Vienna is Austria's largest city and home to a population of more than 1.7 million people. It's situated in the very east of the country, close to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Vienna is a major European centre of economic, political and cultural life, and one of the two pillars upholding the excellent reputation that Austria has among travellers, the other being the Alps. Annual surveys measuring the quality of life in cities around the planet invariably list Vienna in the top five.

The first settlement on the site was established around 500 BC by Celtic tribes. Five centuries later, it was taken over by the Romans, who named it Vindobona and made it into an important frontier city protecting the empire from Germanic tribes inhabiting the northern territories.In Medieval times, the city was home to the Babenbergs. In the first half of the 15th Century, Vienna became the residence of the Habsburg dynasty, and consequently gained the status of the capital city of the Holy Roman Empire.

It was under Habsburg rule that Vienna acquired the nickname of the Imperial City. Under the rulers of that dynasty, its most notable architectural monuments were erected. The city quickly became a true cultural gem of the continent, and an important player on the international political scene. The Ottoman invasions of Europe in the 16th and 17th Centuries were stopped twice just outside of the city, during the Siege of Vienna in 1529 and the famous Battle of Vienna in 1683. The Habsburg dynasty ruled Austria from their residence in Vienna for almost six and a half centuries, and produced such excellent leaders as Emperor Franz Joseph I.

After the fall of Napoleon in 1815, a new political order in Europe was established in the Austrian capital during the Congress of Vienna. In 1938, the whole of Europe watched German troops marching into Vienna's representative Ringstrasse after the Anschluss – an event that anticipated the outbreak of World War II. A vision of the post-war Austrian capital has been immortalised in Orson Welles' cult film 'The Third Man'.

The rich history is reflected in the architectural composition of the city, which is a unique combination of various architectural styles. There are the famous Romanesque Ruprechtskirche and the Karlskirche, erected in the Baroque style. Vienna is also home to some of the best-known examples of the Art Nouveau style in the world, such as the Kirche am Steinhof and Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station. The imperial palaces, Hofsburg and Schönbrunn, incorporate elements of a variety of styles which have been popular over the centuries.

Vienna is a city effortlessly blending old with new. Modern glass constructions sit just beside majestic church façades and elegant 17th-century residences. An interesting example of adjusting the monuments of the past to the needs of the present are the famous Gasometers, four gas tanks from the late 19th Century refurbished to house modern apartments and shopping galleries. The Hundertwasserhaus by Friedensreich Hundertwasser and the Wotrubakirche by Fritz Wotruba are also fascinating architectural experiments.