From the airport
The CAT City Airport Train glides nonstop to Wien Mitte in 16 minutes; the ÖBB Railjet and S7 are cheaper and nearly as quick. Airport buses cover eight city stops around the clock:
Austria
Vienna
Palaces, coffee houses and music hanging in the air.
- Best forCulture seekers · Families · Couples
- In September22°C · 10 rainy days
- Ideal stay3–4 nights
- Approx. flying time~12h 20m from Los Angeles
Vienna, Austria
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Vienna spreads along the Danube; the airport is about 18km southeast of the centre.
- CurrencyEUREuro
- LanguageGerman
- Local time13:101h ahead of the UK
- PlugsType C / FBring an adapter
- Drive on theRightOpposite to the UK
- Dialling code+43
Why go
Vienna wears its imperial past lightly: Habsburg palaces and gilded concert halls share the streets with wine taverns, market stalls and coffee houses where nobody will ever hurry you. Spend mornings with Bruegel and Klimt, afternoons in Schönbrunn's gardens, and evenings wherever the music starts — in this city, it always does.
- Ideal stay
- 3–4 nights
- The vibe
- Formal, comfortable, deeply civilised
From our guides
Nowhere sells cheap seats to greatness like Vienna: the State Opera releases standing-room tickets shortly before each performance for the price of a coffee, putting Puccini within impulse-buy range most nights of the season. Beyond the gilded halls, Porgy & Bess runs world-class jazz in a converted cinema, and the heurigen wine taverns on the city's edge add schrammelmusik to the grüner veltliner. Queue for standing room about eighty minutes before curtain; Viennese pensioners out-elbow the unprepared.
Featured in Ten easy city breaks that work with kids in tow and Ten cosy winter city breaks for two and Ten cities with world-class live music every night
Things to do
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Schönbrunn Palace
Wander the Habsburgs' 1,441-room summer palace and climb through its baroque gardens to the Gloriette for the definitive view over Vienna.
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The Hofburg & Sisi Museum
Trace Empress Elisabeth's gilded, restless life through the imperial apartments and silver collection at the dynasty's sprawling winter seat.
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Kunsthistorisches Museum
Stand beneath the marble cupola before losing an afternoon to Bruegel, Vermeer and Velázquez in one of the world's great picture galleries.
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Belvedere & Klimt's Kiss
Prince Eugene's baroque garden palace holds the world's largest Klimt collection, crowned by the shimmering gold of The Kiss.
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Prater & the Riesenrad
Ride the creaking 1897 Giant Ferris Wheel of Third Man fame, then stroll the chestnut-lined avenues of Vienna's beloved pleasure garden.
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Coffee houses & the Naschmarkt
Linger over a melange and the newspapers in a UNESCO-listed Kaffeehaus, then graze the mile-long Naschmarkt's stalls of spice, cheese and wine.
Getting there
-
Fly to
Vienna (VIE)
Nearest airport to Vienna, about 18km away as the crow flies.
-
Then
To Vienna
Vienna (VIE) is about twenty minutes into town on the City Airport Train, or roughly half an hour on the S-Bahn for a fraction of the fare.
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On the ground
Getting around
The centre inside the Ringstrasse is walkable, and the U-Bahn, trams and buses cover everything else on a single ticket.
Public transport: Superb, and among the best value in western Europe if you buy a multi-day pass.
U-Bahn & trams
Five U-Bahn lines and one of Europe's densest tram networks make Vienna effortless — the Ring trams alone are a sightseeing tour. Passes come in 24, 48 and 72-hour flavours:
Taxis & ride-hailing
Radio taxis are reliable and metered; the apps usually undercut them slightly. All three offer fixed-price airport runs:
Car hire — for the countryside
You won't want a car in the city, but the Wachau vineyards, Salzkammergut lakes and alpine passes all start within an hour or two. Compare every operator:
Compare car hire pricesCity bikes
WienMobil Rad puts 240 bike-share stations across all 23 districts — the Ringstrasse and Danube Canal paths are made for two wheels:
Flights
Los Angeles Vienna, Austria
Fly from anywhere — search 4,000+ airports worldwide.
Roughly 12h 20m in the air from Los Angeles (LAX), estimated from the distance — check for a direct route. Pick a month to see every available flight with live prices — Vienna International (VIE) is about 18km from the centre, with nonstop London flights on British Airways and Austrian Airlines taking around 2 hours 20 minutes.
Check dates and prices
Pick your departure date, then your return.
Search flightsNot sure when? Compare fares across a whole month.
Low-cost options fly from Stansted, Luton and Gatwick. Flight times are estimates; prices open on Google Flights.
When to go
Daytime highs run from about 5°C in January to 28°C in July. Driest in February and March and October and November; wettest in May, with rain on about 13 days.
The year at a glance — pick a month for detail
September22° · rain 10 daysMild with rain most weeks.
Monthly figures averaged from daily records for 2020–2024 at this location (ERA5 reanalysis). Live conditions from MET Norway, CC BY 4.0.
Where to stay
Grand Ringstrasse hotels, a strong crop of design and boutique places in the inner districts, plus apartments and reliable mid-range chains. Hostels are good and central.
