Not to miss

Kunsthistorisches Museum

If you're an art buff don't miss the Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of the finest in Europe. The Habsburgs loved to collect, and many goodies found their way back to Vienna from their extensive territories. It's impossible to see the whole museum in one visit, so plan ahead or expect to indulge in repeat excursions.

Rubens was appointed to the service of a Habsburg governor in Brussels, so it is not surprising that the museum has one of the best collections of his works. The collection of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder is also unrivalled.

The works by Canova, Vermeer, Dürer, Rembrandt, Raphael, Van Dyck, Cranach, Caravaggio, Canaletto and Titian aren't bad and there are extensive collections of Egyptian, Greek and Roman artefacts, and sculpture and decorative arts covering the Austrian high baroque, Renaissance, mannerist and medieval periods, including Cellini's famously over-the-top salt cellar.

The building itself has some delightful features. The murals between the arches above the stairs were created by three artists, including a young Klimt (northern wall), painted before he broke with classical tradition.

Sigmund Freud Museum

The apartment where Sigmund Freud lived and worked from 1891 until his forced departure from Vienna with the arrival of the Nazis in 1938 is now a museum devoted to the father of psychoanalysis. A number of his possessions are on display, and his obsessions - travelling, smoking and antique collecting - are well represented by Egyptian and Buddhist statues. Only a handful of his many portraits capture him without his trademark half-smoked cigar.

Overly detailed notes (in English) illuminate the offerings and audio guides are available at the ticket desk, but neither offers any real insight into Freud's theories. The newly opened second floor is used for temporary exhibitions.

Judenplatz

The old Jewish quarter, Judenplatz, is just off the northeast corner of Am Hof. Here you'll find an attractive square underneath which are excavations of a medieval synagogue, a museum documenting the tumultuous history of Jews in Vienna, and a memorial to Austrian Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

The Jewish museum in the Judenplatz focuses on excavated remains of a medieval synagogue (1420) that once took pride of place on Judenplatz. The basic outline of the synagogue can still be seen and a small model of the building helps to complete the picture. Documents and artefacts dating from 1200 to 1400 are on display, and spacey interactive screens explain Jewish culture. On Judenplatz is Austria's first Holocaust memorial, the 'Nameless Library'. This squat, boxlike structure pays homage to the 65,000 Austrian Jews who were killed during the Anschluss.