Even before you set foot in the door, there is no mistaking the fact that the ninth district’s Xocolat Manufaktur is a place where specialty chocolates are lovingly created by hand. A peak through the large window fronting on Servitengasse reveals the chocolatiers at work, rolling out, shaping and drizzling chocolate on giant marble slabs. Choose between Grand Marnier pralines, whisky truffles, langue de chat, chocolate sticks and season’s specialties such as Easter bunnies. The latter are made in a limited run of 999, with every stage from pouring to painting painstakingly completed by hand.
This passion for chocolate is easily explained, when you discover that Xocolat Manufactur is in fact the brainchild of award-winning former head chef of renowned luxury Vienna hotel, Palais Coburg, Christian Petz, as well as Werner Meisinger and Ramona Mahr who cut their teeth at some of the country’s best chocolate makers. All of the delicacies are available for sale in a pretty, nostalgic boutique located in a venerable old town house. The ngredients – including the spirits themselves and the delicious couvertures are also in stock.
Xocolat Manufaktur
Servitengasse 5, 9th district
http://www.xocolat.at/
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For many years Vienna’s Danube canal has been one of the city’s most popular places to go out thanks to bars such as Summerstage, Strandbar Herrmann and Adria Wien. The Danube Canal is central, and as cars are banned from its banks, visitors can enjoy the views of the water in peace and quiet. While some of the clubs, bars, and restaurants are only open during the warmer months of the year (usually around May–late September), others never close such as the internationally famous Flex, or Badeschiff Wien.
Vienna, in our never-very-humble opinion, is always worth a visit. Thanks to a combination of stunning imperial heritage, a burgeoning music- and cultural scene, great shopping opportunities, endless culinary highlights and a perfect blend of urban and green spaces, the city never fails to live up to expectations.
Here are some highlights for the summer:
