The Best Places to Stay in Staatsoper & around

Across the street from the Vienna State Opera, this grande dame hotel has been fielding royals, rock stars, and heads of state since the belle époque, and the velvet-and-crystal interiors make it clear nothing has been rushed since. The 152 rooms and suites are each individually decorated, with marble bathrooms and parquet floors. John Lennon once staged a peace protest in one of them, which feels about right. Ranked among The World's 50 Best Hotels.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
2. The 50 #49 · The World's 50 Best Hotels

A former palace on the Ringstrasse, steps from the Vienna State Opera, this Ritz-Carlton holds a Forbes Four Star rating and earns it through sheer abundance of things to do without leaving the building. There's a Sicilian restaurant, a steakhouse, a craft cocktail bar, and a rooftop bar on the eighth floor with views over the city. The staff runs market tours at the Naschmarkt for guests who'd like to leave.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star

Marble columns, chandeliers, and an ornate staircase fill the lobby of this grand old hotel on the Ringstrasse, which has been around forever and looks exactly like it should. Five restaurants include a rooftop Japanese spot and a proper Arabic kitchen, and Grand Spa No. 605 handles Valmont facials alongside LED therapy. The rooms are comfortable and the staff is genuinely warm, which at this level of architectural drama is a relief.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended

Fourteen chandeliers greet you before the front desk does, which tells you everything about where you've landed. This grand luxury hotel on the Ringstrasse occupies a former private palace, and the staff, red velvet, and gilt haven't let the building forget it. Freud and Chaplin once slept here; the Rolling Stones and Lady Gaga kept the tradition going. Vienna in a building, more or less.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended