On the ball: Euro 2009 soccer games put Austria, Switzerland in the spotlight

VIENNA, Austria — Overheard recently from a tourist in one of Vienna's grand cafes: "Waiter, I'll try a slice of your soccer tort."

OK, so it's actually Sacher (SAH'kerr) Torte, the famed Viennese chocolate cake filled with apricot jam. But no one's going to quarrel with a slight mispronunciation — not with the European Championships in soccer about to unfold in Austria and Switzerland. The event is second only to soccer's World Cup.

If you're thinking of combining sports and sightseeing with a trip here, you'd best move quicker than Ronaldinho. Hotel rooms in the eight venue cities scattered across the neighboring alpine co-hosts are being snapped up fast.

The Euro 2008 tournament opens in Basel and Geneva June 7, and wraps up with the final on June 29 in Vienna. Posters capturing the soccer fever sweeping the Austrian capital show a little old lady corkscrewing through the air as she bends it like Beckham.

You won't see the Los Angeles Galaxy star play here this summer: England failed to qualify. But there's plenty to do, see and taste in between matches. Here are some leading attractions:

• VIENNA: With Vienna's lavish architecture and elegant tree-lined boulevards, sometimes it seems like the Austro-Hungarian Empire never ended.

Cruise the Danube on a tour boat or trot around the city in a horse-drawn carriage. Boutiques abound. Get a culture "fix" at the MuseumsQuartier, where the world-renowned Leopold Museum, Kunsthalle Wien and MUMOK Museum of Modern Art all beckon from beneath one roof.

A five-minute stroll gets you to the stately Vienna State Opera, which will be staging works by Verdi, Wagner and Strauss, or to the Museum for Ethnology, where Egyptian treasures from "Tutankhamen and the World of the Pharaohs" are on display.

Catch Anna Netrebko, Placido Domingo and the Vienna Philharmonic at an outdoor concert on the sculpted grounds of Schoenbrunn Palace on June 27, two nights before the championship final.

For those who can't get enough soccer, the Technical Museum has a new interactive show devoted to "The Beautiful Game." Among the highlights: England striker Wayne Rooney's shoes and the jersey Franz Beckenbauer wore when he led Germany to a World Cup victory in 1974.

Climb the 343 steps of St. Stephen's Cathedral's south tower and take in the panoramic views. Have a coffee "mit Schlag" (whipped cream) beneath the storied arches of Cafe Central. Or venture out to Vienna's winemaking Grinzing neighborhood for alfresco dining amid the vines.