Last Updated on by vincent
Okay, I’m not going to keep you in suspense, Vienna is a fantastic city. Crazy architecture and, above all, the History that goes with it! It’s the city of the Habsburgs, one of the most powerful families, who ruled for centuries over the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire, and who provided kings to many countries such as Spain and Portugal in particular.
A history like that, you need to be able to really make it your own, more than just visiting (even though that’s already great, eh! there’s so much to see over there). And for that, I think Vienna is one of those cities where taking a guided tour is a must. Because at every street corner you’ll find a monument, a house that belonged to someone important, that had its historical moment.
Because Vienna isn’t just a story about a ruling family, it’s also a mecca of classical music, and it has a more recent history that’s super interesting too. In Vienna, there are things to see absolutely everywhere!
So I recommend letting yourself be swept up in a themed or general guided tour (some are free!) to learn more, but above all to understand. Really, the city is at the crossroads of Europe. And that explains a lot!
Let’s take a look 🙂
The bestseller: the guided tour of the historic center
Let’s start this list with the classics! A historic city like Vienna deserves that you take your time with its most iconic sites but also with a few hidden gems. That’s what this tour offers you, and it’s the most renowned in the city because it really shows you what you need to know: the Hofburg palace and its famous riding school, the historic center, the cathedral, but also the cafés, all with an excellent guide! And on top of that it’s not expensive.
- Duration: 2 hours
- Price: 24€
- Info and booking
A guided tour of Vienna by bike!
You should know that Vienna is one of those cities that are perfectly suited to cycling, and for quite a few reasons. There are genuinely good bike lanes, the streets are wide, and so are the lanes and sidewalks, in short everyone really has their place, without stepping on each other. And it’s super pleasant. The city’s atmosphere, the respect that’s everywhere between people and the different ways of getting around, means you’re not in any danger on a bike. Traffic lights and right-of-way are respected, which feels weird as a Parisian 😀
And so, all of this is to tell you that this guided bike tour is super interesting because it takes you notably along the Ring, the boulevard that circles historic Vienna where you come across some of the most beautiful buildings in the city like the magnificent city hall (Rathaus), the Opera, the Parliament, the fabulous Karlskirche, gorgeous architecture all the way along. Before heading off to the historic center and discovering St Stephen’s Cathedral in particular.
All of it at a very reasonable pace with a guide who’ll tell you all about the history of the city!
- Duration: 3 hours
- Price: 47€
- Info and booking
A guided tour of Schönbrunn Palace and its gardens
Schönbrunn Palace is the History of Austria but above all of Europe as it took shape. It’s here that countless alliances were played out, notably by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, at the head of the most powerful empire of the era, who famously married off her daughters to the four corners of Europe, one of the best known being Marie Antoinette. But it’s far from over because Napoleon married her niece and his son Napoleon II died in the Palace.
We could also talk about the love story (but not only that!) between Empress Sissi and Emperor Franz Joseph.
In short, as you can see, it’s a place packed with stories, anecdotes, and dirty tricks. And on top of that it’s pretty! So a guided tour can bring a lot more to the table than an audio guide (which is pretty good too, I should point out).
- Duration: 2 hours
- Price: 48€
- Info and booking
A free tour in Vienna’s historic center
A super interesting option for discovering the most beautiful spots in Vienna if you’re on a bit of a budget. A free tour is a guided tour whose price isn’t set. You give what you want!
This free tour takes you into the heart of the imperial city. Along with your guide you’ll discover its most beautiful spots like, obviously, St Stephen’s Cathedral, but also the Hofburg Palace (just fantastic), the historic quarter, the imperial crypt and loads of other things. So all the essentials to give you a first taste of the city!
- Duration: 2.5 hours
- Price: you decide!
- Info and booking
A free tour to discover Vienna by night!
As explained just above, a free tour is a guided tour whose price isn’t set. You give what you want!
I find this free tour super interesting because I looove visiting cities at night. Especially cities with heritage and culture as rich as Vienna’s (which also goes for Budapest, Paris, and London for example), those cities that know how to show off their heritage.
So here your guide will take you to the fairly classic and iconic spots of the city: the Hofburg Palace, St Stephen’s Cathedral and the historic center, the Burggarten park with the statue of Mozart. In short, the essentials!
- Duration: 2 hours
- Price: you decide!
- Info and booking
Guided tour of the historic center and the Opera
Here you have two fairly distinct parts to this guided tour. First, your guide will take you into the historic center to show you the essentials of Vienna. The impressive Hofburg palace, then the Cathedral, old Vienna, the great classics of the city. Then to move on to the Opera, one of the most famous in the world. It has to be said that Vienna has always been a real city of music. The greatest classical music composers composed and lived here. Mozart obviously, Beethoven, Strauss… Vivaldi is even buried here.
So the Opera, besides being superb, holds a huge importance here. It was notably conducted by giants like Mahler, Strauss and Von Karajan. You’ll be able to dive into its history and discover it from the inside.
- Duration: 2 hours
- Price: 28€, the ticket for the Opera is included
- Info and booking
📍 Wieden · Kettenbrückengasse metro 200 m · location 9.2/10
Vienna's modern, lively hostel, in a historic building right next to the Naschmarkt market, with a cosy bar and a well-equipped shared kitchen.
