Vanessa & Gerald

The place

Vienna

Baroque palaces and their gardens, the grand Ringstrasse and old coffee houses — with vineyards on the hills at the city’s edge.

August works here with a little planning.

The light

How the light falls there

Vienna’s palaces are painted warm yellow and cream, and its pale stone glows in a low sun. The city lies at the eastern end of its time zone, so the sun sets earlier than in Paris or Madrid: around nine at midsummer, around four in December. The best-known gardens fill up by mid-morning; photographers who want them quiet start early.