What to buy in Vienna Austria: Riess enamel set Hirsch

What To Buy In Vienna Austria: Best Classical And Insider Gifts

What to buy in Vienna during your trip? If you aren’t into rubber ducks with Mozart wigs, let me share the best quality gifts and souvenirs from my hometown: They range from classical elegant and vintage to real insider objects.

What To Buy In Vienna: Top Five Classical Gifts

Augarten Porcelain

What to buy in Vienna: Augarten coffee cupWhether you visit Schönbrunn Palace, an elegant coffeehouse or a local Viennese home: chances are that you will stumble across our traditional Augarten porcelain, made in Europe’s second oldest porcelain manufactory just across the Danube Canal.

Top items: jewellery boxes, figurines, decorative plates, coffee services, or that Viennese breadroll (Semmel) porcelain box in the photo;

Where to buy: Augarten flagship store, Seilergasse 3, 1010 Vienna; alternatively buy at Augarten porcelain manufactory in Augarten, Obere Augartenstrasse 1, 1020 Vienna. Vintage pieces can be found at Naschmarkt flea market.

Viennese Cakes

What to buy in Vienna: Imperial TorteWhile you can always try yourself at baking Viennese cakes, the originals are hard to beat. Many of our signature cakes are available in sturdy wooden boxes for easy transportation. To avoid extra baggage, you can even order them online. Combine the cake gifts with a Viennese cook book and original cake tin, and you have got the perfect set.

Top items: Sacher Torte, Imperial Torte, Gugelhupf

Where to buy: Hotel Sacher, Hotel Imperial, Demel, Aida, Kurkonditorei Oberlaa;

Enamel Jewellery

What to buy in Vienna: Frey Wille bangleTo celebrate our hang for art, elegance and adorning ourselves a Viennese family business transformed our cookware’s enamel into the most sophisticated pieces of craftsmanship: Vienna’s Frey-Wille fire enamel jewellery has been an international success. Especially if you like Art Nouveau and Expressionism you will make a find at the company’s local shops.

Top items: set of Klimt and Monet inspired earrings and necklace, cufflinks, scarves and pens;

Where to buy: at Frey Wille’s local shops in the center and at the airport;

Art Nouveau Accessories

What to buy in Vienna: Josef Hoffmann vaseSince Vienna has a strong heritage in Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) and Modernism consider buying a tasteful artefact that reflects this grand era. Among the most sophisticated gifts are those that come closest to their originals in both pattern, material and shape.

Top items: ‘Ver Sacrum’ bags and accessories, using original patterns by Josef Hoffmann; porcelain mugs; Josef Hoffmann’s Art Nouveau style ‘Melon’ coffee service, and vases (see photo);

Where to buy: at Österreichische Werkstätten shop (Austrian Arts), Kärntner Strasse 6, selected museum shops;

Viennese Snowglobe

What to buy in Vienna: snowglobeThere is no way you get out of Vienna in the winter without having stumbled over a snow globe. More than 115 years old Wien’s most popular decorative gift is still produced in the Perzy family’s manufactory in the 17th district. While the snow globe is available in various sizes you can let it snow on key landmarks, mountains and villages, animals, cakes, Johann Strauss and Empress Sissi, and even expressions of love.

Top items: Giant Ferris Wheel, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, gugelhupf cake

Where to buy: local souvenir shops, Österreichische Werkstätten (photo) and Christmas markets;

What To Buy In Vienna: Top Five Insider Gifts

Enamel Cake Tin

What to buy in Vienna: gugelhupf tinSince local cake tradition comes in a few distinct shapes, baking fans will love an original Viennese cake tin. Far from silicone and cup cakes, these tins are amazingly practical and reach hundreds of years back into local kitchen cupboards. If you have to choose between brands, stick with the good old Riess enamel brand of our local grandmothers. Alternatively, go for pretty glazed stoneware;

Top items:Gugelhupf or Rehrücken cake tins from Riess Email

Where to buy: Cuisinarum, Singerstrasse 14; Haardt & Krüger Schottengasse 3a

Set of Heurigen Wine Glasses

What to buy in Vienna: wine glassesNot only is Vienna the only European capital with a major wine growing industry but it is also home of the distinctive 1/8 l wine glass. Once you have been to a local Heurigen (wine tavern) you will know what I am talking about. Typically, these glasses are decorated with green vine leaves.

Top items: set of 4 small wine glasses

Where to buy: While glasses with green vine leaves are hard to get the golden leaf versions are available in most kitchen accessories shops, and in some museum shops.

Vintage Handbags

What to buy in Vienna: petit point bagAmong the many vintage items at local flea markets one category has always stuck out to me personally: handbags. Most of them date from the 1950s and 1960s, are croc style with golden clasps and a little handle. If you are lucky, you will also find traditional petit point embroidered bags (photo).

Top items: croc-style or petit point embroidered evening handbags;

Where to buy: Naschmarkt flea market and selected local flea markets; Dorotheum auction house (for real antiquities);

Newspaper Holder

What to buy in Vienna: newspaper holderBefore smartphones arrived, the Viennese coffeehouse crowd had to find a way to read their (large) newspapers while sipping coffee at the same time. Hence, the newspaper holder appeared and since became a firm part of our local coffeehouse culture. Ever since, the newspaper holder – alongside papers and magazines – has well defied online competition.

Top items: bamboo or wooden newspaper holders usually come in three different sizes;

Where to buy: korbsalix.com, at Café Prückel and Café Sacher;

Boiled Wool Jacket

What to buy in Vienna: boiled wool jacket (Walkjanker)Originating from Alpine farmers, the Walkjanker became a Viennese fashion item when ‘the countryside’ turned into a desirable space for the city’s residents. The boiled wool keeps you warm, is 100% natural and almost water proof. Especially if you are an outdoor person a Walkjanker is both practical and a nice nod to your trip to Vienna.

Top items:grey or bottle green jackets with either silver coin buttons or buttons made from deer antlers;

Where to buy: Giesswein shop at Ringstrassen-Gallerien; Salzburger Trachtenoutlet in Weihburggasse 8, 1010 Vienna;

Vienna Unwrapped logoTo pull all these addresses – and more great shops – together in one compact tour consider hiring a local shopping guide, from as little as EUR 65 pp (based on two participants) for a dedicated 3-hour shopping spree.

Do you want more inspiration what to buy in Vienna? Just download a total of 35 gifts to buy in Vienna in my free Vienna Shopping Guide, a thank you for signing up to my free newsletter. Includes a detailed directory of online and offline shopping addresses .

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