Vienne Austria Shopping
Vienna offers shopping experience for any taste and budget. Huge shopping malls in city centre are few, because the abundance of well-preserved historic buildings does not allow extensive trading complexes construction. Shops are usually open Monday to Friday 9am - 6 pm, and Saturday from midday until 5.30 pm.
The city centre ("Innere Stadt") offers shopping experience, which is rated very high among European ones. There are countless trendy boutiques and designer shops, beautiful arcades nestled in winding narrow streets. Mariahilferstrasse is considered to be the city's longest shopping street. It hosts all the popular types of retails and two department stores, Gerngross and the EuroCenter. Kärntner Straße and the Graben are two other haunts for avid shoppers.
Naschmarkt is a colorful and busy market, selling fruits and vegetables. It also boasts some specialty stalls and best eateries in the city. The oriental-inspired Brunnenmarkt is well-worth a look, and Alt Wiener Flohmarkt (flea market) offers astonishing variety of souvenirs, jewellery, leather and antiquities.
Some of the recommended trade centers. Gasometer is a complex of four massive gas towers, converted into fantastic art deco shopping centre. It comprises brand name boutiques, 14 cafes, cinema. Gerngross is a five-storey building with good cafes, a supermarket and many entertainments. Lugner City, located on the busy Gablenzgasse, leading to Burggasse and Stadt Centrum, features numerous outlets, and interesting "Moroccan Market". Lutz, a nationwide chain of furniture stores, offers a variety of houseware, accessories, linen, pictures, posters, carpets.
Ringstrassen Galerien, a sequence of more than 70 fashion boutiques, among which Jackpot & Cottonfield and Jack Wolfskin.There are also gift and souvenir shops, jewellery, cafes, restaurants. Steffl is a striking modern building on the famous pedestrian Karntner Strasse, housing many bookstores, cosmetics, boutiques, housewares. There is a nice Skybar on the top floor with excellent city panorama.
Dorotheum (Auction House) is popular with art connoisseurs and dealers. Ludwig Reiter shoe manufacturer, Augarten porcelain or Fuernkranz Couture also have their company headquarters in Vienna. The city thus can satisfy the most discerning demands for chic as well as bargain shopping.