District tour: The 1st District — Innere Stadt
A warm hello from the First District! The Innere Stadt is not only a tourist magnet, but also home to AKKADIA.
A warm hello from the First District! The Innere Stadt is not only a hotspot for visitors from all over the world, but also home to AKKADIA. It’s high time we started our tour of Vienna right here — on our own doorstep.
The historic centre
The historic heart of the city beats between St Stephen’s Cathedral, the Graben and Kärntner Straße. The magnificent buildings along the Ringstraße, hidden courtyards and traditional coffee houses define its unmistakable charm. Look up and you’ll see façades spanning five centuries rising above the shop windows — Gothic on the Cathedral, Baroque in the palaces, Historicism on the Ringstraße, and in between, the modernist architecture of Adolf Loos on Michaelerplatz.
It is a privilege to live here
Living in the First District is a privilege: the number of properties is limited, whilst demand remains consistently high. Around 16,000 people live here, and that number will not increase — development of the area was completed a hundred years ago, and any new living space is being created in the attics. Anyone who finds a home here acquires a piece of Viennese history, with everything that goes with it: stucco, high ceilings, a view of the courtyard and the Opera House within walking distance.
The quiet side
Our tip: Leave the main thoroughfares behind. In the quiet alleyways around Franziskanerplatz or Schönlaterngasse, the Innere Stadt reveals its most beautiful and tranquil side. The Heiligenkreuzerhof, the Blutgasse, the passageway from the Graben to Judenplatz — on a quiet morning, it’s so peaceful here that you can hear the cathedral bells ringing.
Coffee house and market
The district’s coffee houses are institutions, and each has its own clientele: Café Central is the stage, the Bräunerhof the living room, and Hawelka the legend. If you fancy a breath of fresh air, head to the market at Freyung or to the Volksgarten, whose roses attract half the city in June.
Living in the palace
The most sought-after flats in the district are situated on the bel étage of the palais and in the top floors of the Gründerzeit buildings: five-metre-high ceilings, enfilades, views of the cathedral or the Burggarten, plus terraces that are hidden from view from the street. Properties like these are rarely advertised — they change hands through private networks, and anyone looking for them should be registered with the sources where they are first shown.
Our home
From our office on Kantgasse, it’s a five-minute walk to the Ring and ten minutes to the cathedral. We know the buildings in the district, their owners and their histories — and we know which flats might become available in the coming years. If you’re looking for a flat in the Inner City, it’s best to start with us.
