Ringing the Changes

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Until recently, Vienna's sex and drug trades were centered around the Gürtel, or "belt," as locals term the outer ring road laid out in an 1890 city plan by renowned architect Otto Wagner. Prostitutes filled the pay-per-hour hotels and drug dealers lined the grimy streets, every meter of which seemed covered in lurid graffiti. But in 1996 municipal authorities launched an urban-regeneration scheme that today is starting to bear real fruit. The sex workers and pushers are gone and a Gürtel address is now one of the most fashionable in the Austrian capital. Cocktail lounges, nightclubs and restaurants that act as a magnet for Vienna's well-heeled scenemakers have replaced the workshops and long-suffering traders who once made their homes beneath the brick archways of the U-bahn—the Gürtel's elevated railway.

A restaurant like BABU, tel: (43-1) 479 48 49, is the perfect avatar of the new Gürtel. This stylish, two-level fusion restaurant and bar lies just off Nussdorferstrasse, one of the most conspicuous pockets of gentrification along the belt. There, the city's chattering classes nibble on sushi in a chic interior fashioned from concrete and laminated beechwood. Afterward, they have a healthy choice of postprandial entertainment on the doorstep, much of it with an ethnic feel. At the Indian-inspired KAIKO CLUB, tel: (43-1) 479 88 49, revelers dance to house music beside Buddhist statuary and beneath a massive golden chandelier; over at BOW 4, tel: (43-1) 310 55 82, the techno is as loud as the Moroccan-themed surroundings. When your ears start ringing, go for a nightcap at the blissfully laid-back SHIRAZ, tel: (43-664) 335 55 55—a favorite of hookah-smoking jeunesse dorée, lounging on Persian pillows.

Josefstädterstrasse is the Gürtel's other nightlife hub. Fans of electronica gather at RHIZ, tel: (43-1) 409 25 05, not only for the international DJs but also the superior live performances (U.S. theremin virtuoso Pamelia Kurstin was among the recent acts). The techno club CHELSEA, tel: (43-1) 407 93 09, draws an edgy, twentysomething crowd, while B72, tel: (43-1) 409 21 28, caters to fans of alternative or underground rock.

If you want to see the new Gürtel but don't have an appetite for clubbing, try one of the area's many cozy bars. The urbane after-hours crowd from Währing, the nearby embassy district, favors Q BAR, tel: (43-699) 1057 18 76, or sometimes SOHO2, tel: (43-664) 424 23 68, famed for the teutonic strength of its cocktails. Over at LOOP, tel: (43-1) 402 41 95, the combination of intimate decor, R&B and beautifully made Singapore Slings will set you up for a very pleasant couple of hours. Equally laid back is COUCHUC, tel: (43-650) 300 47 97, a popular if tiny lounge where supertrendy patrons relax to the sound of ambient music. For something more traditional, head to GURTELBRAU, tel: (43-1) 402 41 95, a down-home brewery where seven drafts, including the tasty Lauren Pils, are complemented by a menu of regional culinary specialities. Six glasses of beer and a plate of wurst later, and the only gürtel you'll be thinking about is your own: loosen it a few notches, and toast the new Vienna.