13 Best Bars in Vienna, Austria

This excellent craft beer bar serves up rotating beers on tap from a variety of microbreweries. There's usually at least one Austrian brew on tap alongside a United Nations of beers, and despite their name, the brick and wood-filled space has a vibe that's more rustic and cozy than divey. Staff are incredibly knowledgeable and always happy to give you a taste before committing to a full mug.

"U" stands for underground, and fittingly, Club U is located below one of the two Jugendstil pavilions that Otto Wagner built when designing Vienna's subway. One of the best dance halls for alternative music in the city, it has outdoor seating, live music, a great atmosphere, and excellent DJs.

In a cavernous subway station, Café Carina is dazzling in its dinginess. It's offbeat, artistic, and action packed—you get the sense that anything can happen here, from an air-guitar competition to an evening of 1980s hits. On weekends expect it to be packed.

In the MuseumsQuartier, this café-bar is hidden inside the large, white cube that is the Leopold Museum. Tables are scattered outside on the plaza at night, and in summer the restaurant morphs into a bar and trendy hangout in the evenings.

In the middle of the Freihaus Quarter, the Schikaneder serves as both an independent, experimental movie theater and a very popular bar filled with the city's artists. It screens a few films daily (in original languages with German subtitles), hosts art exhibits, and offers first-class DJ lineups regularly.

One of the leaders and originals of nightlife in Vienna's 2nd District, the Fluc attracts world-famous DJs, who praise the small venue as one of the best in Europe. It is on the site of a converted passageway, so its thick, soundproof walls mean DJs can max out the volume.

This classy but casual Spanish wine bar pours exceptional Iberian wines and serves small and large tapas to nibble on. It's also a fully-stocked wineshop in case you want to grab a bottle for your hotel room. Service is friendly and welcoming and in warmer weather they have a few tables outside. It's the perfect place for a casual bite and a glass or two to wind down after a day of sightseeing. Reservations are recommended (it's a tiny space with few seats).

In a cellar under St. Ruprecht's church, this is the granddaddy of Vienna's jazz clubs and is the oldest jazz venue in Austria. Thanks to the pioneering work of the club's founder, Axel Melhardt, Austrian jazz musicians have grooved with the best American stars. The club also serves excellent, inexpensive, and authentic cuisine.

Near the Naschmarkt, Johnny's is the classic, every-city-has-one good old Irish bar. Good beer, inexpensive meals, quiz nights, and live music make this pub a popular hangout.

Porgy & Bess is one of the top jazz clubs of Europe and is a fixed point on the international jazz scene.

This tiny sparkling wine bar exclusively pours bubbly from its own Szigeti vineyard in Burgenland, a wine-focused region. It's a few steps away from the popular Naschmarkt. The vibe is jovial and friendly and bartenders are walking-talking encyclopedias of sparkling wine.

Back in 1870, Viennese used to come to the Volksgarten to waltz, drink champagne, and enjoy the night air in a candlelit garden. Today it's a nightclub where glammed-up locals flock to go clubbing, mostly to house and party music. It really puts the "night" in nightclub—hours are from 11 pm to 6 am.