 Many visitors’ first stop is the famous Christmas market, the Christkindlmarkt. A major tourist attraction in its own right, this year’s market opens on November 17th and runs through to December 24th. Around 150 stalls are opened selling everything necessary to fill you with seasonal cheer. Hot roasted chestnuts, enormous wurst (sausages), spicy gingerbreads and of course gallons of warming glühwein (mulled wine) fill the air with a heady aroma. This is the smell of Christmas.
Old meets new Christkindlmarkt likes to portray itself as “Europe’s most child-friendly Advent event” and offers a host of attractions besides the chance to buy all the essential Christmas gifts in one fell swoop. For 2007, the entrance area leading into the market from the Ring Boulevard has been totally redesigned. Students of horticulture and floristry have been drafted in to turn two tonnes of brushwood into an enormous Advent wreath 12 metres in diameter.  Adding a contemporary twist to this traditional Christmas location is a quirky “house music” fountain. A group of comicbook characters has been designed by illustrator Rooobert Bayer (yes, that is how he spells his name!), and are brought to life with music and visual effects. It’s a long way from the genteel Viennese music of Strauss, but is likely to be of far more appeal to youngsters, along with a goblin house, crib with mechanical animals, post office in the clouds and Punch and Judy shows.
In a conscious effort to provide an antidote to the commercialisation of Christmas and department store Santa Clauses, the Vienna Christ Child is now part and parcel of the market. Visitors have the opportunity to meet her every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday starting 17 November. She can be handed Christmas wish lists and won’t charge you to have a photograph taken with her! Inside the famous Rathaus (City Hall), a series of Christmas Workshops teach children how to bake gingerbread and make gifts, as well as numerous other seasonal activities. It is open every day from 9 am to 7 pm.  Alternative attractions
The Rathaus is also the best venue in town for carol recitals, featuring choirs from all over the globe. The first weekend of Advent also marks the start of traditional brass music performances outside beside a giant Christmas tree every day from 8 to 8.30 p.m. With around 3 million visitors expected in 2007, the main market can get extremely busy, so try to arrive early if you can. If the crowds get too much, a good alternative is provided by Spittelberg, an area of winding cobblestoned streets located between Burggasse and Siebensterngasse. It’s a more bohemian neighbourhood with greater ethnic diversity and a great place to gain inspiration for unexpected presents. If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, there are other small markets dotted around Vienna and its suburbs including those beside the Schonbrunn Palace and the towering Karlskirche. However, don’t expect all this festive fare to come at a bargain price. Vienna remains one of the more expensive European capitals to visit with hotel rates and dining out particularly expensive in the central district. Moving a little further afield and frequenting guesthouses and beer halls instead of top restaurants and grand hotels can make this city much affordable. And Vienna’s greatest pleasure – sitting in one of the coffee houses with a freshly baked cake, watching the world go by – is also its cheapest. New year, new celebrations  With such a comprehensive Christmas over and done with, most cities might be expected to sit back and take things easy for a while, but not Vienna. No sooner has Christmas gone than the New Year’s celebrations get underway with the Kaiserball (Imperial Ball) at the Hofburg Palace. A throwback to the days of the Hapsburg empire, it sees the Austrian elite donning their posh frocks and waltzing themselves into a frenzy. But unless you have a friend of a friend who’s someone special in Viennese society, your chances of getting hold of a ticket are about as realistic as your chances of catching Santa Claus coming down your chimney.
Sadly, that’s also the case with perhaps the best-known Viennese tradition of all: the New Year’s Day concert. Demand is so high that tickets are drawn by lot and if your number comes up, it really is a once-in-a-lifetime treat. Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons was a big hit when he took charge of the baton for the 2006 concert. For 2008, Frenchman Georges Pretre will conduct. But if you’re not one of the lucky few inside the concert hall, you can still enjoy it along with the rest of the population of Vienna nursing their hangovers outside and clapping along to the Radetzky March and the Blue Danube Waltz courtesy of a giant screen outside the Rathaus. | 
