Vienna

Hotel Sacher Wien

Innere Stadt / State Opera

Vienna's most famous hotel, opposite the State Opera since 1876 and celebrating its 150th year in 2026 — red velvet, opera history, the Original Sacher-Torte downstairs and three Michelin Keys. The grand address for an occasion.

Park Hyatt Vienna

Innere Stadt / Am Hof

A century-old bank headquarters on the square Am Hof turned into Vienna's most polished modern luxury hotel — The Bank brasserie in the old banking hall, a 15-metre pool and spa, and the Golden Quarter's boutiques outside.

Grand Ferdinand

Ringstrasse / Schubertring

A family-owned hotel on the Ringstrasse with a heated rooftop pool and city views, a schnitzel institution downstairs and Lobmeyr chandeliers — imperial style without the stuffiness, from elegant suites to a stylish dorm.

Altstadt Vienna

Spittelberg / Neubau

An art-filled boutique hotel in Spittelberg since 1991 — 62 rooms and suites each designed differently, a collector's walls of Warhol and Austrian contemporary art, tea and cake in the salon, and the MuseumsQuartier around the corner.

25hours Hotel Vienna at MuseumsQuartier

Neubau / MuseumsQuartier

A circus-themed design hotel above the MuseumsQuartier with one of the best rooftop bars in Vienna, the Dachboden — 216 playful rooms, large Gigantic rooms with kitchenettes, an Italian restaurant and a sauna.

Hotel Daniel Vienna

Landstrasse / Belvedere

A smart, relaxed design hotel by the Belvedere and the main station — 116 rooms from compact to panorama, a hammock room and a trailer, an in-house bakery downstairs, and bikes and Vespas for summer.

Motel One Wien-Westbahnhof

Westbahnhof / Mariahilfer Strasse

The budget pick that does not feel like one — compact, well-designed rooms with art by Thomas Draschan, an organic breakfast and a lounge bar, right at the Westbahnhof and the top of Mariahilfer Strasse.

Hotel Stefanie

Leopoldstadt / Taborstrasse

Vienna's oldest hotel, with an innkeeping record on this spot going back to 1600: a family-owned four-star on Taborstrasse in Leopoldstadt, a short walk over the Danube Canal from the old town, with a classic Viennese restaurant and a quiet courtyard garden.

Hotel Am Konzerthaus Vienna MGallery

Landstrasse / Konzerthaus

A boutique MGallery hotel steps from the Konzerthaus and a short walk from the Musikverein and the Stadtpark, with music-themed touches throughout and APRON, a Michelin-starred restaurant of modern Austrian cooking, on the ground floor.

Novotel Wien Hauptbahnhof

Hauptbahnhof / Favoriten

A family-friendly, eco-certified four-star a two-minute walk from Vienna's main station and about ten minutes on foot from the Belvedere, with dedicated family rooms, a restaurant and bar, and a 19th-floor fitness and sauna area with city views.

Hotel Schani Wien Hauptbahnhof

Hauptbahnhof / Favoriten

A smart, digital-first hotel by the main station with 135 rooms, mobile check-in and smartphone keys, a co-working space, a breakfast buffet and Schani's Bar, with tram D to the Belvedere and the Ring stopping right outside.

Hotel Kaiserhof Wien

Wieden / Karlsplatz

A family-run hotel in a building of 1896 on Frankenberggasse, a few minutes from Karlsplatz and the State Opera: traditional Viennese style, personal service and a quiet street within walking distance of the Naschmarkt, the Musikverein and the Ring.

MEININGER Hotel Wien Downtown Franz

Leopoldstadt / Augarten

A budget hybrid of hotel and hostel in Leopoldstadt, between the Augarten and the Danube Canal: private rooms from doubles to family quads with bunk beds, dorms, a guest kitchen, a bar and lounge and a game zone, about twenty minutes on foot from St Stephens.

a and o Wien Hauptbahnhof

Hauptbahnhof / Favoriten

A big, no-frills budget hostel-hotel about 100 metres from Vienna's main station and close to the Belvedere, with single, double and four- or six-bed rooms and a bar: the cheapest practical base for families and groups arriving by train.

