The “everything you really want to know to have the best time in Vienna” guide!
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Vienna is iconic for European opulence and elegance. Yet these days I hear about it less as a top destination among my generation, which is such a shame!
Historically, Vienna was and is one of the major cultural capitals of Europe, especially for music and art. It was the seat of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, leaving centuries of wealth in the city’s architecture.
I’ve put together info on all the things you should know before you go and what I wish someone told me to have the best time in Vienna possible!
Know Before You Go
Some of the essentials to keep in mind:
Austria uses the Euro! That makes it easy if you’re visiting multiple EU countries.
Vienna’s train connections are pretty great – you can get all around Europe from here. Perks of a national capital. Vienna’s airport is the biggest in the country, but it doesn’t serve as a hub for many of the major airlines, so plan on having a layover if you’re flying from overseas.
Vienna is a pretty big city. If you find a good price, stay in or near the Innere Stadt (inner historic part of the city), and things will usually be within 15-20 minutes walking.
There is great public transport in Vienna! The UBahn covers the major parts of the city, and there’s an extensive tram system as well. So if you’re trying to do it on the cheap, consider staying further away from the major tourist areas.
Vienna is great year round, but it has some great Vienna Christmas markets so consider going in December! It’s also famous for its Easter celebrations – there are Easter markets too, and feature intricately decorated eggs which are hung on tree branches.
Hotels
Austria in general is a bit on the pricey end when it comes to budget travel, but so much of that depends on time of year. I’ve broken my suggestions down by general price point, but keep in mind that booking a hotel for next month (whenever that is) will run at least 200€ per night, and anything around holidays or festivals will be double the usual price. Best to plan ahead!
Budget
DaunTown Rooms is a basic but very comfortable option that I stayed in and liked. It’s self check in in a quiet neighborhood, but only about 20 minutes’ walk into the heart of downtown! I would stay here again if I wanted a budget hotel for Vienna.
Wombat’s City Hostel is arguably the best hostel in Vienna. It’s a hostel, meaning mostly shared rooms and living space, but it’s great for meeting people or staying on the cheap!
Mid-range
City Stay Vienna is great if you want something that’s simple, lovely, and in a great location. It’s only a few blocks away from St. Stephen’s Cathedral!
Boutique Hotel Nossek has an unbeatable location: a historic building on the Graben! The rooms feel homey and lived with period furniture and Art Deco touches, but still have great beds and clean bathrooms.
Splurge
Grand Hotel Wein is steps away from the Opera House and packed with all things Vienna glam. Luxury at its finest and worth the splurge!
Steigenberger Hotel Herrenhorf has a beautiful in-house spa, so if you’re looking for that extra dose of pampering, try this.
The one thing you have to do for the best time in Vienna
If you often use my travel guides, you probably know what this will be.
Do a walking tour!
Walking tours are incredible. You’ll learn a ton, you get insider info on small things you’d never remember from a wikipedia entry or guide book, and the guides are pros at keeping it both interesting and informative.
This one is great! You cover a bunch of the best sights, with great background. They’ll explain why something is worth seeing -it’s so much better than strolling past a building without knowing why I should care! They basically guarantee giving you the best time in Vienna possible.
Even if you don’t do a tour, make sure to check these must-sees:
The Vienna State Opera is a must see, even if just the outside. The building is pure Austrian opulence. I’ll skip the history bits (do the tour, they’ll make it more interesting anyway!) but its exteriors are beautiful and the inside is even more so. If you’re up for the splurge, there’s a performance almost every night of the year! Or book a guided tour if a show isn’t your thing. If you’re looking for a truly once in a lifetime splurge, book tickets to the annual Opera Ball that opens the season every February!
You can’t skip walking past the Rathaus. It’s another intricately designed building, this time hosting the city government. While it’s not worth your time to go explore inside, I especially love the building lit up at night! There’s also Vienna’s biggest Christmas market here every December.
The Plague Column on the Graben is also a must see, even just for a walk-by. Built, you guessed it, after Vienna recovered from the Black Death epidemic of the 17th century. Ironically, the emperor ordered it built after his prayers for the deliverance of the city, but he prayed them from a safe distance to avoid exposure.
P.S. The Graben is the major pedestrian street of downtown Vienna. It’s worth a stroll, especially you’re into luxury shopping! But it also connects some of the major historic areas, so you’ll probably find yourself here either way.
