Vienna is such an extraordinary city that even souvenir mugs and magnets look like works of art. And some Viennese souvenirs are art: What other word can describe priceless porcelain or Swarovski crystal jewellery? The gift doesn't have to be expensive — but it doesn't have to be plain either. Kidspassage tells you what to bring back from Vienna to capture the city's character.
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Sweet souvenirs
Gifts of sweets are at the top of the list for visitors to Vienna. No wonder: many sweets are considered the city's trademark. Of course, you can't take home the freshest strudel, but some desserts will be more transportable.
1. Sacher cake
A cake with understated decoration and subtle flavour is served in many pastry shops in Vienna. Still, the original recipe — which had to be proven in court — belongs to Café Sacher. It is the only place in Vienna where you can buy an entire cake to take home as a gift. The cake is packaged in a wooden box and can be kept for up to two weeks.
2. Manner Crispy Waffles with Creamy Chocolate Filling
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The Mannerschnitten is a waffle with a nut filling that has been produced for over 100 years. Tourists take this sweet from Vienna because the waffle cover features St. Stephen's Cathedral, one of the symbols of the Austrian capital. And next to the cathedral itself, at Stephansplatz, there is a company shop selling other Manner sweets and numerous souvenirs.
3. Mozartkugel chocolate and marzipan sweets
Mozartkugel is a chocolate and marzipan candy that first hit the shelves in 1890. They are made in Salzburg, the home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but you can also buy them in Vienna. The natural, handmade Salzburg candies are wrapped in blue foil with the Original Salzburger Mozartkugel stamp, while the mass-produced product is sold in supermarkets in a red wrapper.
4. Lipizzaner Kugel Candies
Lipizzaner Kugeln is a true Viennese sweet. The wrapper shows a white Lipizzaner horse, the symbol of Vienna. Inside the wrapper is a marzipan ball covered in white and dark chocolate icing. The Viennese people point out that the Lipizzaner ball appeared 40 years before the Mozart ball. Different Lipizzaner products can be bought in the company's shop on Stefanplatz.
5. Sissi Taler Chocolate
You can also buy Mozartkugeln and other popular sweets from Heindl's confectionery, but a unique souvenir of Vienna is the chocolate coin depicting Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria or Sisi. Heindl also makes fruit-flavoured children's sweets and chestnut-filled chocolates.
6. Sweets from Demel's confectionery
While Café Sacher focuses on its famous cakes, Demel offers delicate biscuits, sweets, candied fruit, jams and marmalades. All of these are sold in smart gift boxes.
7. Altmann & Kühne Candies
Handmade sweets are packaged in beautifully designed decorative boxes. The sweets are as tiny as dolls and are available in 16 designs and flavours. The Altmann & Kühne shop is located in the centre of Vienna, on Am Graben.
8. Lollipops from Zuckerlwerkstatt confectionery
Does this kind of gift seem too primitive? Watch the confectioners at work. Their hands transform granulated sugar into syrup, then into a thick mass, which is kneaded, stretched, rolled into giant colourful rolls, rolled into thin tubes, cut — and suddenly the lollipop has a pattern around the edge: a strawberry, a pear, a flower. It is also where the striped lollipops, a favourite of the Viennese, are made. Zuckerlwerkstatt is located in Österreich Herrengasse.
9. Candied violets
Many souvenirs from Vienna depict Empress Sisi. A box of candied violets, which the Empress loved, adds to the charm of such a gift. The Demel confectionery, which supplied the palace, now sells them to the public.
10. Candied pralines from different flowers
At Blühendes Konfekt, sweets are decorated with candied roses, bird cherries, marigolds and orange blossom flowers.
11. Milka chocolate
Milka's range of desserts is always comprehensive, and the choice is even more excellent around the holidays. For example, a Christmas souvenir from Vienna could be a Milka Advent calendar or chocolate figures, including the good Saint Nicholas and even the evil Krampus. Although these sweet bars are made and sold in different countries, the best milk for them comes from cows grazing in the alpine meadows of Austria.
12. Coffee
Freshly roasted coffee is available in many of Vienna's coffee shops. Alt Wien Kaffee and Wiener Rösthaus are considered good coffee roasters. Café Sacher and Naber Kaffee are two old-fashioned establishments. Any dessert is even more delicious when served with Viennese coffee.
