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Top 10 Things To Do in Vienna

Country
Austria
Best months
May · Jun · Sep
Population
2M
Language
German
Budget / day
€120–240
Quick answer

Start at St Stephen's before ten, then give the first day to the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the evening to standing room at the State Opera, where places cost €13 to €18 and go on sale at 10:00 on the day. Day two is Schönbrunn at opening and the Belvedere for Klimt. Day three is the Naschmarkt, the Prater and a Heuriger. Book Schönbrunn ahead.

Vienna was built for an empire that no longer exists, and it has spent a century working out what to do with the rooms. Two million people live in a city laid out for a court: a cathedral at the centre, a boulevard where the walls stood, palaces at either end and vineyards on the hills above.

The 10 best things to do in Vienna

1

Schönbrunn Palace and its gardens

Palace· Schönbrunner Schloßstraße 47, 1130 Wien

The one sight in Vienna worth planning a morning around rather than fitting in. Two routes run through the state rooms, 22 of them or 40. The gardens are the half most visitors underrate: the Gloriette, the maze, the Orangery and the oldest zoo in the world are all outside the ticketed rooms, and the climb up costs nothing.

TimeHalf a day with the gardens
CostImperial Tour €22
Best atThe first slot after 9:30
TipEntry is by timed slot and the palace sells out in summer
↗ Schönbrunn PalaceMap
2

The Kunsthistorisches Museum

Museum· Maria-Theresien-Platz, 1010 Wien

The imperial collection, in a purpose-built palace facing its twin. What sets it apart is the Bruegel room, assembled by Habsburgs who bought the paintings when they were new and never broke the group up. Around it, the Kunstkammer holds the objects the same family collected because they were strange.

Time3 hours
Cost€22 online, €24 on site
Best atThursday evening
TipThe café under the cupola is one of the best rooms in the building and takes no ticket to admire from the stairs. The Naturhistorisches Museum in the mirror-image building opposite is a separate ticket and a separate day.
↗ Kunsthistorisches MuseumMap
3

Klimt at the Upper Belvedere

Gallery· Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27, 1030 Wien

Prince Eugene's summer palace holds the largest collection of Klimt paintings in the world, and two of them are why the queue exists. The rest of the building rewards the walk, with Schiele and Kokoschka upstairs and a view down the formal gardens to the city beyond.

Time2 hours
Cost€23 Upper Belvedere
Best atAt opening
TipThe garden between the two palaces is free and open to walk through
↗ BelvedereMap
4

St Stephen’s Cathedral and the south tower

Cathedral· Stephansplatz 3, 1010 Wien

The fixed point every Viennese address is measured from, and its tiled roof, a quarter of a million glazed tiles laid in chevrons and eagles, is the image of the city that survives in memory. The south tower is the one to climb: 343 steps up a spiral staircase, no lift and no shortcut.

Time1 hour, 2 with the tower
CostFree to the gate
Best atEarly morning
TipOn-site ticket sales are cash only
↗ St Stephen’s CathedralMap
5

The Hofburg and the Sisi Museum

Palace· Michaelerkuppel, 1010 Wien

The winter palace grew for six centuries and now holds a national library, a riding school, the president's offices and a museum about an empress who hated the place. The Sisi Museum takes Elisabeth seriously rather than sentimentally: the fitness equipment, the hair rituals, the travelling that kept her away.

Time90 minutes
Cost€20, audio guide included
Best atLate afternoon
TipThe courtyards
↗ Sisi Museum, HofburgMap
6

Standing room at the Vienna State Opera

Opera house· Opernring 2, 1010 Wien

The Staatsoper sells 567 standing places for every performance, which is the best value in European culture and the reason a night at the opera here is not a luxury decision. Each place has its own subtitle screen. Dress is not the barrier people expect: nobody at the rail is in black tie.

TimeAn evening
Cost€13 to €18 standing
Best atOnline at 10:00 on the day
TipWear shoes you can stand in for three hours and take a scarf to tie to the rail if you leave your spot at the interval, which is what the regulars do.
↗ Vienna State OperaMap
7

An afternoon in a coffee house

Cafe· Herrengasse 14, 1010 Wien (Café Central)

Viennese coffee house culture entered Austria's heritage inventory in 2011, and the inventory describes it better than any guidebook: a place where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is on the bill. Order a Melange, take a newspaper off the rack, and stay two hours without anyone approaching the table.

