9 Cosy Cafés for You to Escape to on Rainy Days in Vienna

High ceilings, huge windows bringing in streams of natural light throughout the day, white and brick walls with a dark, wood-filled interior set against it – the interior of Propeller will make you feel like a New York gal or guy, sipping on their hot beverage in a cool café in Brooklyn, waiting for their next appointment. Well, that’s at least how it made us feel.

Not just the atmosphere is worth stopping by for – Propeller is known for serving some tasty bites with the cups of specialty coffee and gin and tonics they serve up – depending on the time you show up. Propeller is not just a simple café – oh no – it also turns into a chilled bar in the evening.

They also drag in a crowd in the mornings on the weekend with their solid breakfast game.

This rates as truly one of the most attractive cafes in Vienna that you’ll no doubt spend longer in than you expected.

As effortlessly chilled as they come, Caspar is the cosy cafe of your dreams. Everything is made to help you get your chill going – the staff are lovely, the lighting is warm, the menu is made up of homemade goodness, like the gnocchi and Knödel.

You get to choose between drowning in comfy and stylish sofas, or getting stuff done on regular seats and tables. Here and there, you find pieces of illustrated artwork and funky wallpaper, adding to the one-of-a-kind atmosphere of this café.

If you were planning on just chilling at Caspar but suddenly get the urge to be at least somewhat productive (because getting shit done while sipping on a hot cup of coffee has a certain appeal, right?) you’ll be happy to discover a shelf full of books and small notepads for purchase! So, nothing is holding you back from getting started!

Oh, and one more thing: Even going to the toilet is something else at this place as you get to choose your toilet paper. That’s right. Fancy some pink toilet paper? No problem. Blue? Sure!

There are also many philosophy, culture and art events happening at Caspar that you can get in on.

If you ever have those ‘Aw man, I wish I could hang out with my grandparents right now,’ kind of longings, Vollpension is all about supplying those heart-warming Oma vibes in a hip vintage furniture filled setting. They do this by hiring a bunch of Omas and Opas as their waiting staff

The café is filled with the cosiest looking furniture pieces, and is covered with items you would actually find at some old geezers home, from the cutlery and crockery, to the old pictures on the wall.

The variety of cakes served up here depends on which Oma is baking that day – each have their own specialty. One things for sure though, you’re cake cravings won’t be disappointed.

The atmosphere is perfect for hiding away on a chilly, rainy day – it’s a very comfy place to stuff yourself with cake.

What was once a post office is now a trendy café decked out in funky-looking bold tiles and an overall look that will have you being like – ‘Dang, you’re a good looking cafe, Telegraph!’ So you get it – it’s pretty here.

The coffee is the real deal and we’ll confidently stamp it with the ‘specialty’ label. Now, the cake cabinet at this corner cafe is filled with French pastries and their secret French weapon comes in the form of a trained patisserie chef. Chef pâtissière Sophie, makes daily a fresh selection of French éclairs that come in different flavours, including the classic ones with vanilla, chocolate and pistachio, plus one seasonal variety.

Meanwhile, we found our new French affair in the form of Sophie’s collection of tartes and tartelettes, that all burst with lovely colours. They also draw in a breakfast crowd as the setting and the international-inspired breakfast menu is a winning combination for many individual’s favourite weekend breakfast place.

If you manage to score one of the windowsill seating arrangement, the cosiness factor in your experience will be dialled up even more.

The only thing that’s nearly as pleasurable as hiding away in a café on a cold and rainy day is spending time in a bookshop. What would you say if we told you that thanks to the cafe slash bookshop phil, you don’t have to decide between which of these you indulge in?

There’s no mystery surrounding why phil has stood the test of time and has been popular since day one. The book shelves that tower above the young crowd seated at sofa and coffee table setups ensures the vibe floating about here is always one of the good and inspiring stuff that a shelf full of books emit.

