses that perform in a grand setting designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, has an antiquated formality that is worth a visit from even jaded tourists. General Patton rescued the horses toward the end of the Second World War, putting them under the protection of the U.S. Army.

Home of the bunny! The [16] Albertina has a special exhibition designed by Zaha Hadid and Patrick Schumacher this year honoring Mozart, but it will always be a must-stop because of the fabled hare drawn by Albrecht Dürer in 1502. In all, the museum harbors some 65,000 drawings and watercolors.

The former imperial palm house, behind the Hofburg and next door to the imperial butterfly house, has the excellent [17] Palmenhaus-Café, a spectacular space that still harbors dozens of ancient and gargantuan palms. Full menus are available, but nobody will rush you if you just want a coffee and cake.

A dainty marble [18] Mozart looks heavenward, cheered and ogled by cupids, in this 1896 monument by Viktor Tilgner. In real life, the composer lacked height and a strong chin.

Dramatically seated atop a high plinth featuring four generals, [19] Maria Theresa surveys the square bearing her name. Many wars were fought under her, not always successfully, but she was regarded with fondness by her subjects. The 1888 monument is by Caspar von Zumbusch.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder's mesmerizingly still Hunters in the Snow is reason enough to go to the vast [20] Kunsthistorisches Museum, built to house the imperial collection in the mid-nineteenth century. You can skip the Natural History Museum, on the other side of the piazza, whose dusty collections include one famous specimen, the Venus of Willendorf, a misbegotten little fertility statuette perhaps 25,000 years old.

Tour Three
The sprawling [21] Museumsquartier, on the grounds of the imperial stable, holds the Leopold Museum, featuring Egon Schiele, and the scary black basalt MUMOK, housing contemporary pieces that are definitely avoidable. The complex also has a profusion of galleries, museums, cafés, shops, and clubs. The best part is Halle, a contemporary café with an outdoor bar that has fast become one of Vienna's coolest places to hang out. The scene continues until 2 a.m., perhaps because it serves the city's best cosmopolitan ($9).