VIENNA — “There are no kangaroos in Austria,” cackled the old man minding a dusty souvenir store along the street in Vienna.

The storekeeper’s grey dandelion-like hair formed a wispy halo around his age-spotted pate, lending a jolly bit of eccentricity punctuated by his avocado green loden vest. He was reading out the words plastered on a bright chartreuse T-shirt and his eyes crinkled in laughter.

“That’s our bestseller here in Vienna!” he exclaimed.

I bought the tee. While I had no need for a tacky tourist souvenir, the candid chat with the whiskered old fellow who claimed to be a retired Viennese opera singer, was worth the few euros I paid for.

Interestingly, his store is just located down the road from another Viennese “bestseller”: The Belvedere, that historic building complex in Vienna consisting of two Baroque palaces, the Orangery and the palace stables. Oh, it is also where the famous painting The Kiss (Lovers) by Austrian symbolist artist Gustav Klimt is displayed (as part of the world’s biggest Klimt collection).

Klimt’s painting was the high point of the artist’s “golden period” but when you are in Vienna, you will realise that there are quite a few high points.

If you are interested in European architecture and history, this could be the city for you. One key attraction is Schonbrunn Palace, the former summer residence of the Austrian imperial family.

Like the Belvedere, it is a Baroque palace complex and part of UNESCO’s cultural heritage due to its historic importance, its unique grounds and its splendid furnishings. Emperor Franz Joseph, for example, was born here in 1830 and he spent his last years entirely in the palace. In 1772, six-year-old child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a concert in the Hall of Mirrors.

Like the Belvedere, you can spend a day here — more than 2.5 million visitors pass through its gates. Schonbrunn contains a park, the Palm House, the Gloriette and a zoo. Yes, you read right. The Schonbrunn Zoo is the world’s oldest zoo still in operation.

In 1906, the zoo saw the first birth of an African elephant in human care; and in 2007, it became the first zoo to have a panda baby that was naturally conceived there. Today, more than 500 animal species — from Siberian tigers and polar bears to hippos and rhinoceroses — populate the 17 hectare space. (And it is one place where you can find kangaroos in Vienna.)

Another eye-catching building in the city is the Austrian Postal Savings Bank building. This famous modernist building was designed and built by the renowned architect Otto Wagner and is regarded as an important early work of modern architecture, representing Wagner’s first move away from art nouveau and neoclassicism.

Located at Georg-Coch-Platz 2 and constructed between 1904 and 1912 using reinforced concrete, the building now houses a museum but most tourists can be seen taking selfies with its striking exterior, which looks like it has been affixed with thousands of rivets, making it one of the most, erm, riveting locations in Vienna.

There is more to Vienna than iconic architecture, not least its culinary treats. We are all familiar of course, with Wiener schnitzel, the national dish of Austria that’s centres around that breaded fried cutlet made from veal. But Vienna is also home to Viennese coffee and apple strudel (or apfelstrudel, as they say), as well as their unique renditions of goulash, Wiener Saftgulasch which is a rich stew featuring meat and onions (although no other vegetables are used) and Fiakergulasch, which is served with fried egg, fried sausage and Semmelknodel dumplings.

But if there is one sweet treat that is a must try, it is sachertorte.

“One of the most famous of our culinary specialties is sachertorte. This special Viennese chocolate cake has a long, rich history and it was always such a delightful joy to have it with family,” shared travel director, Malcom Macarae. “In fact, December 5 is National Sachertorte Day. That’s how much sachertorte is celebrated here.”

A round, dark chocolate sponge cake with apricot jam, Sachertorte was specially created for a royal event in 1832 by Austrian chef Franz Sacher and later served at the famous Demel bakery and chocolatier. Founded in 1786, the company bears the official title “k.u.k. Hofzuckerbacker” (Purveyor to the Imperial and Royal Court). Needless to say, the sachertorte was a big hit.

But into every ocean a little rain must fall and Sacher’s family was embroiled in legal battles when Sacher’s son started the Hotel Sacher in 1876 and started selling the family’s sachertorte there — kicking off the “original torte wars”. By the way, this was not your normal family dispute — it was only resolved in 1963 with both sides finally agreeing on an out-of-court settlement.

We tried both versions of this famous Viennese cake and enjoyed them immensely, although the Hotel Sacher version was sweeter than Demel’s.

But of course, you cannot be in Vienna without enjoying a hot cuppa (plus, it goes well with the sachertorte). We had ours at the Blaue Bar in Hotel Sacher but you can get good coffee at almost all the Viennese cafes. After all, Vienna was regarded as the “coffee house capital of the world” for centuries, where coffee houses and their cakes have become an integral part of local culture, providing a perfect environment to relax, meet people, and catch up over meaningful conversations. This essential part of Viennese culture was embraced long before American coffee joints took the world by storm.

Our stay in Vienna, which was part of a European trek, was a little too short for us to take in everything, but the beautiful capital city of Vienna certainly has something for everybody. Also, it gives us another reason to go back.

This trip was made possible by Trafalgar (https://www.trafalgar.com, tel: 6922 5950)