Vienna's role as the capital of an empire that lasted for centuries has meant that artists and musicians have flourished in the city. The musicians who have at one time lived and worked in Vienna are especially remembered by a series of annual festivals. Among the esteemed maestros are Strauss, Schubert, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schönberg and Mahler.

It was in Vienna that Mozart created his operas and Strauss gave the world the Blue Danube waltz and such beloved operettas as Der Fledermaus. The city's performance venues are of the highest calibre and include the world-renowned Staatsoper and the Burgtheater - one of the most important theatres in the German-speaking world.

Tickets to cultural events are available from all major concert venues and theatres. Bookings can also be make at Bundestheaterkassen, 01, Hanuschgasse 3 (tel: (01) 5144 42960; website: www.bundestheater.at).

The tourist office at Albetinaplatz produces a monthly magazine of cultural events, called Programm. Other free monthly listing sources include Wien Magazin (website: www.wienmagazin.at) and Wien Live (website: www.wienlive.at) and the weekly tabloid, Falter (website: www.falter.at), which is published (in German) each Wednesday.

Classical concerts are listed under 'Musik-E', pop, jazz and folk are listed under 'Musik-U' and clubs are listed under 'Party-time' in the Wienprogramm & Lexikon, yet another weekly cultural magazine. Online information on cultural events in Vienna is readily available (websites: www.vienna.at or www.magwien.gv.at/english).

Music: Vienna is probably home to more classical music performances than any other city in the world. In addition to the regular performance season, which generally runs from September to June, there are several annual festivals and numerous special events. Almost completely obscured in the shadow of the past, is Vienna's vibrant youth scene, with venues offering everything from punk bands to the latest pop favourites.

The Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera), 01, Hanuschgasse 3 (tel: (01) 5144 42250; website: www.wiener-staatsoper.at), performs daily September to June from a repertoire of nearly one hundred operas, operettas and ballets. The splendid opera house makes for a romantic and regal setting in which to see the performances. Standing-room tickets are a bargain but the queue for tickets starts in the late afternoon.

The Volksoper (People's Opera), 09, Währingerstrasse 78 (tel: (01) 514 4430 or 513 1513, for tickets; website: www.volksoper.at), is a somewhat smaller venue that stages performances from a repertoire of 50 different, lighter works, including musicals.

The Vienna Boys' Choir (tel: (01) 216 3942; website: www.wsk.at) is a Viennese institution, having been formed as the Boys' Choir of the Royal Court in 1498. Together with members of the chorus and orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, they form the Hofmusikkapelle, which performs at Mass in the Chapel of the Imperial Palace throughout the year. You should order tickets well in advance from Hofmusikkapelle, Hofburg, 1010 Vienna. The Vienna Boys' Choir also performs concerts in the Brahms-Saal (Brahms Hall), the venue for chamber music in the Musikverein, 01, Bösendorferstrasse 12 (tel: (01) 505 8190; website: www.musikverein-wien.at), and at the Staatsoper and Volksoper. Tickets are available from hotels or from the Mondial travel agency, 01, Operngasse 20b (tel: (01) 588 040; website: www.mondial.at).

The renowned Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (tel: (01) 505 6525; website: www.wienerphilharmoniker.at) performs at the Musikverein (see above). The annual New Year's Eve concert is broadcast throughout the world, while the previous year's concert is now available for viewing in the Haus der Musik (see Further Distractions).

The Vienna Symphonic Orchestra (website: www.wiener-symphoniker.at) performs at the Wiener Konzerthaus, Lothringerstrasse 20 (tel: (01) 242 002; website: www.konzerthaus.at), Musikverein, and a few other venues. The Konzerthaus is also home to the Wiener Singakademie choir (website: www.wienersingakademie.at) and hosts touring international orchestras. The newly renovated Theater an der Wien, 06, Linke Wienzeile 6 (tel: (01) 58885; website: www.theater-wien.at), is fast becoming one of Vienna's top venues for classical music, with a calendar that heavily features opera.

Theatre: Like music, theatre also has a long and proud tradition in Vienna - the patronage of the Imperial Court has been an important factor in its development. There are 50 theatres in the city but the Burgtheater (Palace Theatre), 01, Dr Karl Lueger Ring 2, (tel: (01) 5144 44140; website: www.burgtheater.at), stands at the forefront and is an intense source of pride to the Viennese. This impressive edifice is the oldest and one of the most important stages in the German-speaking world. Built on the Ringstrasse in the 19th century, the theatre stages classical and contemporary works of the very highest standards of production.

The Akademietheater, 03, Lisztstrasse 1, (tel: (01) 5144 44140, for information or 44740, for tickets), is the smaller venue where the Burgtheater's players also perform. The Volkstheater, 07, Neustiftgasse 1 (tel: (01) 521 110; website: www.volkstheater.at), Theater in der Josefstadt, 08, Josefstädter Strasse 26 (tel: (01) 4270 0300; website: www.josefstadt.org), and the Schauspielhaus, 09, Porzellangasse 19 (tel: (01) 3170 10111; website: www.schauspielhaus.at), which offers an ambitious experimental programme, are all important German-language theatres in Vienna.

