Things to Do in Vienna: Palaces, Tickets, Hours

Tickets, Opening Hours and the Gloriette

We moved quickly through the palace, the gardens, the zoo, the imperial carriage collection and the maze, and it still took us 5 hours. The Schönbrunn Palace gardens are too big to cover on foot, so we took the little garden train.

We watched the city from the panorama terrace and saw an apple strudel show; the train, the terrace and the show were all included in our Vienna Pass.

• Park is free

Sisi Museum and the Imperial Treasury

The Habsburgs' winter palace is huge. We rushed through parts of it; we'd recommend setting aside a whole day just for the Hofburg. The lockers inside take a €1 or €2 coin, which you get back when you leave, so carry some change.

• Treasury: closed Tuesdays

Klimt's The Kiss at the Upper Belvedere

When we visited, the finest facade, the one facing the gardens, was under renovation, so we couldn't get a good photo. The palace is ticketed in parts: the Upper and Lower Belvedere are separate. Klimt's The Kiss hangs in the Upper Belvedere, so if Klimt is why you came, that is the part of Vienna's Belvedere to book.

• Timed tickets required

Towers, Catacombs and Tickets

Stephansdom stands in the middle of the old town. We saw the free part by the entrance; the towers, the catacombs and the guided tour need separate tickets. The story told here is that during the second siege of Vienna in 1683, people gathered in the cathedral and the Ottoman army was watched from the tower.

On the side of the church there is a statue that, we were told, symbolises the victory over the Ottomans; we show this corner in the video. We're not historians, we're passing on what we were told there.

• Towers: daily 9:00-19:00

Picture Gallery and Tickets

We toured the picture gallery; in the video we show its red-walled rooms. We spent that whole day in museums. As we say in the video, opening and closing times in Vienna vary from museum to museum and from day to day, so plan your day around them. The museum is on Maria-Theresien-Platz, directly opposite the Natural History Museum.

• Timed tickets required

Vienna's Amusement Park

The Riesenrad, the Giant Ferris Wheel, was built for the 50th anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph's accession. We went at night; the cabins stop often, which felt a bit slow, and in the dark there wasn't much of a view.

Go in daylight. For fun things to do in Vienna with children, this is the place. We skipped the roller coaster because there was nowhere to leave our bag, so come without one.

• Park entry is free

The State Hall (Prunksaal)

In the video we walk in calling it "the most beautiful library in the world". The Prunksaal, or State Hall, is an 18th-century baroque hall in the Josefsplatz wing of the Hofburg, with ceiling frescoes and wooden shelves rising to the ceiling. We also saw the library of Melk Abbey in the Wachau, and we think this hall is far more beautiful.

• Closed Mondays October-May

Free Tours and the Christmas Market

We came on our Christmas trip while the Christmas market was set up on the Rathausplatz in front of it; we didn't go inside the building. The square was very big and very crowded, and it felt a little too modern for us; it didn't have the atmosphere of the market in Dresden.

The ice rink in front of the building was the biggest we have ever seen. If you are in Vienna in December, these are the Christmas things to do we would pick: this market, the one in front of St.

Stephen's and the Anker Clock's 17:00 Advent parade. Most Vienna attractions stay open in winter, just with shorter hours; Schönbrunn, for example, is open 8:30-17:00 from 3 November.

• Tours: Mon, Wed, Fri 13:00

Vienna's Open-Air Market

On our first trip to Vienna we left this for the end and never filmed it, so on our Christmas trip it was our first stop. Stalls of fresh vegetables, fruit and deli food run one after another, with places in between where you can sit down and try something; give it a couple of hours.

• Stalls closed on Sundays

Slide and Observation Deck

The view from the top of the tower was really good. The real surprise is the glass slide that winds around the outside: we paid an extra €5 each and went down it.

For safety reasons they don't let you film on the slide. Getting back to the centre from the tower is a bit of a hassle; we called an Uber. Still, for us it was one of the most unique things to do in Vienna.

• Slide: minimum age 6

Dinosaurs and Tickets

We visited this one too; in the video we show the domed entrance hall, the historic rooms with their display cases and a dinosaur skeleton. It's in the twin building opposite the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

• Closed Tuesdays

The View over Vienna

We went up to see Vienna from above. This is where we heard the story of the church on the hill: during the 1683 siege Vienna asked Poland for help, the Ottoman army was pushed back with that support, and the church was built as a thank-you.

We're not historians, we're passing on what we were told. The view from the top is superb, and it is one of the best places to visit in Vienna for free.

• The view is free

The Figure Clock on Hoher Markt

The clock sits on the bridge linking two buildings on Hoher Markt, and a different figure passes on every hour. Come at 12:00 and all the figures pass one after another to music. We were short of time, so we stopped by early in the morning before heading to Schönbrunn.

• Best time: 12:00

Vienna's Showcase Street

The baroque column in the middle of the Graben was put up in memory of the great plague of the 17th century (official info, 19 October 2026). It is said that the bones of plague victims lie beneath the stones; we couldn't verify it.

The street is a pedestrian zone lined with Vienna's best-known brands, cafés and restaurants, and it's on your way to St. Stephen's.

• A few minutes' walk from St. Stephen's

From Schwedenplatz

It was included in our Vienna Pass, so we took the 13:00 sailing. To be honest, we didn't see much of the city from the canal; it was a calm, restful break.

• Sailings: 11:00, 13:00, 14:30, 16:00

Guided Tours and Standing Tickets

We didn't go inside the opera house; this information is from its official site. The building is on the Ring, at the top of Kärntner Straße.

• Time: 40-minute tour