Time2 hours, by design
CostA Melange and a slice of cake for around €12
Best atMid-afternoon on a weekday
TipDo not ask for the bill in a hurry and do not order a coffee to take away
↗ Austrian UNESCO CommissionMap
8

The Naschmarkt and the Saturday flea market

Market· Wienzeile, 1060 Wien

Vienna's long market runs for most of a kilometre: produce and spice at one end, restaurant tables at the other. Saturday is the day worth planning for, when the flea market takes over the western end with around 400 sellers. Come early: by eleven the dealers have bought the best of what arrived.

Time2 hours
CostFree to walk
Best atSaturday from 06:30
TipThe Otto Wagner apartment buildings on the Linke Wienzeile stand directly above the market
↗ NaschmarktMap
9

The Prater and the Riesenrad

Park· Riesenradplatz 1, 1020 Wien

Two things sharing a name. The Wurstelprater is the fairground, free to walk into, dominated by the giant ferris wheel. Behind it stretches a former imperial hunting ground turned public park, with the Hauptallee running arrow-straight under chestnut trees. Ride the wheel at dusk.

Time2 hours
CostPark free, ferris wheel €14.50
Best atDusk, for the lights
TipTake the U1 or U2 to Praterstern
↗ Prater WienMap
10

A Heuriger evening in the wine villages

Wine tavern· Nussberg, Döbling, 1190 Wien

Vienna is the only city of its size with a serious wine industry inside the municipal boundary. A Heuriger is the grower's own tavern, licensed to sell its own wine under a decree of 1784: benches, a cold buffet you queue at, and a quarter litre grown on the hill behind. Walk up onto the Nussberg for sunset first.

TimeAn evening
CostAround €30 a head with food
Best atLate afternoon in September
TipCheck opening before going: a Heuriger opens in rotation for a few weeks at a time
↗ Austrian WineMap

7 of the 10, mapped

Vienna · 7 spots
AllLandmarksMuseumsFoodFree

Vienna travel FAQ

How many days do you need in Vienna?+
Three. One for the first district and the Kunsthistorisches, one for Schönbrunn and the Belvedere, and one for the Naschmarkt, the Prater and a Heuriger. A fourth day buys a trip to the Wachau or Bratislava, both of which are under an hour away by train.
When is the best time to visit Vienna?+
May, June and September. The gardens are open, the terraces are out and the concert season is still running at either end of the summer. July and August are hot and busiest, and the orchestras are away. Late November to 26 December is the Christmas market season, which is a different city and a colder one.
Which public transport ticket should you buy in 2026?+
Wiener Linien withdrew its 48 and 72-hour tickets on 1 January 2026, so the choice is now between single tickets at €3.20 (€3.00 online), a 24-hour ticket at €10.20 and a seven-day ticket at €28.90. For a three-day stay, three 24-hour tickets cost €30.60 and the weekly ticket is cheaper, so buy the week unless you plan to walk most of it.
Can you see the Vienna State Opera cheaply?+
Yes, and it is the best value in the building. The Staatsoper sells 567 standing places for every performance at €13 to €18, each with its own subtitle screen. They go on sale online at 10:00 on the day of the performance, two per account, or at the standing-room box office 80 minutes before curtain.
Do you need to book Schönbrunn in advance?+
Yes. Entry to the state rooms is by timed slot and the slots sell out in summer, so book at least a day ahead through the palace’s own site. The gardens, the Gloriette walk and the Orangery grounds need no ticket and stay open when the palace has closed.
Where to look

Best museums in Vienna

Eight collections beyond the imperial two, from the world’s Schiele holdings to a free city museum.
All 8 museums →
Innere Stadt

Albertina

Prints and modern art

The Habsburg print room turned modern gallery, with a Monet-to-Picasso hang on the piano nobile and the surviving state rooms upstairs.

↗ AlbertinaMap
MuseumsQuartier

Leopold Museum

Austrian modernism

The largest collection of Egon Schiele anywhere, alongside Klimt and the Wiener Werkstätte, in the white block at the heart of the MuseumsQuartier.

↗ Leopold MuseumMap
Karlsplatz

Wien Museum

Free permanent collection

The city's own history museum reopened on Karlsplatz in 2023, covering Vienna from the Romans to now. The permanent exhibition is free.

↗ Wien MuseumMap
Maria-Theresien-Platz

Naturhistorisches Museum

Natural history

The twin of the Kunsthistorisches across the square, with 25 million objects and the Venus of Willendorf. The nineteenth-century cases are half the point.

↗ Naturhistorisches MuseumMap
Stubenring

MAK

Design and applied arts

Applied arts and design, which in Vienna means the Wiener Werkstätte, Thonet bentwood and Klimt's drawings for the Stoclet Frieze.

↗ MAKMap
MuseumsQuartier

mumok

Modern and contemporary

The dark basalt box in the MuseumsQuartier, holding modern and contemporary art from Pop to Viennese Actionism, which is confrontational by design.

