St. Stephen's Cathedral, a characteristic example of Gothic art, was founded by the Emperor Rudolf IV, in the year 1359. A look at the exterior, however, reveals important traces of earlier buildings incorporated into the construction. One example are the two pointed Romanesque turrets that close the narrow facade, known as the "pagan towers".

The Hofburg, the huge imperial palace of the Habsburgs that dominates the center of Vienna, has a history that spans seven centuries. Between the thirteenth century and the threshold of the twentieth century, a series of buildings were gradually added or overlapped to form a predominantly Baroque-style whole as grand as it is complicated to visit.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum, or Museum of Art History, is home to the imperial collections of Vienna. The main building, designed by Gottfried Semper, looks onto Maria-Theresien-Platz.

The Belvedere is a splendid Baroque building, in which Gustav Klimt's finest masterpieces are displayed. A palace, a garden, a villa... the Belvedere in Vienna is all of these things: an innovative building that marked a significant turning point in 18th-century European stately architecture.

Schönbrunn Palace is one of the most opulent imperial residences in the world, a World Heritage Site since 1996, along with its magnificent park.

The Wiener Staatsoper, or Vienna State Opera House, was the first building of those planned along the Ring to be completed, in 1869.