The gateway to Praterstrasse on the Danube Canal is marked by a spectacular glass palace designed by French star architect Jean Nouvel. Home to the luxury SO/ Vienna hotel, its distinctive facade and the colourful light installation in the 19th floor panoramic restaurant, visible from some distance away, make a lasting impression. The end of Praterstrasse closest to Vienna’s historic first district is quiet and idyllic, peppered with small restaurants and fashion boutiques. Very popular is the lovely Café Ansari with its Georgian-oriental cuisine and Mochi, which is known for its excellent Japanese cuisine and has an eye-catching kitchen block made of rammed clay. Across the street, Mochi also operates a fantastic take-away called o.m.k.

The Goldener Papagei is a mix of modern café in the style of third-wave coffee culture and aperitif bar, which also serves up great small dishes. A bit further along is the hybrid bar called Praterstrasse: there's cocktails, DJ sounds, art, and creative pizzas. And you can dance here, too. Great food is also served at the Ramasuri in the form of modern dishes with a reference to Viennese cuisine. For a quick lunch, there’s Stewart, which serves up soups, stews and curries made from locally sourced ingredients.

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Avant-garde fashionistas from Vienna and further afield have been seeking out Praterstrasse pioneer Myung Il Saba-Song for years. In her cool concept store, Song, she brings together cult labels such as Walter Van Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten, Balenciaga Edition, and AF Vandevorst, as well as fashion by selected Austrian designers. An attached gallery hosts art exhibitions.

Praterstrasse widens at Nestroyplatz, where the Theater Nestroyhof/Hamakom is located. There's lots to discover here too, such as the Balthasar, with excellent coffee and fine cake. The Dogenhof is Vienna's first restaurant with an open fireplace right in the middle of the dining area. The ambitious chefs prepare all hot dishes either in the wood-burning oven or directly in the embers, while all cold dishes are raw and marinated. And all this in a wonderful 19th-century palace that was modeled on the Ca' d'Oro in Venice.

The latest escapade of the Dogenhof operator is the Praterwirt, a restaurant with its own butcher's. Selected producers supply high-quality meat, which is processed by the in-house master butchers or served in the restaurant. Entirely in the style of Viennese cuisine – from steak tartare to sliced spleen soup to Old Viennese baked meat. And the Praterwirt is the first business in Austria to offer non-pasteurized beer. The Budweiser beer comes directly from the Czech Republic and is tapped from special storage tanks on site. You can taste the difference!

From here, it isn't much further to the end of Praterstrasse, where the Prater awaits with its funfair and its sprawling, relaxing avenues, meadows and woods.

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