It’s a great spot for an evening sunk into one of the mismatched comfortable chairs scattered around the place sipping on good Czech beer (Kozel) or whatever your go-to drink is. The music playlist is soothing and unobtrusive and the place has the appeal of a living room. “phil” is proof that books and cafes are like sex and Sunday mornings – they just go together.

Another café with an easy–going, sit-for-hours atmosphere is Das Café. Its setup of random pieces of furniture make it seem a bit chaotic at first glance, but you’ll quickly realise that those aren’t just random items of furniture, but are in fact super hip designer pieces by young up-and-coming Austrian designers!

So, if you find yourself staying at Das Café for longer than you initially intended, because your seat is way too comfortable, chances are high that you can actually just take that chair home with you.

Generally, Das Café is the exhibit A of cafes you just don’t wanna leave, even though you’ve spent way to much time already sipping on that (by now already cold) Cappuccino.

Besides being the perfect place to relax while stuffing your face with tasty cakes, Das Café is totally suitable for getting some work, or study done and feeling productive.

The menu may not be special, but it does the trick if hunger arises while you’re whiling away an hour, or two.

The interior of Café Kaffein reminds us of what you would find if you searched for modern minimalistic living rooms on Pinterest. Wooden flooring, white walls with a few art pieces here and there, and a lot of space with no distractions, leaving enough room for you to enjoy your café time without being squeezed together with strangers (which makes this place very suitable for your coffee cravings during annoying pandemics). So, even though the setup of this café is simple and spacious, it still makes you feel homey under its arched, Altbau ceiling.

Everything in this café emits a chill vibe, except for the lamps, which are almost screaming ‘LOOK AT ME’ when you spot them as you approach the counter.

They’re specialty coffee pros behind the coffee machine here, as well, so you can count on consistently quality coffee upon every visit.

If you’re a Uni Wien student at Altes AKH, chances are high that you’ve either already been to this place, or regularly walked by, thinking that one day you’ll go inside and check it out. If the latter applies to you, all we can say is: Do it. Do it now! Which is also our advice if you’re not a student, of course, but simply a devoted lover of coffee and cosy cafes.

If you like the sound of lots of wood, couches and big windows with your cafe, get ready for you new cafe crush – Coffee Pirates is an open and airy, gorgeous looking place, with all the elements needed to create a homey and comfortable setting for studying, chatting, reading, plotting your plans to take over the world – whatever you’re into. There’s a big communal table, window bench seats, and sofa seating for where to do it.

As their claim to fame is their specialty coffee game, you can only expect a perfectly prepared cup, here. Meanwhile, the cakes on offer will keep you coming back, as well.

If you’re caught in the rain while you’re somewhere in Neubau, perhaps near Burggasse, you’re one lucky bastard as you’ve got plenty of cafés in your proximity to bunker down in. One of them is Café Zehnsiebzig!

The layout and the curved ceiling of this place give the whole café a snug atmosphere, which will feel even cosier if you manage to snatch one of the windowsill seats!

The flooring will make you feel extra homey if you live in an Altbau, and the old–school tiles of the cafe look like they’ve been lifted from the foyer of a Viennese Altbau! The owners of Café Zehnsiebzig don’t believe in adding frills, or extravagant furniture pieces; instead they prefer to keep it simple and throw in a little splash of colour, with cyan-coloured wooden chairs, into the mix.

A big-ass picture of an octopus’ limbs is hung on the wall, which may be their subtle way of hinting at their Mediterranean kitchen. In Cafe Zehnsiebzig, Viennese coffeehouse culture and Croatian delicacies come together to form a very special menu, involving some unique breakfast options and some light snack plates, like a Dalmatian prosciutto plate, and the Adriatic anchovy plate. Their coffee beans are organic and fair trade and they know how to make quality coffee out of them. They also have a few artisanal touches to the menu, like the fact that they produce their own herbs and olive oil on an island down south off of Croatia.