The Ankeruhr Clock (Anchor Clock) is worth a stop even on your own! Be there a little before noon to see the show. the clock, called Ankeruhr, was built as part of the Anchor Insurance Company’s headquarters. At noon every day, twelve prominent figures from Austrian history parade through the clock face. They range from foreign leaders like Marcus Aurelius and Charlemagne to beloved locals like Joseph Hadyn and Maria Teresa.
Palaces
Vienna has a TON of palaces. Perk of being the seat of empires! Every few generations, rulers wanted their own palace, fancier and bigger than the last.
A quick language note: in German, palace is Schloss. So anytime you’re looking for somewhere or trying to navigate, it’s properly called Schloss Schönnbrunn.
If you’re trying to do Vienna on the affordable side, you don’t need to visit every single one. Consider just one – tickets aren’t cheap. Here’s what you need to know about them to decide which is for you!
Schönnbrunn Palace
Schönnbrunn Palace is the most popular and for good reason. It was a summer palace for the Hapsburgs, surrounded by gardens. They also used it as a hunting lodge, which feels ironic considering the sheer elegance of the place. Schönnbrunn Palace has been restored to the way it looked during the reigns of Emperor Franz Joseph and his successors.
Tickets have differing levels. The most basic gets you into the State Apartment with an audio guide for 25€ as of fall 2025. Tickets expand to cover other parts of the palace, several outdoor private garden areas, or get a guided tour. It’s far enough out of town that you’ll want to take public transport, but it’s so worth it!
Checking out many of the gardens are free though! So if you find yourself nearby and need a beautiful place to relax, the Schönnbrunn Gardens are perfect.
Belvedere Palace
Belvedere Palace is one of the biggest within walking distance of the city. It’s now an art museum! I’ve spent more time talking about it in my 24 hours in Vienna guide, but it’s worth going to see the gorgeous rooms and the Klimt exhibit.
It’s important to note that there are two palaces sharing a courtyard here. The Lower Belvedere is older, but not by much. The Upper Belvedere was converted into a museum space within 70 years of initial construction. It’s actually one of the first public museums in the world! My recommendation is if you only see one, do the Upper Belvedere for the classics.
Hofburg Palace
Hofburg Palace (also called the Imperial Palace) sits in the middle of the city. It’s divided into several small museums, which you can get combo tickets to. The most popular is Sisi Museum! You can also see the Imperial Apartments, the Imperial Treasury, and others.
Worth noting: there are several exteriors sections you can see or walk through without a ticket. The Swiss Gate is unique, and in a courtyard full of cool historic touches. The horse stables for the Spanish Riding School are here, which is famous for their riding tricks and drills.
Palais Daun-Kinsky
Palais Daun-Kinsky is technically an event space these days. But if there aren’t events going on, you can go in! It’s an underrated building in a city fully of beautiful palaces, and the bonus is that it’s free to visit! It’s worth a shot, especially if you’re trying to see Vienna on a budget.
Museums
If you think you could spend your entire visit just at the palaces, wait until you see how many museums there are! No trip to Vienna is complete without an art, music, or cultural museum visit. Here are the other major ones to consider.
MuseumsQuartier
You can’t talk about museums in Vienna without starting with the MuseumsQuartier. The city put several of their best museums together in one square, giving you an easy place to start if you’re here for the art. Here are some of the museums it claims:
- Kunsthistorches Museum is Austria’s preeminent art museum, focused on old masters
- Leopold Museum – Austrian modern art; including several Klimt works (but not The Kiss, of course)
- mumok- the Museum of Modern Art
- Az W – Austrian Architecture Museum
- ZOOM Children’s museum
MuseumsQuartier also holds outdoor exhibitions, evening events, and a few different Christmas markets!
Albertina
After listing all those art museums, it’s hard to picture yet another art collection in the city. But the Albertina may be the best of them all!
It’s hard to choose just one art museum to visit in Vienna, but if you have to, it’s probably this one. Outside of the palaces, it offers the greatest selection of pieces by artists like Klimt, Cezanne, Picasso, Renoir, and so many more.
The building is also part of the Imperial Palace, which is fitting considering that the collection was started in the 18th century by the imperial family. A ticket also includes access to a few state rooms in this part of the palace complex.