- Naschmarkt market 100 m away, MuseumsQuartier a 15-min walk
- Mixed/female dorms or private double room available
- On-site bar + 24/7 reception + elevator + laundry
Free cancellation
From €65 / night
📍 Josefstadt · Volkstheater metro 400 m · location 9.4/10
The 4-star design hotel right behind the Parliament, with a 400 m² garden to unwind, a free gym and sauna, and the Ringstraße a 5-min walk away.
- Behind City Hall + Parliament, MuseumsQuartier 800 m
- 400 m² garden + gym + sauna (free)
- Mediterranean restaurant + airport shuttle + concierge
Free cancellation
From €130 / night
📍 Mariahilf · Zieglergasse metro 450 m · location 9.6/10
The 4-star boutique hotel with Roaring Twenties decor, a cocktail bar praised for its mixologist and an à la carte breakfast widely raved about by guests.
- Mariahilfer Strasse steps away, Leopold Museum 1.2 km
- Signature cocktail bar + terrace + room service
- À la carte breakfast (veggie, vegan, gluten-free options)
Free cancellation
From €195 / night
📍 Innere Stadt · Stephansplatz 200 m · location 9.9/10
The exceptional 5-star in the heart of the old town, 200 m from St. Stephen's Cathedral, with VIP treatment on arrival and complimentary afternoon tea from 1 pm to 10 pm.
- 200 m from Stephansplatz, 550 m from the Hofburg
- Concierge + 24/7 reception (FR/EN/ES/DE staff)
- À la carte breakfast + complimentary afternoon tea 1-10 pm
Free cancellation
From €350 / night
Vienna tour on the Hitler theme
It’s hard to separate Vienna from Adolf Hitler. Far from glorifying him (thankfully), this tour aims to show how he grew politically, how he ended up where he did. On this tour, you’ll also discover the Jewish quarter, the great synagogue, the memorial, all of it, and this is the most important part I think, accompanied by a historian. Who’ll explain the mindset of the city during Hitler’s rise and the Second World War.
Not the cheeriest tour, but probably the most interesting!
- Duration: 2h30
- Price: €25
- Info and booking
Discovering Vienna by bus
It’s an option that exists in loads of cities but isn’t always super useful: the tourist bus. For example I did it in Dubai, and it’s nothing amazing. But in Vienna, a city with tons of scattered monuments and gorgeous architecture absolutely everywhere, it can be a good option to get a nice overview of the wonders of the centre.
For this one I’d recommend discovering Vienna by tourist bus at the start of your stay, to sort out “okay, need to go here, not there”, to take a spin around the Ring, which is super pretty for instance. The good thing is you can do hop on / hop off, meaning you get on and off whenever you want. Handy!
With Big Bus 24h for example, you can do the 22 stops, get off at the cool spots and hop back on to head to the next one, like the Opera, Schönbrunn Palace, the Belvedere, the Hofburg…
- Duration: 24h or 48h, unlimited on and off
- Price: €35 or €44
- Info and booking
5 handy places to stay in Vienna
So you should know that Vienna is a city where accommodation is expensive. Sometimes very expensive, especially in the historic centre. You have to book well in advance to snag the few places that are good quality AND don’t cost an arm and a leg. And if you go outside the tourist season, then you’ll have far better luck.
Also, the metro network is really good so you can move a bit out of the hyper-centre, which still stays easily accessible. So here are a few recommendations, handy and nice:
- Hotel Daniel Vienna: from €75, located just south of the Belvedere park, so ideal without being fully in the centre. Very good value for money, climbs in high season.
- Hotel Rathaus: from €90, right behind the Parliament and a stone’s throw from the museum quarter, it has a great rating on Booking. It’s a hotel dedicated to wine, so with plenty of good vintages on hand.
- Pension A und U: from €115, you couldn’t be better located. Right in the hyper-centre, 50m from Peterskirche, it’s a good place to settle in, good quality, even if you do pay for the location.
- Austria Trend Parkhotel: want a view over Schönbrunn Palace? Then this superb hotel is made for you! In a former imperial residence, with a sumptuous facade, and yet at a reasonable price: €109. A bit out of the way but a few metro stops from the centre, super handy!
- Hotel König von Ungarn: for a bit of luxury and a step up in category, here’s a magnificent 4* hotel right in the centre. A view over the Cathedral from the terrace, superb amenities for a cost between €250 and €300.
The Vienna Pass, to discover Vienna unlimited
An excellent opportunity if you want several of the city’s monuments and sites. You can find the full list on the site but you obviously get the great classics like Schönbrunn, all the museums of the Hofburg Palace (the riding school, the Crown treasures, Sisi…), the Vienna Opera or the Belvedere. And pretty much every museum in the city. Not bad, right?
On top of that, you get access to the hop on / hop off bus to get on and off whenever you want.
Must-visit places
I’ve already told you about it in a previous article, but Vienna has absolutely exceptional churches! We’ll obviously talk about the Cathedral, to the top of which you must go, but the superb Karlskirche and Peterskirche are not to be missed. My favourite, though, is the tiny and super cute St Anne’s.
Among the must-see places, you’ve of course got the imperial palaces. The Hofburg Palace with all the history of the empire but above all in a really nice quarter, Schönbrunn Palace, which is super interesting, but you mustn’t miss the Belvedere palace! Take the Ring to see some magnificent architecture, don’t miss the Opera.
Finally, I can only recommend attending a classical music concert. The city has seen the greatest pass through (Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi…) and above all the prestigious venues I’ve just told you about regularly put on concerts! So what could be better than attending a superb concert in a church or at Schönbrunn? In the following article, discover all the options for a classical music concert in Vienna.
