The Art of Shopping in Vienna

A real Gustav Klimt might be out of your price range, but at B (9 Westbahnstrasse; 43-1/890-5803; m-ars.at), a new supermarket in Vienna stocked with works of art instead of groceries, the contemporary Klimts are well within reach. A five-minute walk from the city’s MuseumsQuartier, the no-frills shop functions just like any other supermarket, complete with baskets and checkout stations with scanners. A distinguished panel of art historians and directors from European museums and cultural academies curates the collection—more than 1,000 paintings, sculptures, and photographs by 50 artists, including the much-lauded Joerg Auzinger, an Austrian mixed-media artist known for his bold graphic images. And with prices that run the gamut from $15 to $1,300, M-ARS elevates bargain-hunting to an art form.