Vienna just hosted Eurovision - here's how to really see the city like a local

For fans of the Eurovision Song Contest, the focus for last weekend's final may well have been the gaudy glam of the performances, with their surprise costume reveals and gratuitous key changes. But every year, the host city is also an important part of the spectacle - and this year the gorgeous and decidedly ungaudy Austrian capital of Vienna was being showcased to the world.

I was actually in Austria during the Eurovision final a few years ago (held in Turin that time). Several other writers and I were exploring the wonderfully friendly city of Graz when we started chatting to some locals during the afternoon. Somehow (nobody remembers exactly how it came up) we were invited (or possibly invited ourselves) to their house party to watch the broadcast. Which is how I ended up wedged on a couch, sharing bottles of Gruner Veltliner, cheering and booing as the votes came in.

It was a spontaneous travel experience that reminded me that normal life is always going on around tourists (if you can call Eurovision 'normal'). So, with the attention on Vienna this weekend, let's look at how you can discover the city from a more local perspective.

Many of Vienna's main tourist sights are in the historic centre, known as Innere Stadt, and you'll certainly want to see the enormous gothic St Stephen's Cathedral, the ornate opera house, and the art galleries inside buildings that are masterpieces in themselves. But those horse-drawn carriages you see rattling past the opulent Habsburg palaces? They're just tourist traps.

To start, perhaps join one of the 'hidden gems' tours offered within the Innere Stadt to go beyond the grand imperial facades into quiet courtyards where residents buy their morning loaves of bread or rest beneath trees. Join the city's famous coffee culture - but not at infamous spots like Cafe Central (popular with Leon Trotsky and Sigmund Freud), rather at smaller places like Kleines Cafe in Franziskanerplatz. And rather than fight the crowds in the main churches during the day, visit a quieter one like Schottenkirche for the evening Vespers service, where the musical pedigree of the Austrians shines in the choral performances.

But as you explore further from the inner city, you'll start to find even more notes of local life, and it's worth spending half a day exploring one of these residential areas. As the Neubau district has gentrified, it's become full of small art galleries, indie boutiques, and design-focused cafes. Wieden is where many students have traditionally lived, so you'll get cheap eats and lively bars.

And while Margareten still feels a bit gritty, with vintage stores amongst cheaper housing blocks, there are plenty of architectural gems like the original 1950s Filmcasino cinema. Or, if you want something even more local, I'm told Reindorf is getting a reputation for its interesting and affordable dining and drinking scene.

Even without venturing too far, you can just walk across a bridge from the inner city, over the Donaukanal and into Leopoldstadt, a district that's technically an island because it's also bordered by the Danube. Parts of Leopoldstadt are cool and youthful, with street art and pop-up bars closer to the Donaukanal waterway, but the centuries-old Karmelitermarkt is a highlight, a busy local market where you can stop for a bite to eat.

One of the icons of Leopoldstadt is the Prater, a massive public park about the size of Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin. In particular, I love the amusement park at its western edge, officially known as the Wurstelprater, which was established in 1895 and has an eclectic mix of heritage rides, modern rollercoasters, and Viennese restaurants. It's free to enter (you just pay for each ride) so it's as popular with local families and young couples as it is with visitors.

Of course, it's through a destination's food that we can often find its soul, and Vienna is no exception. The city's sausage stands have been added to UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, so they're a good place to start. From a tradition that began in the 1700s, there are now hundreds of these small booths where you can try different types of sausages served with bread and sauces.

It's also worth trying a Wiener schnitzel (named after the city, which is called Wien in German). But don't go to the famous Figlmuller restaurant, which claims to be the home of the dish, because although the quality is good, the wait's not worth it. I prefer somewhere like the Brauhof Wien, where you can also sample the local beers.

Rather than go to the convenient area of Grinzing where most of the tourist buses stop, catch the tram to the wine village of Stammersdorf, which is the start of a 10-kilometre walking trail loop called Stadtwanderweg 5, through oak forests and along historic cellar lanes. When you're finished, grab a wooden table at a heurigen (wine tavern) for a carafe of Gruner Veltliner or Gemischter Satz. Maybe you'll even meet some people who'll invite you to a house party!

I've been to Vienna several times in recent years and have come to love its local neighbourhoods and authentic culture. At first, it can come across as a bit reserved or uptight - partly a projection of the inner city's imperial facades and partly a result of the population's general dislike for small talk. But the more you see the local side, the more you'll see the charm of the communities... a bit like those costume reveals and key changes in the Eurovision performances.

You can see more things to do in Vienna on Michael's Time Travel Turtle website.