Reichsapfel Appartements

The Karmeliterviertel (Carmelite Quarter) is the liveliest multi-cultural district of Vienna, with a fabulous local shopping and Beislszene (pub area).
Many cultures meet in this district: The old Austrians („Altösterreicher“), harking back to the time when Leopoldstadt was a working-class neighborhood; the Yuppies and Bobos, who moved in recently; many Hasidic Jews who live in the district (which was a Jewish ghetto for centuries); Russian, Georgian, Turkish and Serbian immigrants – a truly colorful mixture of peoples and religions. Their cultures are reflected in the shops and diverse restaurants in the area. The diversity in turn promotes artisans’ shops showcasing individual creativity.
The most interesting attraction near to „Zum Reichsapfel“ is the Karmelitermarkt, less than a 5-minute walk away. This outdoor market offers numerous food stalls and restaurants and is open Tuesday through Saturday. The farmers’ market is held on Saturday mornings at the Karmelitermarkt, where a broad array of vegetables, fruit, meat and sausages, fish and flowers, is sold. Many of the products are organic; everything is fresh and fairly priced. The cornucopia of scents and colors stimulates the appetite.

Well-stocked grocery stores are found near the Karmelitermarkt at:

Taborstrasse 10 (direction city center) – Denns, a beautiful organic supermarket
Lilienbrunngasse 18 – the kosher bakery Moshe Ohel sells Mohnstrudel (poppy seed cake)
on Fridays
Glockengasse / Rotensterngasse –a Bar Shabu with a great wine selection
Kleine Sperlgasse and Krummbaumgasse – grocery stores with kosher food
Hollandstrasse 18 – Matthäus Müller’s wine and liquor store

For everyday needs, there is a small supermarket (Billa) around the corner in Karmelitergasse. A bit farther is a shop for cosmetics and cleaning products (Bipa), a pharmacy and a tobacconist; a 5-minute walk away in Zirkusgasse is the discount grocery Hofer (Aldi); on Taborstrasse one finds bakeries as well as a dry cleaner, 2 pharmacies, 2 pleasure bookstores, several drug stores, fashion boutiques, shoe stores, houseware and appliance shops – virtually everything one could need.

Within a 10-minute walk you’ll find more than 100 dining establishments of every type: casual pubs, snack bars, kebab stalls, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, a kosher-Chinese restaurant (!), bars, a jazz cellar, fish restaurants, Mediterranean cuisine, Georgian cuisine, coffee houses, pastry shops, falafel shops and a few excellent home-style restaurants (Beisln) with Viennese cuisine. There is an impressive variety of cuisines from which to choose. For complete information, it is best to read “Vienna as it eats”. www.falter.at.

Your hosts’ dining recommendations, all within a 7-minute walk:

In-house at Karmeliterplatz 3 is “Schank zum Reichsapfel” with fine Heurigen food and delicious, inexpensive wines
Restaurant “Schöne Perle” in Leopoldsgasse, modern, imaginative Viennese cuisine, serving Sunday brunch
“Skopik und Lohn” in Leopoldsgasse, very good upscale cuisine
Gasthaus “Zum Sieg” in Haidgasse – delicious goulash, but recommended only for heavy smokers
“Tewa”, at Karmelitermarkt, good Mediterranean cuisine
In-house restaurant at Hotel Stefanie, Taborstrasse – rich buffet lunch
“Sooßer Weinhaus”, on Karmelitergasse, inexpensive and good lunch menu
“Zur Reblaus”, in Obere Augartenstrasse, inexpensive Viennese classics
Falafel shop on Taborstrasse, opposite the U2 subway station, do-it-yourself falafel, inexpensive and good
“Le Loft” roof-top restaurant and bar on the 18th floor of the Hotel Sofitel, located in the Jean Nouvel building at the corner of Taborstrasse and the Danube Canal. Le Loft provides not only a breathtaking view of the city, but a marvelous ceiling mural created by Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist.
“Tacheles”, a pub with occasional live music performances, Karmeliterplatz
“Harvest”, Karmeliterplatz, all vegetarian
“Zum fliegenden Holländer” (Flying Dutchman), Hollandstrasse, lush and inexpensive

What’s happening in Vienna?

Events of all types, concerts, opera, guided tours, readings, experiences galore in a city that has maintained and developed its cultural infrastructure as the capital for 50 million people, in a multicultural empire spanning centuries. Our culture exemplifies not nostalgia for the past, but the joy of living in the present. Read about current Viennese life at https://www.falter.at/events, the website of the fabulous city newspaper “Falter”. The newspaper is available every Wednesday at tobacconists.