Wombats City Hostel Vienna Naschmarkt

Naschmarkt / Wieden

A stylish, social hostel in an early twentieth-century Art Nouveau building by the Naschmarkt, a few metres from Kettenbrueckengasse U4 station, with ensuite rooms over five floors, its own WomBAR, a guest kitchen and a classic or vegan breakfast.

Schonbrunn Palace

The Habsburgs' summer palace — Rococo state rooms where Maria Theresa ruled and Franz Joseph worked, a vast Baroque park climbing to the Gloriette, and the world's oldest zoo next door. Book a timed ticket; give the gardens half a day.

Hofburg: Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum

The Habsburgs' winter palace in the heart of the city — Franz Joseph and Elisabeth's private apartments and the Sisi Museum, freshly redesigned and reopening on 19 November 2026. The best single key to the empress and her legend.

Belvedere Palace and Klimt

Two Baroque palaces facing each other across a terraced garden, and in the Upper Belvedere the world's largest collection of Klimt paintings — The Kiss among them. Come at opening time for the Klimt room; the garden is free.

Kunsthistorisches Museum

One of the world's great old-master museums in one of its most beautiful buildings — the largest Bruegel collection anywhere, Vermeer, Titian, Rubens, the Kunstkammer treasures and cake under the dome. Time slots required since September 2026.

Spanish Riding School

The white Lipizzaner stallions in the chandeliered Baroque Winter Riding School of the Hofburg — classical horsemanship unchanged for centuries. Morning exercise is the affordable way in; the gala performances are the full show.

St Stephens Cathedral

Vienna's Gothic heart — the patterned tile roof, the 343 steps of the South Tower, the Pummerin bell in the North Tower and the catacombs below. The all-inclusive ticket bundles towers, catacombs tour, audio guide and the cathedral museum.

Prater and the Giant Ferris Wheel

The Wiener Riesenrad, turning above the Prater since 1897 and immortalised in The Third Man — a slow ride in a wooden cabin over the rooftops, then the free funfair, the chestnut avenue and a beer garden below.

Classical Concerts in Vienna

Mozart, Strauss and Vivaldi most nights of the year in the halls, palaces and churches where the music was made — the Musikverein, Schonbrunn's Orangery, the Hofburg and Baroque churches. The easy way to hear Vienna.

Vienna State Opera

One of the world's great opera houses, on the Ring since 1869 — a 40-minute guided tour by day, and standing-room places for a few euros at night. A different production most evenings from September to June.

Naschmarkt

Vienna's great open-air market — a long ribbon of stalls and restaurants on the Wienzeile, from cheese, spices and pickles to oysters and falafel, a new market hall since late 2025, Otto Wagner's majolica facades and a Saturday flea market.

MuseumsQuartier

The former imperial stables turned into one of the largest cultural quarters in the world — the Leopold Museum's Schiele collection, mumok, the Kunsthalle and the Architekturzentrum, around free courtyards full of colourful Enzi loungers.

The Ringstrasse

The 5.3-kilometre boulevard that replaced the city walls in the 1860s — the opera, Parliament, City Hall, the Burgtheater, museums and parks in one grand loop. Walk a section, or ride it by tram.

Hundertwasserhaus and KunstHausWien

Friedensreich Hundertwasser's riotous social-housing block of uneven floors, onion domes and more than 200 trees — free to admire from the street, with the Hundertwasser Village opposite and the KunstHausWien museum nearby.

Albertina Museum

A Habsburg palace on the old city bastion behind the State Opera, holding one of the world's great collections of drawings and prints, restored imperial state rooms, and a permanent journey from Monet to Picasso, plus some of Vienna's biggest exhibitions.

