---
title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Vienna, Austria | Wimup"
description: "The 10 best things to do in Vienna: Schönbrunn, Klimt at the Belvedere, standing room at the State Opera and a Heuriger on the Nussberg. Mapped and ranked."
url: https://wimup.com/city/vienna
type: City guide
updated: 2026-10-18
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Top 10 Things To Do in Vienna

Vienna, Austria · Europe · By Wimup Editorial, 15 min read

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.

## 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.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** May · Jun · Sep
- **Ideal length:** 3 days
- **Budget per day:** €120–240
- **Language:** German, in its Austrian variety
- **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](https://www.wien.info/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## 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.

- **Time:** Half a day with the gardens
- **Cost:** Imperial Tour €22, Grand Tour €28, gardens free
- **Best at:** The first slot after 9:30
- **Tip:** Entry is by timed slot and the palace sells out in summer, so book the day before at the least. The Sisi Ticket at €57 bundles the Grand Tour with the Hofburg’s Sisi Museum and Imperial Apartments, which is worth it only if you are doing both.

Links: [Schönbrunn Palace](https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 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.

- **Time:** 3 hours
- **Cost:** €22 online, €24 on site
- **Best at:** Thursday evening, when it runs to 21:00
- **Tip:** The 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.

Links: [Kunsthistorisches Museum](https://www.khm.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 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.

- **Time:** 2 hours
- **Cost:** €23 Upper Belvedere, €20 Lower Belvedere
- **Best at:** At opening, before the tour groups reach the Klimt room
- **Tip:** The garden between the two palaces is free and open to walk through, and the slope up to the Upper Belvedere is the best view of the city skyline that costs nothing.

Links: [Belvedere](https://www.belvedere.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 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.

- **Time:** 1 hour, 2 with the tower
- **Cost:** Free to the gate, south tower €6, catacombs €7, all-inclusive €20
- **Best at:** Early morning, before the square fills
- **Tip:** On-site ticket sales are cash only. The north tower has a lift and a bell but a worse view; if you climb one, climb the south.

Links: [St Stephen’s Cathedral](https://www.stephanskirche.at/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 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.

- **Time:** 90 minutes
- **Cost:** €20, audio guide included
- **Best at:** Late afternoon, after the morning coaches have gone
- **Tip:** The courtyards, the Michaelerplatz dome and the walk through to Heldenplatz are open at any hour and free. Check the site before travelling in autumn: refurbishment work has shortened the hours and cut ticket prices by a quarter in past seasons.

Links: [Sisi Museum, Hofburg](https://www.sisimuseum-hofburg.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 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.

- **Time:** An evening
- **Cost:** €13 to €18 standing
- **Best at:** Online at 10:00 on the day
- **Tip:** Wear 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.

Links: [Vienna State Opera](https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/ticket-info/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 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.

- **Time:** 2 hours, by design
- **Cost:** A Melange and a slice of cake for around €12
- **Best at:** Mid-afternoon on a weekday
- **Tip:** Do not ask for the bill in a hurry and do not order a coffee to take away. The waiter’s job is to leave you alone until you catch their eye.

Links: [Austrian UNESCO Commission](https://www.unesco.at/en/culture/intangible-cultural-heritage/inventory/element/viennese-coffee-house-culture?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 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.

- **Time:** 2 hours
- **Cost:** Free to walk
- **Best at:** Saturday from 06:30, before the crowds arrive
- **Tip:** The Otto Wagner apartment buildings on the Linke Wienzeile stand directly above the market, so look up at the gilt and majolica facades on the way past.

Links: [Naschmarkt](https://www.naschmarkt-wien.at/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 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.

- **Time:** 2 hours
- **Cost:** Park free, ferris wheel €14.50
- **Best at:** Dusk, for the lights
- **Tip:** Take the U1 or U2 to Praterstern. The park side is where the locals are: the Hauptallee on a Sunday morning is the closest thing Vienna has to a public living room.

Links: [Prater Wien](https://www.praterwien.com/en/home?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 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.