Special gifts from Vienna
Imperial chic is still a thing of the past in Vienna. To ensure that visitors to the Austrian capital can feel it while shopping, the Imperial Shop Vienna is located in the Hofburg Palace. Everything sold there would have adorned the imperial chambers.
13. Augarten Porcelain
Europe's oldest porcelain manufacturer was founded in 1718. Since then, many new collections of tableware and decorative objects have been created in collaboration with renowned artists, but the Viennese Rose pattern, developed in the 19th century, and the Melon Service, invented by Vienna's chief architect Josef Hoffmann in the early 20th century, are still considered prestigious.
14. Silverware from Wiener Silbermanufactur
Josef Hoffmann's sketches and drawings are still used to produce tableware and decorations, although the manufacturer has now expanded its range to include the work of contemporary designers. The Wiener Silbermanufaktur shop is next to St Stephan's Cathedral.
15. J. & L. Lobmeyr glassware
From 1823 to the present day, all of the company's products have been handcrafted, and each piece, from the glass to the vase, surprises with its elegance of form and decoration. Lobmeyr also produces luxurious lamps in Viennese glass, and its designers are in tune with fashion trends.
16. Riedel crystal glasses
The Riedel dynasty has been making glassware for almost 300 years, and Klaus Josef Riedel is credited with inventing differently shaped glasses for different drinks. The company wins awards nearly every year for its new designs, and its products don't just end up in high-end shops — museums also want to get their hands on these exquisite goblets. Porcelain, silverware, Viennese glass and crystal can also be purchased in Viennese speciality shops or, if you are taking a factory tour, in the factory shop.
17. Swarovski crystal jewellery
Even a tiny crystal creates a dazzling world for the little princess — and there's no limit to her delight when she visits the Swarovski Crystal World Museum near Innsbruck.
18. Freywille jewellery
Precious metal and enamelled jewellery will appeal to every woman.
19. Smoking pipes handmade by Peter Matzhold
Peter Matzhold lives and works near Graz, but his products are sold in Vienna's most expensive shops. The idea is for the pipe lover to select an accessory of the right shape and size, and if this is not possible, try to find out what kind of gift would please the person.
What to buy in Vienna for children
What can you buy for a child in Vienna? Toys, of course. You can find many toys in one of the Müller stores. Fischer Spiele (Hietzinger Hauptstr.) and Spielwarenbannert (Werdertorgasse) are also full of toys.
20. Piatnik board games
Toddlers will love the company's puzzles, and the Activity game can be played with the whole family (by the way, the travel version of Activity will keep you entertained on new journeys together).
21. Glass snow globe
The factory has produced them for many years, repeating favourite motifs and inventing new ones.
Typical Viennese souvenirs include snow globes with miniature replicas of the Giant Ferris Wheel in the Prater, the City Hall or St Stephen's Cathedral.
Choose a snow globe with a teddy bear, snowman or fairytale character for the little ones.
22. Souvenirs from Christmas markets
Felted and crocheted dolls, Christmas decorations, gingerbread figures — there are too many lovely gifts to count. You can also buy a popular souvenir from Austria — cow bells. Why not use them as Christmas decorations? You can always find good gifts in the museum shops. By the end of the tour, you'll probably know what to bring your child from Vienna.
23. Schönbrunn Palace Gift Shop Items
Here you can buy your child a pencil with a little crown instead of an eraser or a stamp with the first letter of their name.
24. Baking utensils from the Residence Café gift shop
If you make it to the Strudelshow in Schönbrunn, buy something useful for those learning to cook.
25. Souvenirs from Schoenbrunn Zoo or the Sea House
You can buy T-shirts and notebooks with animals from Schönbrunn Zoo or the Sea House.
26. "Musical" presents from the House of Music
A treble clef pencil and other 'musical' gifts from the House of Music would be an excellent choice for a child of any age.
27. Dinosaur figurines from the Natural History Museum
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28. Constructors and experiment kits from the Technical Museum
Food items
Austrian cheeses and sausages are often mentioned when asked what souvenirs to bring back from Vienna. But several unique products in Vienna don't always get the attention they deserve.
