New Year's Celebrations in Vienna take place under the stars - on the New Year's Trail in the old town, with sparkling wine, snacks, waltz tunes and dancefloor hits. New Year's Eve also marks the advent of the ball season , which gets underway with the Kaiserball at the magnificent Hofburg and culminates with the famous Opera Ball in February. The Philharmonic Ball , Coffee House Owners' Ball and Johann Strauss Ball are among the other leading society events.

The musical year starts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's New Year's Concert , which is broadcast live in countries all over the world from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein . The concert draws internationally celebrated conductors - in recent years Zubin Mehta, Georges Prêtre and Daniel Barenboim have taken up the baton. The Resonanzen festival of ancient music, OsterKlang and the Spring Festival take you through to spring along with stage musicals such as Rudolf and Dance of the Vampires .

The exhibition hit of the late winter is a major show dedicated to Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), the most important field marshal in Austrian imperial history. A series of thought-provoking retrospectives spotlight the work of individual artists such as Herbert Boeckl , Edvard Munch and Annie Leibovitz . Exhibitions including A Feast For The Eyes , and paintings covering everything from Biedermeier to Impressionism give fascinating insights.

The changeover from winter to spring is the perfect time of year for a trip to a Viennese coffee house . Treat yourself in an oasis of Viennese coziness, enjoy the range of specialty coffees and while away the hours. The rich cakes and pastries available from the countless patisseries put a Viennese spin on la dolce vita. Viennese cuisine with its specialties such as schnitzel and Kaiserschmarrn are favorites whatever the season.

In January and February shopping is the order of the day in nostalgic old town emporiums, modern department stores and chic boutiques. The shop & win promotion beckons with great prizes including a shopping trip to Vienna with EUR 10,000 spending money. Sports lovers can look forward to the final of the men's 2010 European handball championships . Another sporting highlight, the Vienna Ice Dream on City Hall Square, is the place to pull off cool pirouettes to the latest chart hits and oldies on the 5,000 square meter ice rink. The Easter markets in March in front of Schönbrunn Palace and at the Freyung are the perfect place to see and be seen. Soak up the first warming rays of the sun while sampling delicacies from one of the stands.