On 17 November Vienna's Christkindlmarkt – one of the oldest markets in Europe – opens in Rathausplatz in the centre of the city, and the music of Strauss, Mozart and Schubert along with the aromas of roasting chestnuts, baked gingerbread and glühwein will drift across the city.
It's classic Vienna –like a Christmas card scene – but alongside traditional arttractions, this city is becoming a European hotspot for a more underground and experimental vibe. Electronica, hip-hop and noise rock provide the backbone of an energetic and exciting alternative music scene. With an impressive club music festival, Waves Vienna, now in its second year, the city could soon catch Shoreditch or Berlin in the hip stakes.
If you visit this winter, here are the 10 best music destinations to help enjoy Vienna's vibe.
Pony Club at Rote Bar in Volkstheater
The Pony Club is currently residing in Vienna's glorious Volkstheater, or people's theatre, close to the MQ. Following on from every show each evening, a small door to the left of the theatre's main entrance leads the way to the Rote Bar, where the Pony Club sets out its stall. All forms of electronic music, disco and more are served up to a mixed-up party crowd that stems mainly from the creative industries. Very new and not widely known outside of Vienna, this seventh district night is a world away from the neo-goths of the Prater and very much geared towards the flamboyant and decadent. But the recommendation is to visit soon as already the Fashion "after-parties" have started to move in – the Vivienne Westwood gold label party was held here in October!
• Neustiftgasse 1, +43 699 1501 5014, rotebar.at, entry before midnight €5, after midnight €8. Open from 6pm
Twee Vienna's Indie Breakfast at Cafe Espresso
Cafe Espresso is currently hosting some of the most happening indie nights in town, and there's also the Indie Breakfast (each third Sunday of the month, 10.30am-3pm) thrown by Marky Mushroom, not a children's character but a Viennese DJ and head of small but punchy recording and events label, Teenbeat. It's a popular event that refuses to play the usual indie mainstays and mega-hits of groups such as Placebo and Muse, preferring the likes of Hefner, Built to Spill and Jens Lekman.
The cafe itself is small with an outside terrace (only open in the summer), the interior is decked out with vintage furniture, and has a kitchen that provides good quality and affordable food from pancakes to its renowned organic beef goulash.
• Burggasse 57A, +43 1 526 8951, teenbeatclub.at/twee
Future Echo at Rhiz
Future Echo have quickly gained a reputation for laying on brilliant synth nights in Rhiz. This "retro-forward" club could be compared with Dalston's Eat Your Own Ears but on a much smaller scale and is truly DIY. The club reflects the sound of the late 70s and early 80s DIY movement by showcasing minimal synth and cyber-punk acts, and attracts a neo-goth tribe. The latest Viennese electro artists such as the charmingly monikered Fuckhead have been booked alongside UK minimalist veterans Blurt, and New York avant-gardists Black Rain.
• U-Bahnbogen 37-38, +43 1 409 2505, facebook.com/future.echo?fref=ts, free. Open daily from 6pm, with DJs from 9pm
Haus der Musik
Running until 3 February, Vienna's Interactive Museum of Sound presents a new installation, "zeitperlen virto: stage", offering visitors a chance to direct their own music and opera experience, interpreting the action, stage design and music by way of a virtual stage that resembles an opera house. There are themes from Don Giovanni, The Flying Dutchman and Ovid's Metamorphoses; first-hand involvement from media artist Johannes Deutsch, soprano Natalia Ushakova, the Vienna Philharmonic and composer Nick Prokop will ensure a complex yet memorable musical experience for the modern technophile with a classical bent.
• Seilerstätte 30, +43 1 513 4850, hausdermusik.at, adults €11, children (aged three-11) €5.50, under-threes free. Open daily 10am-10pm
Flex
Flex remains the leading indie venue and club in the city, hosting all kinds of musical styles since the 1990s. Current UK darlings TOY showcased to great acclaim here at this year's Waves and Swedish indie monsters The Soundtrack of our Lives incorporated the venue into their farewell tour. Situated on the towpath of the Danube canal, the Flex is renowned for its sound system – the whole stage sits on top of massive bass cabinets. Sparkling water is free at Flex, as are earplugs for those wanting to dampen the head pulsing bursts of bass.
• Abgang Augartenbrücke, +43 1 533 7525, flex.at, entry fees vary. Open Monday-Sunday 8pm-6am
Pratersauna
Originally opened in 1965 as a sauna, the Pratersauna is an old-school Viennese institution used as a "social life and art space". Since 2009, it has rapidly developed into a mainstay techno and electro club and certain parts of the building remain under construction, giving the club a real edgy, outsider feel. Its semi-derelict state matches the industrial clank and warehouse minimalism of the electronic music it endorses. Located within the vast green space of Prater Park, the floors that are operational have been refurbished to retain its original 60s feel with a modern contemporary look. There is a garden and a pool open in the summer months, confirming the Pratersauna as a party hotspot and central hangout for young creatives all year round.
• Waldsteingartenstrasse 135, pratersauna.tv/site, €10. Club open Thurday-Saturday 11pm-6am (Sept-April), Wednesday-Sunday 9pm-6am (May-Sept); pool open Friday-Sat 1pm-9pm (June-Sept)
MQ (Museum Quarter)
Now a decade old, the MQ in the seventh district has cemented itself as a definite place-to-be and is a good starting point, as some of Vienna's most famous sights and cultural attractions are nearby, including the happening restaurant and bar scene of the Spittelberg quarter.
Throughout the Christmas market period MQ hosts a lounge music series called Winter Sounds. Running until 23 December, it includes a broad range of live DJs including championship freestyler DJ Chrisfader and Austrian beatsmith Cid Rim, now signed to the Glasgow-based imprint LuckyMe.
• Museumsplatz 1/5, +43 1 523 5881, mqw.at, free. Live DJs Thurs-Friday 4pm-10pm, Saturday, Sunday and holidays 2pm-10pm
Fluc Wanne
Fluc Wanne has been the main driving force behind the renaissance of alternative nightlife in Vienna's second district. DJs such as Sven Väth have named it one of the best small rooms to play in Europe, adding to its kudos.
On the ground level the Fluc Cafe showcases the latest in indie and electronica while beneath street level in the Wanne, the noisiest techno is perfectly insulated from the world outside.
Currently leading the way at the Fluc is the Siluh Record Label who showcased Vienna's current export tips Sex Jams and Mile Me Deaf to a fevered crowd at Waves Vienna this year. Additionally, synth and Ital-disco clubs such as Vanity Vague and UK export the weird and eclectic Campari Safari have, while maintaining the original DIY aesthetic, nailed to the venue a mercurial list of names including Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Gold Panda and Emeralds.
• Praterstern 5, fluc.at, see website for times and prices of specific events
Phil
Artists, students and many more appreciate the friendly atmosphere of this local Viennese coffee shop in the sixth district. The cafe is known to put the occasional art-happening and concert on, and seems to sell anything from books, CDs, DVDs to posters and paintings – even the 70s furniture you sit on is for sale. They say the only thing you can't buy is the toilet, and perhaps the vintage 60s coffee machine. But that may be negotiable.
• Gumpendorfer Strasse 10–12, +43 1 581 0489, phil.info. Open Monday 5pm-1am, Tuesday-Sunday 9am-1am
Klub Ost
Klub Ost is a multi-roomed and maze-like space catering to the world-music fan in abundance, with Klezmer, fire-folk, jazz and blues. Ost is a popular and fun hangout for students, tourists and even shady-looking, besuited types, who regularly turn out to enjoy the club's eclectic themes.
• Schwarzenbergplatz, +43 1 505 6228, ost-klub.at, entry fees vary. Monday-Thursday 7pm-4am, Friday, Saturday 8pm-4am
• This article was amended on 16 November 2012 – Fluc Cafe is not subsidised by the City of Vienna, as originally stated