29. Pumpkin seed oil
Vienna is only 200 km from Graz, the administrative centre of Styria. Is it any wonder that the Styrian love of pumpkin seed oil has spread to Vienna? The dark, tasty butter can be added to salads and is even used in Styrian cold cuts.
30. Tinned snails
Gugumuck is the largest snail farm in Vienna. It supplies restaurants in Austria and abroad, and gourmet travellers can buy snails in tins.
Alcohol
Austria's alcoholic beverages are overshadowed by its neighbours, wine-producing Hungary, beer-growing Germany and the Czech Republic. In Vienna, however, we recommend you try some Austrian beer or wine; you will be satisfied.
31. Wiener Lager
Amber beer with a strong malt flavour was brewed in 1840. There was a time when this beer was forgotten in Austria, but it was remembered in the USA and Mexico. Today, several breweries in Vienna produce Wiener Lager, including the old Ottakringer brewery.
32. Wine
The federal state of Vienna is one of Austria's wine-growing regions, with vineyards near the capital.
Decent dry and semi-dry white wines are available in Vienna, as well as sparkling wines and a dessert wine called "Eiswein", made from grapes frozen on the vine.
The best Austrian wine producers are Schlumberger and Weingut Wieninger.
33. Mozart chocolate liqueur
The bottles of this liqueur are very reminiscent of Mozartkugeln but enlarged. Like the candies, the delicate liqueur is made in Salzburg and comes in various flavours.
34. Cider
Austrians love carbonated, low-alcohol apple drinks, so particular varieties of apples are grown in Styria to make cider. The Goldkehlchen cider range includes apple-pear, cherry and blackcurrant, and classic cider.
Clothing
Vienna's main shopping streets are lined with internationally renowned brands. In between are many Austrian manufacturers: be sure to check out their shops.
35. Wolford knitwear, women's underwear and tights
Wolford is renowned for its high-quality, high-value knitwear; all its products prove that classics can be fashionable.
36. Palmers men's and women's wear
Palmers have made homeware, pyjamas, underwear, swimwear, socks and tights for over 100 years. It's not about fashion; you don't have to worry about quality.
Skiing equipment
A country with such powerful ski resorts couldn't help but have its manufacturers of skis, boots, clothing and accessories for active winter holidays. Of course, we're not suggesting that Austrian ski gear can only be bought in Vienna, but sometimes a gift needs to be iconic and practical.t quality.
37. Atomic and Fischer skis
These two Austrian companies are among the world's best ski and boot manufacturers. During the winter season, airlines allow you to take skis on board without any problems, but it is advisable to inform them that your baggage includes such equipment.
38. Ski clothing
Austrian-made ski jackets, trousers and overalls are not well-known here but are trustworthy. Sportalm Kitzbühel, Firefly, Almrausch and others make bright, high-quality skiwear.
Goods that may not be exported from Austria
Austria has few customs restrictions, and everyday purchases are not subject to them. But there are still some subtleties to consider.
Items of cultural or historical value cannot be exported without special permission. In theory, this includes antiques, porcelain, glass and jewellery. In practice, a certificate and a receipt from a shop are enough to ensure that customs do not ask too many questions.
When deciding what gifts to bring from Vienna and in what quantities, you should be aware of any import restrictions. Sometimes they prohibit the import of food above a certain weight or value. It applies most often to alcohol — different countries have their duty-free limits for alcoholic beverages. Food bought at the market but not in its original packaging (cheese, sausages) may also be refused entry.
Tips
We've already listed some shops where you can buy typical Viennese souvenirs. But you can also shop elsewhere - in large shopping centres, designer boutiques and souvenir shops. Vienna's Naschmarkt also has a lot to offer, and you don't have to go to the gourmet shops — supermarkets have almost everything.
Please note that most shops in Vienna close between 18:00 and 19:00 on weekdays and between 17:00 and 18:00 on Saturdays. On Thursdays and Fridays, the opening hours are sometimes extended until 21:00. On Sundays, business tends to come to a standstill.
The fantastic thing about Vienna is that it combines shopping with sightseeing. To ensure you get everything, check out Vienna's collection of family attractions on the Kidpassage website. With information on where to see dinosaurs, taste museum exhibits and try on an emperor's cloak, you can be sure the kids won't get bored.