↗ mumokMap
Hofburg

Weltmuseum Wien

Ethnography

More than 400,000 ethnographic objects in a wing of the Hofburg, including the Aztec feather headdress Mexico has asked about for a century. The label now says so.

Map
Landstraße

Kunst Haus Wien

Hundertwasser

Hundertwasser's own museum, with uneven floors and no straight lines. Ten minutes from the Hundertwasserhaus, which is worth seeing from outside and nothing more.

Map
Where to sit

Best coffee houses in Vienna (2026)

Six rooms that take the two-hour coffee seriously, from the tourist landmark to the local corner.
All 6 coffee houses →
Herrengasse, Innere Stadt

Café Central

Grand café

The vaulted hall in the Palais Ferstel that every visitor photographs, and still a working coffee house under the tourism. Come at opening.

Map
Gumpendorfer Straße, Mariahilf

Café Sperl

Since 1880

Billiard tables, worn Thonet chairs and a room barely changed since the 1880s. The one to choose if you want to read rather than be photographed.

Map
Dorotheergasse, Innere Stadt

Café Hawelka

Buchteln after dark

Small, dark, hung with posters, and run by the same family since the 1930s. Famous for Buchteln, sweet yeast buns baked in the evening and brought out warm.

Map
Universitätsring, Innere Stadt

Café Landtmann

Ringstrasse institution

The Ringstrasse café next to the Burgtheater, with a terrace and a clientele of politicians and actors. Freud drank here and the café has never stopped mentioning it.

Map
Stubenring, Innere Stadt

Café Prückel

1950s room

A postwar interior of pale wood and low lamps opposite the MAK, unrenovated in the best sense, with live piano some evenings and cake that holds its own.

Map
Kohlmarkt, Innere Stadt

Demel

Court confectioner

Imperial confectioner rather than café, with the bakers working behind glass and a Sachertorte that is the losing side of a famous lawsuit.

Map
Where to eat

Best restaurants in Vienna (2026)

Eight tables, from two three-star kitchens to the schnitzel house that has fed the first district for generations.
All 8 restaurants →
Wollzeile, Innere Stadt

Figlmüller

Schnitzel

The schnitzel that overhangs the plate: pork, hammered thin, fried pale gold, in a lane off Stephansplatz. The queue is not a marketing device.

Map
Wollzeile, Innere Stadt

Plachutta

Tafelspitz

The Tafelspitz house: boiled beef in its copper pot with marrow bone, rösti and apple horseradish, and a waiter who will explain the order of operations.

Map
Stadtpark, Landstraße

Steirereck im Stadtpark

Three Michelin stars

Three Michelin stars, in a glass pavilion in the city park. Austrian produce with a technical precision that has kept it at the top of the country for years.

Map
Döbling

Amador

Three Michelin stars

Vienna's other three-star kitchen, in a vaulted cellar under a Döbling wine estate. A long modern menu with a Spanish accent, and the most expensive meal in the city.

Map
Dominikanerbastei, Innere Stadt

Konstantin Filippou

Two Michelin stars

Two stars for a small, austere dining room near the Danube canal, with a wine bar next door that takes walk-ins at a fraction of the price.

Map
Brigittenau

Mraz & Sohn

Two Michelin stars

Two stars in an unglamorous stretch of the twentieth district, run by a father and two sons who cook with more humour than the star count suggests.

Map
Bognergasse, Innere Stadt

Zum Schwarzen Kameel

Open sandwiches and wine

Half delicatessen, half bar, entirely Viennese. Stand at the counter with an open sandwich and a glass of Grüner Veltliner and you have the city.

Map
Leopoldstadt

Skopik & Lohn

Neighbourhood bistro

A Leopoldstadt bistro with a scrawled black ceiling and a menu from Austrian classics to something closer to Paris.

Map
Where to listen

Best music and opera in Vienna

Five venues beyond the State Opera, including the hall the New Year’s Concert comes from.
All 5 music and opera →
Karlsplatz, Innere Stadt

Musikverein

Golden Hall

The Golden Hall, opened in 1870 and home to the Vienna Philharmonic, is the room the New Year's Concert is broadcast from. Acoustics that architects still measure.

↗ MusikvereinMap
Lothringerstraße, Landstraße

Wiener Konzerthaus

Vienna Symphony

The Vienna Symphony's house, and the more adventurous programme of the two: contemporary music, jazz and early music in three halls of very different sizes.

