The Graben: Vienna’s Elegant Heartbeat of History and Shopping

Graben Vienna (C3) is an upscale and throbbing shopping street in the midst of the inner city with a plague column. The history of this street goes back to old Romans and it is circled by trendy alleys, streets and spots which are representative of the characteristic flair, refined tradition and gourmet delights: Stephansplatz, Kohlmarkt, Naglergasse, Tuchlauben and Petersplatz.

Visitor Information

A lot of the buildings in this shopping area and the accompanying alleys date from the 17th and 18th century and house the best traditional stores. Amongst them are some with a long history and were already favored establishments in the days when Austria was ruled by emperors. These are for instance the porcelain merchant Albin Denk, the court jeweler Heldwein and also the imperial perfumery Nägele & Strubell. In the premises of the old court menswear shop Braun you can now see a shop of H&M. The noble interior from history was left in the shop. There are also numerous coffee houses and restaurants between all those shops. Particularly in the nearby alleys you can find a lot of them. In the Dorotheergasse alley you can find the coffee house Hawelka opened since 1939 and a renowned spot where you can bump into some times famous artists in a truly old fashioned environment. As a gourmet, you will not miss to stop by at the Julius Meinl shop on the Graben end (corner Naglergasse). The gourmet supermarket features stunning Austrian and international delicatessen. There you can shop and you can find a lot of various edible souvenirs from Vienna. Julius Meinl became popular due to the great coffee, which you can have in the included coffee house with the good view on the beautiful boulevard. There is also a good sorted wine cellar with a wine bar in the basement.