Imperial Treasury (Schatzkammer)

The crown jewels of two empires in the oldest part of the Hofburg: the thousand-year-old crown of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austrian imperial crown, coronation robes, the Holy Lance and the dazzling treasure of the Habsburgs. Compact, unforgettable and best early.

Schonbrunn Zoo (Tiergarten Schonbrunn)

The world's oldest zoo still in operation, founded in 1752 inside the Schonbrunn palace park: a Baroque pavilion at its centre, giant pandas, a polar house, a rainforest house and an aquarium, all an easy add-on to the palace.

Leopold Museum

The world's largest Egon Schiele collection, Klimt's Death and Life and the best of Vienna 1900 design, in a white limestone cube in the MuseumsQuartier. The essential companion to the Belvedere for anyone drawn to Viennese Modernism.

Haus der Musik

Vienna's interactive museum of sound and music, a short walk from the State Opera: the story of the Vienna Philharmonic, rooms for the great composers, playful sound experiments and the chance to conduct a virtual orchestra. Open late every day.

Danube Tower (Donauturm)

Austria's tallest structure, rising 252 metres above the Donaupark: a fast lift to an open-air viewing platform at about 150 metres, a revolving cafe and restaurant, and the widest view in Vienna, from the Danube to the Vienna Woods.

Wachau Valley and Melk Abbey Day Trip

The best day trip from Vienna: the golden Baroque abbey of Melk above the Danube, then the vineyards, apricot orchards and wine villages of the UNESCO-listed Wachau Valley, with Durnstein's blue church tower and a castle ruin tied to Richard the Lionheart.

Austrian National Library State Hall (Prunksaal)

One of the most beautiful libraries in the world: a Baroque hall in the Hofburg on Josefsplatz, with more than 200,000 old volumes on walnut shelves, Daniel Gran's soaring ceiling fresco and Prince Eugene's leather-bound library under the dome. A modest ticket for a jaw-dropping room.

Imperial Crypt (Kapuzinergruft)

The Habsburg family vault beneath the Capuchin Church on Neuer Markt: around 150 members of the dynasty, among them 12 emperors, in sarcophagi ranging from Maria Theresa's extravagant Rococo tomb to the plain coffins of Franz Joseph, Sisi and Crown Prince Rudolf.

Vienna Boys Choir at the Hofburg Chapel

Hear the Vienna Boys Choir, founded in 1498, sing Sunday High Mass in the Hofburg Chapel with members of the State Opera chorus and the Vienna Philharmonic, from mid-September to June, or catch them in concert at MuTh, their hall in the Augarten.

Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof)

One of the largest cemeteries in Europe and one of Vienna's most moving free sights: the graves of honour of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and the Strauss family, a memorial to Mozart, a striking Art Nouveau church and a vast, leafy landscape full of deer and quiet paths.

Kahlenberg, Vineyards and Heurigen

Vienna's own wine country, inside the city limits: ride bus 38A up the Kahlenberg for the classic view over the city and the Danube, walk down through the Nussberg vineyards and end the day at a Heuriger, a wine tavern serving the grower's own wine.

Augarten

Vienna's oldest Baroque park, opened to the public by Joseph II in 1775: long tree-lined avenues, the Augarten porcelain manufactory and museum, the home of the Vienna Boys Choir and two colossal wartime flak towers. Free, local and wonderfully unpolished.

Danube Island (Donauinsel)

A 21-kilometre island in the Danube built for flood protection and turned into Vienna's playground: free beaches and swimming spots on the New Danube, car-free cycling and running paths, waterfront bars and the city's biggest open-air festival ground.

Stadtpark and the Johann Strauss Monument

The elegant Ringstrasse park, opened in 1862, home to the gilded statue of Johann Strauss II with his violin, monuments to Schubert, Bruckner and Lehar, the Kursalon and an Art Nouveau portal where the Wien River emerges into daylight.