Viennese palaces once served as city residences for noble families. Today they are home to numerous interesting shops, particularly in the historic city center.

The term palace was originally used to describe a noble residence that, as opposed to a castle, was neither fortified nor in a rural setting. In Vienna, where the Habsburg family resided for centuries, numerous noble families from all over the empire settled in the capital to be near the Hofburg. After World War II many of the palaces were sold by their original owners. Today they house government ministries, embassies, museums and shops.

The concentration of palaces is particularly high in the 1st district of the city's old town. The Ferstel Palace takes center stage on the expansive Freyung square. Architect Heinrich Ferstel, who also designed the city's Ringstrasse boulevard, drew his inspiration from the Venetian-Florentine Trecento style. The palace's arcade houses shops selling antique and jewelry, interior design studios, and one of Vienna's premiere chocolatiers, Xocolat. The Harrach Palace next door features housewares retailers and art galleries.

There are also breathtaking palaces to be seen in the pedestrian zones along Kohlmarkt, Graben and Kärtner Strasse. The impressive Equitable Palace, on the corner of Kärntner Strasse and Graben, is the current location of the porcelain manufacturer Augarten's shop. The Dorotheum Palace, built on the site of the former Doretheerkloster convent, has been the seat of the internationally renowned Dorotheum auction house since 1901. A few doors down is the Dietrichstein Palace, which is home to the Doblinger music shop, one of Europe's largest purveyors of sheet music.

Springtime contemporary art fairs

Art lovers will converge on Vienna this May for art austria and Viennafair.

Viennafair, aka The International Contemporary Art Fair, will be held for the fifth time in 2009. The contemporary art fair at the Messe Wien presents a mix of established and up-and-coming Austrian and international galleries with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe. Exhibitors include Erwin Wurm, Arnulf Rainer, Hermann Nitsch, Bruno Gironcoli, Jonathan Meese and Herbert Brandl. The Zone 1 exhibition space is where gallery owners show newcomers. At last year's Viennafair around 15,000 visitors saw the work of about 1,000 artists, presented by 126 galleries.

Works of art from the 20th century are the focus of the art austria 1900-2000 exhibition in quartier21 at the MuseumsQuartier. The specialist fair, which is taking place for the second time in 2009, concentrates on an eventful century for Austrian art. The clearly defined exhibition format is a draw for collectors and prospective buyers alike.