The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence.

Many Habsburg monarchs got memorials shortly after their reign ended, but the monument honouring Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780) took a little longer. One of her successors, Franz Joseph, unveiled it in 1888. The late 19th century was a time of great construction works in Vienna as architects and planners filled the space freed up by the removal of the city fortifications. The area housing the Kunsthistorisches and Naturhistorisches museums formed one of the focal points for development. The two buildings face each other across Maria-Theresien-Platz, a square notable for the huge monument at its centre. The monument pays tribute to the reign of Empress Maria Theresa, who inherited the Habsburg lands in a fairly precarious position and turned them into something rather more successful.

The Natural History Museum Vienna is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria and an important center of excellence for all matters relating to natural sciences.

The Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna is the meeting place of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament. The building is located on the Ringstraße in the first district, Innere Stadt, near Hofburg Palace and the Palace of Justice.

The Burgtheater Court Theater", originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the national theater of Austria in Vienna. It is the most important German-language theater and one of the most important theatres in the world.

The Vienna City Hall is the town hall of Vienna, Austria, located in the Innere Stadt on the Rathausplatz, off the Ringstrasse. The Gothic Revival building was designed by Friedrich von Schmidt and constructed between 1872 and 1883.

The University of Vienna is a public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest institutions of higher learning in Europe.

The café was opened in 1876, and in the late 19th century it became a key meeting place of the Viennese intellectual scene. Key regulars included: Peter Altenberg, Theodor Herzl, Alfred Adler, Egon Friedell, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Anton Kuh, Adolf Loos, Leo Perutz, Robert Musil, Stefan Zweig, Alfred Polgar, Adolf Hitler and Leon Trotsky. In January 1913 alone, Josip Broz Tito, Sigmund Freud, and Stalin were patrons of the establishment. Tarot games of the Tarock family were played regularly here and Tapp Tarock was especially popular between the wars.

The Spanish Riding School is an Austrian institution based in Vienna, dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses, whose performances in the Hofburg are also a tourist attraction. The leading horses and riders of the school also periodically tour and perform worldwide.

The Austrian National Library is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of Vienna. Since 2005, some of the collections have been relocated within the Baroque structure of the Palais Mollard-Clary.

The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well as more modern graphic works, photographs and architectural drawings.

The Vienna State Opera is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road.

The Wiener Musikverein, commonly shortened to Musikverein, is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.

The Karlskirche is a Baroque church in the Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. The church is dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo, a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation. The church is located on the border of Wieden and the Innere Stadt, the city centre.