Photo by denkrahm

Naschmarkt is a popular market place in Vienna. You can purchase almost everything at the Naschmarkt, from fresh fish and shrimps to Asian soy sauce to Italian cheeses and uncooked ham. Despite and because of the sheer variety—and in no small part as a result of the hoards of tourists streaming through—you can’t help feeling ripped off at the Naschmarkt. Case in point: We’ve seen furniture for sale at prices that exceed those at first-class antique galleries in the First District.

Make no mistake about it, the Naschmarkt is a must-see for natives and tourists alike. It is alive, it breathes, and it reeks of marvelous scents and colors.

May brings a bunch of (cheaper, we hope) alternatives to the Naschmarkt.

On May 11, from 9 a.m. until noon, Vienna’s lost and found department hopes to find sellers who will take home several things—from clothes to books—that their owners have forgotten somewhere and then never fetched from the Zentrale Fundservice, at Bastiengasse 36-38.

Fernwärme Wien, Vienna’s energy company, holds a secondhand extravaganza at their compound, May 12, 9 a.m. through 5 p.m., at Spittelauer Lände 45.

The leading Austrian old-fashioned children’s store Spielzeugschachtel, which specializes in wooden and hand-crafted toys, holds a two-day flea market on May 25 and 26, at Rauhensteingasse 5.

Our advice: Be wise and enjoy.

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