↗ KonzerthausMap
Linke Wienzeile, Mariahilf

Theater an der Wien

Opera, one title at a time

An opera house since 2006 in a theatre far older than the Ringstrasse, staging one production at a time rather than a rotating repertoire.

↗ Theater an der WienMap
Währinger Straße, Alsergrund

Volksoper

Operetta and musicals

Around 300 performances a season, from operetta and musicals to opera and ballet. The house to choose if the Staatsoper feels like homework.

Map
Hofburg, Innere Stadt

Sunday Mass at the Hofburgkapelle

Vienna Boys’ Choir

The Vienna Boys' Choir sings the Sunday service in the Hofburg chapel through the season. Seats are ticketed well ahead; standing at the back is free.

Map
Where to drink

Best wine taverns in Vienna

Five growers pouring their own wine, on both sides of the Danube.
All 5 wine taverns →
Heiligenstadt, Döbling

Mayer am Pfarrplatz

Beethoven’s house

A Heiligenstadt courtyard in the house Beethoven rented in 1817, pouring the estate's own wine with a long buffet and, most evenings, Schrammel music.

Map
Stammersdorf, Floridsdorf

Weingut Wieninger

Stammersdorf grower

Across the Danube in Stammersdorf, where the taverns are plainer. Wieninger farms organically and makes some of the best Gemischter Satz in the city.

Map
Nussberg, Döbling

Sirbu

The Nussberg view

A terrace cut into the Nussberg with the vineyard below and the whole city beyond it. Seasonal, weather-dependent and worth the walk up from Nussdorf when it is open.

Map
Neustift am Walde, Döbling

Fuhrgassl-Huber

Big garden

Neustift am Walde, a large garden under old trees, and the version of the Heuriger that works with a group or with children in tow.

Map
Mauer, Liesing

Zahel

Southern vineyards

Mauer, in the far south of the city, where the twenty-third district still farms. A serious wine list, food better than the buffet norm, and almost no visitors.

Map
Where to wander

Best neighbourhoods in Vienna

Six districts and what each is actually for.
All 6 neighbourhoods →
1st district

Innere Stadt

The first district

The first district inside the Ring: the cathedral, the palaces, the shopping on Kohlmarkt and the lanes behind Judenplatz most visitors never turn into.

Map
2nd district

Leopoldstadt

Market and Prater

Between the Danube canal and the Prater, historically the Jewish quarter and now the fastest-changing district. The Karmeliterviertel holds the market and the cafés.

Map
7th district

Neubau

Shops and Spittelberg

Independent shops on Neubaugasse, the Spittelberg lanes of low Biedermeier houses, and the MuseumsQuartier at its edge. The district to stay in.

Map
4th district

Wieden

Freihausviertel

The Freihausviertel behind the Naschmarkt, Karlsplatz and the Karlskirche, and small bars that fill up after work without ever getting loud.

Map
8th district

Josefstadt

Quiet and central

The smallest district and the most residential of the central ones: a theatre it is named for, quiet nineteenth-century streets, and cafés with no queue.

Map
16th district

Ottakring

Brunnenmarkt

Working-class Vienna with a Turkish and Balkan accent: the Brunnenmarkt is one of the longest street markets in the city, and the old brewery is now a nightlife quarter.

Map
Out of town

Best day trips in Vienna

Six trips, all of them reachable on a scheduled train or boat and back the same evening.
All 6 day trips →
1 hour by train

The Wachau valley

Abbey and river

Melk is an hour by train, its Baroque abbey on a rock above the Danube, and the thirty kilometres to Krems are a UNESCO landscape of vineyards and orchards.

Map
56 minutes by train

Bratislava

Another capital

The Slovak capital is 56 minutes from Wien Hauptbahnhof by regional express, at least hourly and with no reservation.

↗ ÖBB Bratislava ticketMap
1 hour by tram

Baden bei Wien

Spa town

A spa town in the Vienna Woods with sulphur baths, a casino and a Beethoven house, reached on the tram that leaves from beside the Staatsoper.

Map
20 minutes by train

Klosterneuburg

Abbey and wine

An Augustinian abbey twenty minutes up the Danube, with a treasury and a wine estate trading since the twelfth century.

Map
90 minutes by train

The Semmering railway

UNESCO railway

The first standard-gauge mountain railway in Europe, UNESCO-listed since 1998, crossing viaducts into the Alps. Ride it as a scheduled service rather than a tour.

Map
1 hour by train

Lake Neusiedl

Lake and wine

The shallow steppe lake on the Hungarian border, ringed with reed beds, bike paths, storks nesting on chimneys and the sweet wines of Burgenland.

