Madrid has its barrios, New York its neighbourhoods. In Vienna, the districts attached to the city centre throughout history are called &ldquo;Gr&auml;tzel&rdquo;. Among them, Spittelberg seems today to be &ldquo;The place to be&rdquo;!

Former popular "gr&auml;tzel" where artisans and workers once saw, at nightfall, the Emperor Joseph II discreetly pass by, the same one who ardently rebelled against these places of vice during the day... Spittelberg today has a strong exchange. The Parisian will undoubtedly see a Viennese reflection of the 9th arrondissement, where the up-and-coming bars of Pigalle, sex shops and other &ldquo;pleasure places&rdquo; have given way to cocktail bars, chic boutiques and bohemian and organic restaurants. At the epicenter of the flowery streets of Spittelberg , the Altstadt hotel radiates style and intelligence. This boutique hotel was born from the passion of Otto E. Wiesenthal, a travelling businessman, tired of standardized accommodation with calibrated luxury, who decided in the early 90s to create a different, friendly and human place. Remarkable setting for an art collection started as a teenager, where Warhol rubs shoulders with <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/art/ikea-and-annie-leibovitz-for-paris-fashion-week" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Annie Leibovitz</a> , Yayoi Kusama , Bruno Gironcoli ... Here, each room has been designed by a different designer. Matteo Thun, Dietrich Untertrifaller, Polka and many others participate in the founding concept of the Altstadt : &ldquo;The Art of Hospitality&rdquo;

A stone's throw from the Museum Quarter, between Breite Gasse and Sigmundsgasse streets , the romantic alleys and shaded courtyards vibrate with laughter and music. Tian Bistro offers vegetarian and vegan menus. It's beautiful and the Michelin has shed one star. In the Eigensinnig showroom, a beacon of avant-garde fashion in Vienna , Toni Woldrich, the Soul of Clothes, offers dresses, jeans and coats, necessarily black, which will not leave you indifferent. The stars love it and so do we. The photos from Silverfineart Gallery are very beautiful. Then it&rsquo;s the &ldquo;sixties&rdquo; furniture, lamps and trinkets that we hunt for at Beate Hautzenberger who has the clever idea of ​​delivering important pieces abroad. A must-see address in the neighborhood, M&uuml;hlbauer, hatmaker since 1903, offers its pretty handcrafted headdresses to aesthetes. Japanese customers love it, Brad Pitt, Madonna, Meryl Streep and Yoko Ono regularly order there. On the agenda for the neighborhood visit: quench your thirst with a natural fruit juice at Naturkost St Josef, a popular organic grocery store, before stopping at La Sellerie, a concept store that is as trendy as it is iconoclastic.

Heading towards the Museum Quarter finally seems essential. The 60,000 m2 of the former stables of the Imperial Court accommodate numerous art establishments. The exhibition on Egon Schiele is remarkable. It is difficult to be indifferent to this graphic and pictorial work from the time of symbolist Vienna . The atmosphere at MQ is decidedly hype. From the Leopold caf&eacute; to the Halle restaurant, from the Kantine bar to the Kaan, the places are decorative and cool. In the evening, after a dinner at Flora where chef Parvin Razavi offers a plate as rich in colours as in flavours, the traveller heads to Soulmate, an elegant and stylish neighborhood bar. Not too late though. Because tomorrow, Saturday, the curious will not miss the Naschmarkt flea market for anything in the world. A must-see in the city where more than 400 stalls, both private and commercial, offer a bric-a-brac of furniture and objects that are resolutely &ldquo;Mitteleuropa&rdquo;. Kitsch and fun. The walk is worth the detour, as much as the spa of the San Souci hotel , a palace encountered on the way, with its surreal swimming pool, lit by Grande &Eacute;poque chandeliers and its nickel-chrome hammam. And so, these 48 hours in Vienna , in the bohemian district of Spittelberg , less than two hours from Paris, prove to be the ideal change of scenery for a weekend as festive as it is spring.

Hotel Altstadt Kirchengasse 41, 1070 Vienna +43 1 5226666 <a href="https://www.altstadt.at/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">altstadt.at</a> Vienna Tourist Office <a href="https://www.wien.info/fr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vienna.info</a>

A weekend in Vienna

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