Ode to joy.

Imagine returning to your 5-star hotel after a full day in the City of Music. You head to the spa and indulge in chocolate. You emerge with smoother, more radiant skin—and no extra pounds. At the Hotel Sacher Wien, luxuries such as its proprietary Time to Chocolate® skincare line are yours for the asking. Opened in 1876 by the family that created the Sacher-Torte, this hotel has long been a favorite among nobility, politicians and artists. From here, the best of Vienna is at hand.

Hear music by the Big 4 of Vienna's Classical period—Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert—at the city's esteemed concert halls and the Vienna State Opera. Watch snowy-white Lipizzaner stallions perform dressage ballet at the Spanish Riding School. Stroll the magnificent Ringstrasse to see opulent palaces and other monumental buildings designed during the 19th century's eclectic Historicism period. Savor cordon bleu wiener schnitzel and Viennese apple strudel at the elite guild-house restaurants, taverns and coffee houses of Old Town. As if to confirm her status as one of the most heavenly places on Earth, Vienna claims the greatest density of ice cream parlors in Europe. You don't tour this charming city on the Danube so much as you waltz through time and back again.