For English-language productions, Vienna's English Theatre, 08, Josefgasse 12 (tel: (01) 402 1260; website: www.englishtheatre.at), has an excellent reputation on the world stage, to the extent that many contemporary playwrights choose to premier their works here. There are also annual productions of French- and Italian-language works. The International Theatre, 09, Porzellangasse 8 (tel: (01) 319 6272; website: www.internationaltheatre.at) offers a programme of American and English plays.

The Viennese theatre season traditionally runs from September to June, although there are often special performances in the summer, particularly during one of the many festivals. The larger theatres stage daily productions, while the smaller ones may have one or two nights off. There are also a number of cabarets in the city.

Dance: The ball season takes place during Fasching, Vienna's winter carnival season from New Year's Eve until the beginning of Lent. Of the 300 or so balls, the most prestigious are the New Year's Eve Imperial Ball and the Opera Ball. The latter is the highlight of the Viennese social calendar and takes place in the elegant surroundings of the Staatsoper (see above), on the Thursday before Shrove Tuesday. Waltzers in long gowns and dinner jackets twirl under chandeliers, recalling the splendour and romance of a bygone era. New Year's Eve is marked not only by the Kaiserball (Imperial Ball) in the Hofburg, 01, Innerer Burghof 1, Kaisertor (tel: (01) 587 3666; website: www.hofburg.com), but also by the conversion of the city centre into the world's largest ballroom.

Film: Many American and British films are shown in the original language with subtitles. Listings are posted on kiosks and in Der Falter (website: www.falter.at). 'OF' after the film title indicates that it is shown in its original language without subtitles. 'Omengu' indicates that the film is in the original language with English subtitles, 'OmU' indicates original language with German subtitles and 'OmÜ' means the film is shown in its original language with live German translation. If the title is followed by 'dF', this indicates that the film is dubbed into German.

Two of Vienna's finest cinema complexes are Apollo, 06, Gumpendorferstrasse 63, Sixth District (tel: (01) 587 9651; website: www.cineplexx.at), and UCI Kinowelt Kinowelt Millennium City, 20, Wehlistr 66 (tel: (01) 33760; website: www.uci-kinowelt.at). Vienna cinemas that specialise in English-language films include the English Cinema Haydn, 06, Mariahilferstrasse 57 (tel: (01) 587 2262; website: www.haydnkino.at), and Artis International Wien, 01, Schultergasse 5 (tel: (01) 535 6570; website: www.cineplexx.at).

The arthouse Bellaria, 07, Museumstrasse 3 (tel: (01) 523 7591), is exactly as it was when it opened just after the war. German films from 1928-55 are shown in the afternoon and newer films in the evenings. Other arthouse cinemas include Filmcasino, 04, Margaretenstrasse 78 (tel: (01) 587 9062; website: www.filmcasino.at), Schikaneder, 04, Margaretenstrasse 24 (tel: (01) 585 2867; website: www.schikaneder.at), with an innovative programme including parties and exhibitions, and Votiv, 09, Währigerstrasse 12 (tel: (01) 317 3571; website: www.votivkino.at), with cinema-breakfasts on certain Sundays.

During the break in the regular opera and classical music schedule (July and August), devotees can enjoy free opera and music films on the giant screen in front of the Rathaus, 01, Dr Karl-Lueger-Ring.

The 1949 Carol Reed film, The Third Man, presents an extremely well-known vision of Vienna. In it, Orson Welles plays Harry Lime, who evades the authorities via the sewers and back alleys of bombed-out, post-war Vienna. The Burg-Kino, 01, Opernring 19 (tel: (01) 587 8406; website: www.burgkino.at), shows this film several times a week. Amadeus (1984), another film set in Vienna (although shot mainly in Prague), takes a look at Mozart's last years in the city and the jealousies and intrigues that filled the Imperial Court. For 20-something travellers to the city, Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise (1995) is required viewing, as it portrays one romantic night in Vienna, between the time that two railway travellers meet up and then depart on their separate ways the following morning.

Literary Notes: Vienna has been featured in writing throughout the ages. One of the earliest depictions of the area appears in the Nibelungenlied (c.1200), a medieval epic partially set in the Wachau Valley, upstream from Vienna. Later on, when Vienna itself was flourishing, Mozart was probably the most famous inhabitant and he has certainly captured the imagination of those writing about the city. Peter Shaffer wrote the play Amadeus (1979) about Mozart's last years in the city. This was made into a film of the same name a few years later. A less thriving post-war Vienna is evocatively portrayed in Graham Greene's novel The Third Man (1949), also made into a film.