Beethoven Museum
You can’t visit Vienna without talking about the classical music giants who came through here! Beethoven lived here for decades, so naturally the Beethoven Museum is housed in the home he lived in. It was this home where his lost his hearing fully and wrote some of his most famous works.
Mozarthaus
Mozart may have been born in Salzburg, but the prodigy lived much of his adult life in Vienna. Mozarthaus is in the only of his addresses still standing, and it’s there that he wrote The Marriage of Figaro. The museum is partly and exploration of his restored apartment and partly of his work, with plenty of interactive and kid-friendly bits.
Sigmund Freud Museum
The Sigmund Freud Museum may be another niche museum, but it’s one of the most important addresses in the world when it comes to psychology! You can see where Freud lived, wrote, and worked for almost 50 years. The museum reopened in 2020 after a massive renovation and restoration.
Like any city with such a rich history, there are a TON of other great niche museums. You could spend all your time in Vienna visiting a new museum every day, and still not see everything. But these are the highlights to start you off!
Churches
I love visiting churches, to see the variety. They may not be for everyone, but they loom large in the history of many European cities so it’s often worth swinging by the majors. As a bonus, in Austria they’re often free to enter! I’ve included a few to consider even just walking by for the gorgeous roofs.
St Stephen’s Cathedral
St. Stephen’s Cathedral is the iconic church of Vienna. Its gothic spires can be seen in the distance from most of the city’s historic center. You have to walk by to see the gorgeous roof tiles if nothing else! It’s free to enter, so worth checking out while you’re here. There are guided tours available of the cathedral and catacombs if you want an expert to show you more! Next door is the Dom Museum if you’re into church relics and history.
St. Charles Church
If St. Stephen’s is the Gothic church of Vienna, St. Charles’ Church is the most important of the Baroque. This one isn’t free to enter (9.50€ as of fall 2025), and the ticket gets you onto the roof terrace too – this has great views of the city! Come by to see the exterior if nothing else. It sits along a little park, perfect for taking a break after a day running around the city!
Jesuit Church
I’m a sucker for a stunning ceiling, and the Jesuit Church doesn’t disappoint. It’s full of intricate, gold-filagreed details and beautiful frescoes. Bonus: it’s free!
Free spots
Every trip needs a few free spots scattered in to help your wallet. Here are a few easy ones to make sure you have the best time in Vienna:
The Butterfly House at the Burggarten is a unique free way to spend an hour. It’s home to hundreds of butterflies. As a bonus, it’s warm in here year round, so it’ll give you a break from the chill if you’re here in winter! The building itself is beautiful as well.
Vienna University is an underrated area to explore! The campus is dotted with buildings as gorgeous as the city it calls home. You can often just wander around and see what you find, like any university. Its most famously beautiful building is probably the Main Ceremonial Chamber, but you’re spoiled for choice! There are also guided tours a few times a week for a small fee.
There are plenty of free gardens throughout the city. In addition to the ones attached to the Schönnbrunn and Belvedere Palaces, Try the Burggarten (famous for its Mozart monument) or Stadtpark (with a golden Strauss statue).
Ferstel Passage is a small but darling arcade or galleria. Think of it as an old school mall, but the best kind: the building is ornate and striking, making it worth a visit even if you don’t plan to shop. It’s part of same building as the historic Cafe Central, so it’s easy to swing by.
Vienna Prater
You can’t have an article about having the best time in Vienna without including the Prater!
The Prater is an amusement park. It has rides, games, food and more. Because it’s Europe, it also has a museum. 😂 Historically, the Prater was a hunting ground reserved for the aristocracy, but Emperor Franz Josef II opened it as a “public leisure center” in 1766. The land also hosted the World Exhibition in 1873.
*Technically* the Vienna Prater is free to enter. However, each ride charges, with prices running as high as 15€ for the most popular rides. You can still wander the grounds and enjoy the park for free.
It’s worth mentioning because it’s a major draw in the city, but unless you’re in Vienna for a week and need a break from art, history, and coffee culture, it shouldn’t make it up to the top of your list.
Want the TL;DR version? You can check my mini guide to copy the first time I visited for a solid one day itinerary, or skip to the food and grab my restaurant guide to the city.
If you’re there, consider adding Bratislava, Budapest, Zagreb, or Salzburg to your itinerary! They’re fairly close and easy to get to by train or car.
