48.21° N · 16.37° E
Austria's capital and former Habsburg court: palaces, museums with Bruegel and Klimt, 1880s cafés and opera almost every night, all reachable by metro.
Part of DanubeWalkable CitiesHistoric bookshops and libraries of EuropeChristmas markets of EuropeClassical music and opera in EuropeClassic film locations
Coming up
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
The Habsburgs' summer residence · 75-minute Palace Ticket from €42 or a 40-minute short tour from €30 · Gardens all day
The Gothic cathedral in the centre of Vienna · 136 m south tower with 343 steps · Full admission to everything for €29
The Habsburgs' picture gallery on the Ringstraße · €22 online · Free for under-19s · Thursdays until 21:00
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Getaways from Vienna
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
In spring and in September and October, with pleasant temperatures for walking. December brings the Christmas markets. In July and August it is hot and there are more groups; in January and February, dry cold and lower prices.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
All of Vienna can be covered by metro, tram and on foot, and having a car is a nuisance: the centre has expensive, limited parking. With the Vienna City Card or a multi-day pass, transport stops being an expense to think about.
Vienna does classic luxury well: century-old hotels opposite the Opera, long dinners and opera nights with good seats. Book ahead whatever has limited places: the table, the performance and timed tickets to the palaces.
Vienna is not cheap, but it has central hostels, street food at any hour and plenty that is free or nearly so: under-19s do not pay at the big museums and the opera sells standing places on the day.
Vienna has its own airport, Vienna-Schwechat (VIE), with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities. It is about 20 km from the centre: the CAT drops you at Wien Mitte in about 21 minutes and from there the metro reaches everywhere. You do not need a car at any point of the trip.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Vienna works well for families: the metro reaches everything, the big museums do not charge under-19s and there are outdoor plans between visits.
Vienna gives a teenager concrete challenges: climbing a Gothic tower on foot, seeing Klimt's The Kiss without paying admission and having an opera night for little money.
With children under six, Vienna is done on foot and by metro, alternating a short visit with a spell in a park or a boat trip.
Vienna looks like a city of museums, but with friends you enjoy it differently: opera at cinema-ticket prices, a market of bars and stalls, and sausages at four in the morning. What is expensive is the lingering café and the audio-guide visits; what is cheap is whatever you do standing up.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A five-star hotel of 1876 opposite the Opera, home of the original Sacher cake, with 152 rooms and suites, a spa and 24-hour concierge.
Why we like it: A 62-room hotel in a grand house in Spittelberg, with each room designed by a different architect or artist and a collection of contemporary art.
Why we like it: A hostel next to the Naschmarkt and the U4 metro, with dorms and private rooms with bathroom, a guest kitchen, a bar and 24-hour reception.
Why we like it: An independent hostel since 1968 beside Westbahnhof station, with a garden, dorms, private rooms, studios, a kitchen and organic breakfast.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a coffee with a slice of Sperl cake, made with milk chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and almond.
What to order: the house schnitzel with potato salad and a wine from their own winery.
What to order: weekday lunch, which lets you get to know the house more calmly than dinner.
Takeaway and markets
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
48.09° N · 16.28° E
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48.11° N · 16.86° E
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Tips
Unlimited transport from €19 for 24 hours and discounts at the Belvedere and the Kunsthistorisches.
They get in free at the Kunsthistorisches and the Belvedere.
The palace opens at 8:30; first thing there are fewer groups.
To see opera for almost nothing, go to the Staatsoper website at 10:00 on the day of the performance: the 435 standing places go on sale.
Unofficial palace ticket websites: they charge more and sometimes sell fake tickets.
There are direct flights to Vienna-Schwechat (VIE) from Madrid, Barcelona and other cities. The airport is about 20 km from the centre. Until the end of October 2027 the central stretch of the S-Bahn is closed for works, so the simplest option is the CAT, which in the meantime runs as a non-stop coach: 21 minutes to Wien Mitte, every 12 or 15 minutes, and then the metro. If you arrive by train from Salzburg or Munich, you get off at the central station, with the U1 metro going straight to the cathedral.
Vienna divides up well. On the first day, the centre on foot: St Stephen's Cathedral, the Hofburg with the Sisi Museum and, in the evening, the Opera. On the second, Schönbrunn in the morning, before it fills up at midday, and the Naschmarkt on the way back, on the same U4 line. On the third, the museums: the Kunsthistorisches, with its Velázquezes and Bruegels, and the Belvedere, with Klimt. Leave an afternoon for the Prater Ferris wheel and a long coffee.
With four nights, add a train excursion to the Wachau, the Danube valley between Melk and Krems.
Timed tickets for Schönbrunn and the Hofburg sell out in season and are sold only in the official shop; the palaces warn about fake websites. For dinner at the well-known places in the centre, book a table. The opera, on the other hand, is decided on the day with standing-room places.
Questions
Three days for the essentials: the centre, Schönbrunn and the museums. With four, add an excursion to the Wachau.
On the CAT, which until October 2027 runs as a non-stop coach to Wien Mitte in about 21 minutes. Under-15s travel free.
If you will use public transport for several days, yes: €31 for 48 hours or €37 for 72 hours, with museum discounts.
Yes, with standing-room places, which go on sale on the day from 10:00, each with a subtitle screen.
Schönbrunn, for the palace and the park. If you are interested in Sisi, the Hofburg is in the centre and takes an hour and a half.
Yes. The Kunsthistorisches has portraits of the family of Philip IV painted by Velázquez.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/austria/vienna
