Fodor's Expert Review Michaelerplatz

One of Vienna's most historic squares, this small plaza is now the site of an excavation that took place from 1989--1991. Some remarkable Roman ruins were discovered, including what some believe was a brothel for soldiers. The excavations are a latter-day distraction from the Michaelerplatz's most noted claim to fame—the eloquent entryway to the palace complex of the Hofburg.

Mozart's Requiem debuted in the Michaelerkirche on December 10, 1791. More people stop in today due to a discovery American soldiers made in 1945, when they forced open the crypt doors, which had been sealed for 150 years. Found lying undisturbed for centuries were the mummified remains of former wealthy parishioners of the church—even the finery and buckled shoes worn at their burial had been preserved by the perfect temperatures contained within the crypt.