- **Time:** An evening
- **Cost:** Around €30 a head with food
- **Best at:** Late afternoon in September, through the harvest
- **Tip:** Check opening before going: a Heuriger opens in rotation for a few weeks at a time, which is what the word means. The 38A bus reaches Grinzing and Kahlenberg, and tram D ends at Nussdorf.

Links: [Austrian Wine](https://www.austrianwine.com/our-wine/winegrowing-regions/wien-vienna?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best museums in Vienna

Eight collections beyond the imperial two, from the world’s Schiele holdings to a free city museum.

1. **Albertina** (Prints and modern art · Innere Stadt): The Habsburg print room turned modern gallery, with a Monet-to-Picasso hang on the piano nobile and the surviving state rooms upstairs. [Albertina](https://www.albertina.at/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Leopold Museum** (Austrian modernism · MuseumsQuartier): The largest collection of Egon Schiele anywhere, alongside Klimt and the Wiener Werkstätte, in the white block at the heart of the MuseumsQuartier. [Leopold Museum](https://www.leopoldmuseum.org/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Wien Museum** (Free permanent collection · Karlsplatz): The city's own history museum reopened on Karlsplatz in 2023, covering Vienna from the Romans to now. The permanent exhibition is free. [Wien Museum](https://www.wienmuseum.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Naturhistorisches Museum** (Natural history · Maria-Theresien-Platz): 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 Museum](https://www.nhm.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
5. **MAK** (Design and applied arts · Stubenring): Applied arts and design, which in Vienna means the Wiener Werkstätte, Thonet bentwood and Klimt's drawings for the Stoclet Frieze. [MAK](https://www.mak.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
6. **mumok** (Modern and contemporary · MuseumsQuartier): The dark basalt box in the MuseumsQuartier, holding modern and contemporary art from Pop to Viennese Actionism, which is confrontational by design. [mumok](https://www.mumok.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
7. **Weltmuseum Wien** (Ethnography · Hofburg): 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.
8. **Kunst Haus Wien** (Hundertwasser · Landstraße): 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.

## Best coffee houses in Vienna (2026)

Six rooms that take the two-hour coffee seriously, from the tourist landmark to the local corner.

1. **Café Central** (Grand café · Herrengasse, Innere Stadt): The vaulted hall in the Palais Ferstel that every visitor photographs, and still a working coffee house under the tourism. Come at opening.
2. **Café Sperl** (Since 1880 · Gumpendorfer Straße, Mariahilf): 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.
3. **Café Hawelka** (Buchteln after dark · Dorotheergasse, Innere Stadt): 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.
4. **Café Landtmann** (Ringstrasse institution · Universitätsring, Innere Stadt): 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.
5. **Café Prückel** (1950s room · Stubenring, Innere Stadt): 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.
6. **Demel** (Court confectioner · Kohlmarkt, Innere Stadt): Imperial confectioner rather than café, with the bakers working behind glass and a Sachertorte that is the losing side of a famous lawsuit.

## Best restaurants in Vienna (2026)

Eight tables, from two three-star kitchens to the schnitzel house that has fed the first district for generations.

1. **Figlmüller** (Schnitzel · Wollzeile, Innere Stadt): The schnitzel that overhangs the plate: pork, hammered thin, fried pale gold, in a lane off Stephansplatz. The queue is not a marketing device.
2. **Plachutta** (Tafelspitz · Wollzeile, Innere Stadt): 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.
3. **Steirereck im Stadtpark** (Three Michelin stars · Stadtpark, Landstraße): 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.
4. **Amador** (Three Michelin stars · Döbling): 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.
5. **Konstantin Filippou** (Two Michelin stars · Dominikanerbastei, Innere Stadt): 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.
6. **Mraz & Sohn** (Two Michelin stars · Brigittenau): 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.
7. **Zum Schwarzen Kameel** (Open sandwiches and wine · Bognergasse, Innere Stadt): 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.
8. **Skopik & Lohn** (Neighbourhood bistro · Leopoldstadt): A Leopoldstadt bistro with a scrawled black ceiling and a menu from Austrian classics to something closer to Paris.

