Sky at Steffl runs on the seventh floor of the Steffl department store on Kärntner Strasse, reached by a glass panoramic lift that opens straight onto a wraparound terrace over Stephansdom, the rooftops and the Inner City.
Tip: Walk-in Friday and Saturday 17:00 to 01:00 without reservation. Sunset arrival on a clear day is the calmer way in.
Address: Kärntner Straße 19, 1010 Wien, Vienna
Atmosphere sits on the eighth floor of the Ritz-Carlton on the Ringstrasse, opening seasonally from mid-April with a California Soul concept, sundowner cocktails and a view across the Stadtpark to the Belvedere.
Tip: Open weather permitting from mid-April to late summer; reservations recommended for the prime terrace seats on warm evenings.
Loos opened in 1908 on the Kärntner Durchgang off Kärntner Strasse as Adolf Loos's American Bar, a 27 square metre room of yellow marble, mahogany and mirrors that still serves the canonical Vienna cocktail list.
Tip: Walk-in only; 27 square metres means standing room after 22:00. Order a classic; the room rewards a Negroni and a slow drink.
Kruger's has run at Krugerstrasse 5 since the 1920s as the oldest cocktail bar still trading in Vienna, with the original Chesterfield leather, 1920s lamps, two long bars and a list that runs over 100 cocktails.
Tip: Daily happy hour to 20:00; cigar smokers go to the back room. The whisky and rum stock is the deepest in the 1st district.
Der Dachboden sits on the eighth floor of the 25hours Hotel above the MuseumsQuartier, with a long timber deck looking across the Hofburg, the Burgtheater and the Volkstheater rooftops, and a list of well-priced local cocktails.
Tip: Lift access from the hotel lobby on Lerchenfelder Strasse. Sunset queues build from 19:00; weeknight afternoons are calm.
Das Loft runs on the 18th floor of the SO Vienna hotel on the Donaukanal across from the Urania, with a Jorrit Tornquist multicoloured glass ceiling and a 360 view that takes in the Stephansdom spires, the canal and the Prater.
Tip: No reservation needed at the bar; tables fill on Friday and Saturday. The rooftop is glass-enclosed, so winter visits still work.
Atmosphere sits on the eighth floor of the Ritz-Carlton on the Ringstrasse, opening seasonally from mid-April with a California Soul concept, sundowner cocktails and a view across the Stadtpark to the Belvedere.
Tip: Open weather permitting from mid-April to late summer; reservations recommended for the prime terrace seats on warm evenings.
Tür 7 hides behind a plain Josefstadt door marked only with a brass 7, with a 35-seat parlour room, no printed menu, and bartenders building bespoke cocktails to each guest in turn.
Tip: Ring the bell and wait; if full nobody enters. Reserve by email for groups over two and brief the bartender on a spirit you like.
Loos opened in 1908 on the Kärntner Durchgang off Kärntner Strasse as Adolf Loos's American Bar, a 27 square metre room of yellow marble, mahogany and mirrors that still serves the canonical Vienna cocktail list.
Tip: Walk-in only; 27 square metres means standing room after 22:00. Order a classic; the room rewards a Negroni and a slow drink.
Kruger's has run at Krugerstrasse 5 since the 1920s as the oldest cocktail bar still trading in Vienna, with the original Chesterfield leather, 1920s lamps, two long bars and a list that runs over 100 cocktails.
Tip: Daily happy hour to 20:00; cigar smokers go to the back room. The whisky and rum stock is the deepest in the 1st district.