lingerie in Vienna

The Austrians take their ornately creative underwear almost as seriously as they do their cakes, coffee and opera. The best place to linger over the lingerie is Karntnerstrasse, Vienna's most famous shopping street. It is home to several sumptuous display windows of underwear fit for a Hapsburg.

Start your lingerie tour at Palmers (22 Karntnerstrasse, tel: 43 1 512 2495). An eye-catching sight throughout Austria thanks to its distinctive green and gold shop signs, Palmers' glamorous advertising campaigns have featured the likes of supermodel Cindy Crawford, no less.

Feel like a model yourself by slipping on one of Palmers' coffee cotton vests edged with cream lace (Euro29/HK$300); matching boy-cut knickers are Euro17 a pair. But for pure show-stopping appeal slip into a Rose de Paris set in soft tulle with satin bows; the bra is Euro30 and the briefs Euro18. Palmers can be pricy but the quality is undeniable.

Palmers is almost as familiar a sight on Austria's shopping streets as the red crown that heralds Triumph. Find the Vienna branch just off Karntnerstrasse, in shopping paradise Ringstrasassen Galerien (shop 22, tel: 43 1 513 8275). Sculpting bras edged with delicate black lace such as the one in the Absolute Temptation range go up to a generous E-cup size.

The matching thong or hipsters complete the decadent look.

Absolute Temptation is ideal for daywear but if you really want to set pulses racing, then it's time