Landstraße is Vienna’s 3rd district and one of the city’s largest, stretching southeast from the Ringstrasse through a landscape of Baroque palaces, leafy parks, and a bustling main shopping street. It is best known for housing the Belvedere Palace, home to Gustav Klimt’s iconic painting The Kiss, set within magnificent terraced gardens that rank among the finest examples of Baroque landscape architecture in Europe.
Beyond the Belvedere, Landstraße delivers one architectural surprise after another. The Hundertwasserhaus — a vividly colored public housing complex designed by avant-garde artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser — resembles a patchwork of gingerbread houses and draws visitors from around the world. Nearby, Kunsthaus Wien extends the Hundertwasser experience with a dedicated museum. The Museum of Military History, housed in an imposing Neo-Gothic arsenal, traces Austrian military heritage from the Thirty Years’ War to the modern era.
Landstraße is best for art lovers, architecture fans, and visitors who enjoy combining culture with local shopping. The Landstraßer Hauptstraße is the district’s commercial spine, boasting the highest density of bakeries in Vienna — including artisan favorites Joseph Brot and Ströck Feierabend. The Rochusmarkt, operating on its sunny square since the 18th century, offers fresh produce, flowers, fish, and specialty cheese.
The U3 and U4 metro lines serve the district, connecting it to the airport, city center, and beyond. Café Zartl on Marxergasse, one of Vienna’s oldest coffeehouses, has preserved its charm for over a century and makes a perfect rest stop between sightseeing.