Map
What's on

Festivals & annual events in Vienna (2026)

Time your trip around the city's biggest dates.
1 January

New Year’s Concert

The Vienna Philharmonic plays the Golden Hall on 1 January. Seats are allocated by a ballot applied for almost a year ahead.

February

Vienna Opera Ball

The Staatsoper's auditorium is boarded over into a ballroom for one night at the end of Carnival, opened by debutante couples.

April

Vienna City Marathon

The route crosses the Danube early and finishes in the centre, and the Ring and the bridges close for most of the morning.

May to June

Wiener Festwochen

The city festival, founded in 1951 while Vienna was under four-power occupation, filling theatres and squares for six weeks.

July

Donauinselfest

A free open-air music festival on the Danube island, held every year since 1984 and drawing crowds counted in the millions.

9 July to 9 August 2026

ImPulsTanz

Europe's largest contemporary dance festival takes over stages across the city for a month, with workshops anyone can join.

22 October to 3 November 2026

Viennale

Austria's biggest film festival, screening in the city's old cinemas rather than a purpose-built centre.

Mid-November to 26 December

Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz

Around 100 stalls in front of the city hall, free to walk into, with an ice rink through the trees.

Getting around

Vienna transport & airports

How to arrive and move around the city.
VIE

Vienna International Airport

Three ways into town: the City Airport Train runs non-stop to Wien Mitte in 16 minutes, the S7 takes the same route more slowly on an ordinary ticket, and Railjet services run to the Hauptbahnhof.

↗ Vienna AirportMap
ÖBB

Rail

Wien Hauptbahnhof is the through station for almost everything: Railjet to Salzburg, Munich, Prague and Budapest, Nightjet sleepers as far as Rome, and Bratislava in 56 minutes.

↗ ÖBBMap
Wiener Linien

U-Bahn, tram and bus

Five U-Bahn lines, a tram network that still reaches most of the inner districts, and night buses. The 48 and 72-hour tickets were withdrawn in 2026, so a three-day visit means comparing options.

↗ Wiener LinienMap
Walk

On foot and around the Ring

The first district is twenty minutes across and almost everything sits inside it. Trams 1, 2, D and 71 run sections of the Ringstrasse, so a circuit costs one fare and needs no tour.

↗ Vienna Tourist BoardMap
Traditional food

Must-try dishes in Vienna, Austria

The classics to order before you leave.

Wiener Schnitzel

Veal, beaten thin, breaded and fried so the crumb blisters away from the meat.

Tafelspitz

Beef boiled in broth and brought to the table in its copper pot, with marrow bone and apple horseradish.

Gulasch

Beef, onion and paprika cooked down to a dark sauce, ordered with a roll or with a fried egg on top.

Käsekrainer

A pork sausage shot through with melting cheese, eaten standing at a Würstelstand with mustard and dark bread.

Sachertorte

Dense chocolate cake with apricot jam under a dark glaze, and the subject of a famous seven-year lawsuit.

Apfelstrudel

Pastry stretched until you can read a newspaper through it, rolled around apple, raisins and cinnamon.

Kaiserschmarrn

A thick pancake torn into pieces in the pan, caramelised and served with plum compote.

Marillenknödel

Whole apricots from the Wachau wrapped in potato dough, boiled and rolled in buttered breadcrumbs.

Vienna fact sheet

Vienna at a glance

The essentials worth knowing before you go.
Country
Austria
Region
Its own federal province, on the Danube in the northeast of the country
Population
2,042,036 on 1 January 2026 (Statistics Austria), up 0.7 per cent in a year
Founded
The Roman legionary camp of Vindobona, first century AD
Nickname
The City of Music, and Wien in German
Language
German, in its Austrian variety
Currency
Euro (EUR)
Time zone
CET (UTC+1), CEST (UTC+2) from late March to late October
Calling code
+43 1
Airports
VIE
Power
230V · Type C and Type F, the two-pin European plug
Emergency
112, or 144 for an ambulance and 133 for the police
Ideal length
3 days
Getting around
Five U-Bahn lines, trams around the Ring and a first district you can cross on foot in twenty minutes
Tourism board
Official site

Interesting facts

  • Vienna is the only city of its size with a serious wine industry inside the municipal boundary: 680 hectares, and a field blend of its own.
  • The tap water comes off the Alps without a pump: gravity-fed pipelines of 1873 and 1910 carry it from up to 150 kilometres away.
  • Coffee house culture was added to Austria's inventory of intangible heritage in 2011. The Heuriger tradition followed in 2019.
  • Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and both Johann Strausses lie within a few paces of each other in group 32A of the Zentralfriedhof.
  • Vienna held the top of the EIU Global Liveability Index for three years and now sits second behind Copenhagen.

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