## Best music and opera in Vienna

Five venues beyond the State Opera, including the hall the New Year’s Concert comes from.

1. **Musikverein** (Golden Hall · Karlsplatz, Innere Stadt): 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. [Musikverein](https://www.musikverein.at/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Wiener Konzerthaus** (Vienna Symphony · Lothringerstraße, Landstraße): 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. [Konzerthaus](https://konzerthaus.at/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Theater an der Wien** (Opera, one title at a time · Linke Wienzeile, Mariahilf): 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 Wien](https://www.theater-wien.at/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Volksoper** (Operetta and musicals · Währinger Straße, Alsergrund): Around 300 performances a season, from operetta and musicals to opera and ballet. The house to choose if the Staatsoper feels like homework.
5. **Sunday Mass at the Hofburgkapelle** (Vienna Boys’ Choir · Hofburg, Innere Stadt): 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.

## Best wine taverns in Vienna

Five growers pouring their own wine, on both sides of the Danube.

1. **Mayer am Pfarrplatz** (Beethoven’s house · Heiligenstadt, Döbling): 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.
2. **Weingut Wieninger** (Stammersdorf grower · Stammersdorf, Floridsdorf): Across the Danube in Stammersdorf, where the taverns are plainer. Wieninger farms organically and makes some of the best Gemischter Satz in the city.
3. **Sirbu** (The Nussberg view · Nussberg, Döbling): 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.
4. **Fuhrgassl-Huber** (Big garden · Neustift am Walde, Döbling): 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.
5. **Zahel** (Southern vineyards · Mauer, Liesing): 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.

## Best neighbourhoods in Vienna

Six districts and what each is actually for.

1. **Innere Stadt** (The first district · 1st 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.
2. **Leopoldstadt** (Market and Prater · 2nd district): 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.
3. **Neubau** (Shops and Spittelberg · 7th district): Independent shops on Neubaugasse, the Spittelberg lanes of low Biedermeier houses, and the MuseumsQuartier at its edge. The district to stay in.
4. **Wieden** (Freihausviertel · 4th district): The Freihausviertel behind the Naschmarkt, Karlsplatz and the Karlskirche, and small bars that fill up after work without ever getting loud.
5. **Josefstadt** (Quiet and central · 8th district): 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.
6. **Ottakring** (Brunnenmarkt · 16th district): 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.

## Best day trips in Vienna

Six trips, all of them reachable on a scheduled train or boat and back the same evening.

1. **The Wachau valley** (Abbey and river · 1 hour by train): 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.
2. **Bratislava** (Another capital · 56 minutes by train): The Slovak capital is 56 minutes from Wien Hauptbahnhof by regional express, at least hourly and with no reservation. [ÖBB Bratislava ticket](https://www.oebb.at/en/regionale-angebote/ueberregionale-angebote/bratislava-ticket?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Baden bei Wien** (Spa town · 1 hour by tram): 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.
4. **Klosterneuburg** (Abbey and wine · 20 minutes by train): An Augustinian abbey twenty minutes up the Danube, with a treasury and a wine estate trading since the twelfth century.
5. **The Semmering railway** (UNESCO railway · 90 minutes by train): 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.
6. **Lake Neusiedl** (Lake and wine · 1 hour by train): The shallow steppe lake on the Hungarian border, ringed with reed beds, bike paths, storks nesting on chimneys and the sweet wines of Burgenland.

