Palais Hoyos (Hoyos Palace), Vienna

When Otto Wagner decided to build himself a “town house” at Rennweg No. 3 during the 1890s, let’s just say he wasn’t slumming it. Today we know it as the Hoyos Palace, home to the Croatian embassy, but back then it was a flashy statement in high Ringstrasse style. Think lavish wrought-iron balconies, theatrical stucco flourishes, and just a dash of that future-modern flair Wagner would later be known for-like the bold cornice and those elegant upper-floor reliefs that quietly whisper, “Secession is coming…”

Wagner, ever the architectural multitasker, also designed the neighbors, including No. 5 next door. That one gained a bit of fame of its own-this is where composer Gustav Mahler resided from 1898 to 1909. One can only imagine the heated creative debates drifting through the walls-architecture meets music, with coffee breaks in between...

Just a few steps away along Rennweg, you’ll find the Guards' Church-a temple with an identity crisis. Originally built in the 1760s by Nicolò Pacassi (the court architect to Empress Maria Theresa herself), it was given a Neoclassical facelift only six years later. Classic midlife glow-up... But walk inside and you’re back in full Rococo glory: gold-dripping stuccowork, a ribbed dome, lantern-lit drama, and those delightful bull’s-eye windows watching over it all.

Once the chapel for the imperial hospital, it was handed over in 1782 to the Polish Guards, who made it their spiritual home. These days, it still hosts services in Polish and goes by the charming nickname “Polish Church.” Because nothing says “Vienna” like Baroque architecture with a Slavic soul.