Vienna

Two things always strike me when I visit Vienna. The first is how easterly the city lies. This was more apparent last century, when on maps of Europe the silhouette of Austria poked itself like a swollen proboscis into the dark shadows of the eastern bloc. But even today, with Bratislava, Brno and Gyor as its closest international neighbours, it’s a good reminder of how much ‘western European’ culture comes from quite far east.

The second thing is how at home there I feel. The names and faces on the billboards are conductors and pianists, stars of opera and ballet. For once, you get the feeling celebrity is selling something worth buying. There are stars on the pavements, as in Hollywood, but the twinkling immortals are all composers, making your arrival in the city feel like a spiritual homecoming.