## Festivals & annual events in Vienna (2026)

- **New Year’s Concert** (1 January): The Vienna Philharmonic plays the Golden Hall on 1 January. Seats are allocated by a ballot applied for almost a year ahead.
- **Vienna Opera Ball** (February): The Staatsoper's auditorium is boarded over into a ballroom for one night at the end of Carnival, opened by debutante couples.
- **Vienna City Marathon** (April): The route crosses the Danube early and finishes in the centre, and the Ring and the bridges close for most of the morning.
- **Wiener Festwochen** (May to June): The city festival, founded in 1951 while Vienna was under four-power occupation, filling theatres and squares for six weeks.
- **Donauinselfest** (July): A free open-air music festival on the Danube island, held every year since 1984 and drawing crowds counted in the millions.
- **ImPulsTanz** (9 July to 9 August 2026): Europe's largest contemporary dance festival takes over stages across the city for a month, with workshops anyone can join.
- **Viennale** (22 October to 3 November 2026): Austria's biggest film festival, screening in the city's old cinemas rather than a purpose-built centre.
- **Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz** (Mid-November to 26 December): Around 100 stalls in front of the city hall, free to walk into, with an ice rink through the trees.

## Must-try dishes in Vienna, Austria

- **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 transport & airports

- **Vienna International Airport** (VIE): 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 Airport](https://www.viennaairport.com/en/passengers?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Rail** (ÖBB): 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. [ÖBB](https://www.oebb.at/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **U-Bahn, tram and bus** (Wiener Linien): 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 Linien](https://www.wienerlinien.at/web/wl-en/tickets?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **On foot and around the Ring** (Walk): 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 Board](https://www.wien.info/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Vienna at a glance

- **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

## 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.

## Watch

[Vienna Travel Guide](https://wimup.com/watch/vienna.md), 6:48

## 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.

## Nearby guides

- [Győr](https://wimup.com/city/gyor.md): Hungary · 10 picks
- [Graz](https://wimup.com/city/graz.md): Austria · 10 picks
- [Český Krumlov](https://wimup.com/city/cesky-krumlov.md): Czechia · 10 picks
- [All of Europe →](https://wimup.com/europe): 156 cities

Part of the [Austria guide](https://wimup.com/country/austria.md) · [Europe](https://wimup.com/europe.md)

## Sources

- [Vienna tourism board](https://www.wien.info/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Schönbrunn Palace and its gardens: Schönbrunn Palace](https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [The Kunsthistorisches Museum: Kunsthistorisches Museum](https://www.khm.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Klimt at the Upper Belvedere: Belvedere](https://www.belvedere.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [St Stephen’s Cathedral and the south tower: St Stephen’s Cathedral](https://www.stephanskirche.at/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [The Hofburg and the Sisi Museum: Sisi Museum, Hofburg](https://www.sisimuseum-hofburg.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Standing room at the Vienna State Opera: Vienna State Opera](https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/ticket-info/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [An afternoon in a coffee house: Austrian UNESCO Commission](https://www.unesco.at/en/culture/intangible-cultural-heritage/inventory/element/viennese-coffee-house-culture?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [The Naschmarkt and the Saturday flea market: Naschmarkt](https://www.naschmarkt-wien.at/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [The Prater and the Riesenrad: Prater Wien](https://www.praterwien.com/en/home?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [A Heuriger evening in the wine villages: Austrian Wine](https://www.austrianwine.com/our-wine/winegrowing-regions/wien-vienna?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Albertina: Albertina](https://www.albertina.at/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Leopold Museum: Leopold Museum](https://www.leopoldmuseum.org/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Wien Museum: Wien Museum](https://www.wienmuseum.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Naturhistorisches Museum: Naturhistorisches Museum](https://www.nhm.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [MAK: MAK](https://www.mak.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [mumok: mumok](https://www.mumok.at/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Musikverein: Musikverein](https://www.musikverein.at/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Wiener Konzerthaus: Konzerthaus](https://konzerthaus.at/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Theater an der Wien: Theater an der Wien](https://www.theater-wien.at/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Bratislava: ÖBB Bratislava ticket](https://www.oebb.at/en/regionale-angebote/ueberregionale-angebote/bratislava-ticket?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Vienna International Airport: Vienna Airport](https://www.viennaairport.com/en/passengers?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Rail: ÖBB](https://www.oebb.at/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [U-Bahn, tram and bus: Wiener Linien](https://www.wienerlinien.at/web/wl-en/tickets?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.