Hungry after visiting parts of the Hofburg palace museums, I perused g-maps for nearby cafes for a break and a snack. The Dorotheum Cafe popped up close by so in that direction I headed. Unbeknownst to me, this was actually inside the Dorotheum auction house and we spent a good several minutes walking around outside then inside trying to figure out where it was (head to the second floor when you go inside). Having entered with no prior knowledge that this was an auction house, let alone one of the world's oldest* and the largest auction house in continental Europe, this was an exciting discovery since there was so much to see. The ground floor upon entry is filled with enclosed glass display cases like those you'd find in luxury jewelry retailers and for good reason--the pieces were hefty in prices, the creme de la creme of gems and precious metals. And when you see signs pointing to famous artists like Picasso, Monet, Warhol, Klimt and Schiele (just to name a few) up for auction you know you're in the big leagues for art collectors. The three floors inside are filled to the brim with cabinets of items and walls of artwork. It was refreshing to see that not everything is an ultra luxury item--they had housewares, furniture, antiques, jewelry and art within a reasonable range for the average customer looking for something unique and nice. It's free to peruse and really felt like walking around in a museum with price tags. Sales people were available to open cases for you to look at items if interested. For more info: https://www.dorotheum.com/en/ *Established by Emperor Joseph I in 1707, headquartered at this exact location in Vienna, they also have branches in other European countries. read more

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Dorotheum is a must visit when in Vienna. There are gift shops and some amazing art pieces, which you can purchase.

If you're visiting Vienna, make this a must see on your perusal of the city. Went here on a whim this afternoon and ended up walking around for two hours. Two amazing hours. Bought my better half a Valentines present (shh, don't tell him.) Since he occasionally reads yelp, I'll update this later with what it was, but needless to say, I think it is something that truly captures our time here so far, was a reasonable price (no honey, really), and something incredibly unique that I couldn't have found anywhere else (just like you, my husband..) Aww, but that's not why you read yelp. You want to hear about the jewelry. And I'll drop a few hints in here too. Just in case. You read that it is an auction house. And it is. But the part that you don't normally read about is the Galleria section which is where they have fixed price sales going on all the time. For the gorgeous jewelry go immediately to the third floor (fourth for all the Americans). It was incredible. A mix of estate jewelry and watches as well as new Dorotheum collection pieces that are incredibly unique and reasonably priced. I had walked in with someone having told me how reasonable most of the pieces were. Of course when you walk in on the ground floor, it's all the nicest of the nice. But head upstairs, by the time I got there I was thanking the person who told me about Dorotheum. Some incredible pieces upstairs, saw a huge yellow diamond arm cuff that was incredible, as well as some other pieces that were just stunning. Found an eternity band that I fell in love with (hint, hint..). Amber is a really good buy. There is a cafe on the third floor to refuel, but you're probably not going to want to stop. On the ground floor there is another room with all the glass objects and furniture pieces that are for fixed price sale. I found an Andy Warhol in there; and yes, they knew what they had, it wasn't one of those 'finds'. But incredible nonetheless to stand in front of it and to know that for 42,000 Euros ($57,000 in round numbers...) it could be mine. A really neat selection of old advertisements. I appreciated how upfront they were with everything, everything that was an imitation or a replica was noted very clearly (if you read German that is). The sales ladies were non obtrusive and very willing to open cabinets to let you try on anything that catches your eye. read more

Be sure to visit this wonderful auction house if you're in Vienna. there are always wonderful items on exhibit or about to be auctioned. the cafe on the second or third floor has the most amazing Tofenstrudel. One was not enough, so we went for a second one. We considered having a third piece but then sadly realized we were already too fat to do this:) read more

You can see some nice items at this auction house, although it isn't by any means Sotheby's. For me, it was a nice place to get warm and to take a breather from the smoke-laden streets. Free entrance. read more