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Best base overall
Neubau
The seventh district, full of small hotels, design shops and coffee houses, a tram ride or a walk from the Ringstrasse. Livelier and cheaper than the old centre.
Find stays in Neubau -
Closest to the sights
Innere Stadt
Inside the Ring, with the opera, the Hofburg and the great cafés on your doorstep, which is worth a lot in January. Rates are the city's highest.
Find stays in Innere Stadt -
Best with children
Leopoldstadt
Across the canal, with the Prater funfair, the big wheel and the park's long green avenues, plus family-sized apartments. Parts near the station are unremarkable.
Find stays in Leopoldstadt -
Best value
Mariahilf
Along the shopping spine of Mariahilfer Strasse, with mid-range hotels, good transport and the Naschmarkt nearby. The main street is busy at all hours.
Find stays in Mariahilf
Worth knowing before you book: Ball season and the Christmas markets are the expensive weeks, while January after Epiphany is quiet and cheap. Buy a transport pass rather than paying for a central room.
Our picks in this destination
The area · Naschmarkt
Budget
Wombat's City Hostel Naschmarkt
Naschmarkt · hostel
An award-winning flagship hostel on the Naschmarkt with its own café, bar and live-music nights, steps from the U4 to Schönbrunn.
View hotel
The area · Josefstadt
Mid-range
Hotel Zipser
Josefstadt · 3★
A third-generation, family-run Art Nouveau house in quiet Josefstadt, with garden-view balconies and breakfast included at a gentle price.
View hotel
The area · MuseumsQuartier
Boutique
Das Tyrol
Mariahilf · 4★
Thirty art-filled rooms in a historic house on Mariahilfer Strasse, poised between the old town and the MuseumsQuartier with one of the city's best breakfasts.
View hotel
The area · Around the Hauptbahnhof
Boutique
Hotel Zeitgeist Vienna
By the Hauptbahnhof · 4★
A privately run, design-minded four-star beside the central station, prized for its organic kitchen, garden courtyard and 15-minute rail link to the airport.
View hotel
The area · Spittelberg
Boutique
Hotel Altstadt Vienna
Spittelberg · boutique
A patrician house on the Spittelberg where rooms by name architects and designers hang alongside Warhols, in the creative heart of Neubau.
View hotel
The area · Mariahilfer Straße
Boutique
Hotel Motto
Mariahilf · boutique
Parisian glamour meets Viennese wit above Mariahilfer Strasse, crowned by the seventh-floor Chez Bernard restaurant and its own bakery below.
View hotel
Luxury
Hotel Sacher Wien
Innere Stadt · 5★
Vienna's grande dame since 1876, where the original Sacher-Torte, a jewel-box spa and individually styled rooms sit directly opposite the State Opera.
View hotel
The area · The Graben
Luxury
Rosewood Vienna
Innere Stadt · 5★
A former bank headquarters on Petersplatz reimagined as a serenely contemporary palace, complete with spa and the rooftop Neue Hoheit restaurant.
View hotel
The area · The Opera & Kärntner Ring
Luxury
Grand Hotel Wien
Kärntner Ring · 5★
Ringstrasse opulence since 1870, with chandeliered salons, Michelin-recognised dining and the Musikverein a stroll away.
View hotelOr search everything else in Vienna by budget. These are indicative budget bands in GBP per night for two people, not live quotes or guarantees of hotel type. Check your dates, guests, taxes and final price on Booking.com.
Good to know
- Transport pass
- A 24, 48 or 72 hour ticket covers trams, buses and the underground. Validate it once at the start, as inspections are frequent.
- Book ahead
- Ball tickets, the Spanish Riding School and the boys' choir at Sunday mass sell out months in advance. Opera standing room does not.
- Cash or card
- Cards are widely taken, but plenty of cafes and heurigen still prefer cash. Carry euro notes for small bills and tipping.
- Timing
- Museums close on a rotating basis, often Mondays or Tuesdays, and shops shut on Sundays. Keep Sunday for parks, palaces and cafes.
- With kids
- Trams, the Prater and the zoo carry most of a family weekend, and small children travel free on public transport.
Similar places
Nearby destinations
Wachau Valley
Austria · 72km away →
Semmering Railway
Austria · 74km away →
The Danube cycle path
Austria · 155km away →
Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut
Austria · 213km away →
Sziget
Budapest, Hungary · 213km away →
Széchenyi and Gellért baths
Budapest, Hungary · 214km away →Elsewhere in Austria
Related articles
Quick answers
When is the best time to visit Vienna?
Daytime highs run from about 5°C in January to 28°C in July. Driest in February and March and October and November; wettest in May, with rain on about 13 days.
How long should I spend in Vienna?
Our suggestion: 3–4 nights.
How do I get to Vienna?
Vienna (VIE) is about twenty minutes into town on the City Airport Train, or roughly half an hour on the S-Bahn for a fraction of the fare.
Do I need a car in Vienna?
No. Superb, and among the best value in western Europe if you buy a multi-day pass.
What currency and language are used in Vienna?
Currency: Euro (EUR). Language: German. Plugs: type C and F.
Who is Vienna best for?
Best for culture seekers, families and couples. In a phrase: formal, comfortable, deeply civilised.