In short
A quarter of Vienna's residents live in housing built or subsidised by the city. That is why a capital of this standing stays cheaper than Munich, two hundred kilometres away.
The centre is entirely walkable. The major museums, the Opera and the historic cafés all sit inside a five-kilometre ring.
What it really costs
The annual transport pass costs €365 — a euro a day, the best value in Europe. By the month it works out considerably dearer: if you are staying beyond six months, the annual pass is the obvious choice.
In a Viennese café you pay for the seat, not the drink: you can hold a table for an hour without being hurried, and the price includes that right.
What nobody tells you
On Sundays the city shuts. Shops, supermarkets, almost everything. Stations and petrol stations are the only way out, and Viennese do their shopping on Saturday.
Museums often close on Mondays, but never all on the same one: checking before you plan a day saves two closed doors in a row.
The manner is formal. You greet people on entering a shop, you use the polite form, and the apparent brusqueness of service is not hostility — it is a local register.
