The capital of Austria is incredibly atmospheric with a huge amount of history. It’s packed with everything you’d expect from a major city. Shops, restaurants, parks, hotels, museums, cathedrals and famous stadiums. It shines when the sun does and the great thing is that there are lots of things to do in Vienna in Summer for free.
It also has fantastic transport links to other nearby places to visit such as Salzburg as well as a great public transport system within and around the city.
The centre of Vienna is fairly compact but there there are a few tourist attractions which are spread over the City. We managed to get around several times during our visit.
Before we went we made a priority list of the things to do in Vienna that appealed to us and then worked out the best way to combine at least a couple of them on each day. It worked quite well and we managed to get around all the places we wanted to see and things to do in Vienna we wanted to.
Here are some of our favourite things to do in Vienna for free which we hope will help you plan what you’re going to do when you visit.
Schloss Schonbrunn
The former Summer residence of the Hasburg rulers, Schonbrunn Palace is truly stunning. Inside and out. It’s located outside of the city centre but, it’s still one of the best things to do in Vienna in the Summer. And, in our opinion, well worth the trip.
Entry to most of the gardens at Schloss Schonbrunn Palace is free. And they are stunning! Certain tours and exhibitions are chargeable but we found that the grounds so vast that they were quite enough for us.
We did however pay to visit the Maze and Labryinth which was a lot of fun.
National Stadium
One of us always enjoys the opportunity to visit a stadium. Especially if it’s the National One. And, as it was within walking distance of our hotel it would have been rude not to.
Ernst Happel Stadion is home to the Austrian National Football team and hosted the Final of Euro 2008. It’s also used for the domestic cup final and European matches featuring Rapid Vienna or FK Austria Wien as well as concerts on a regular basis during the Summer. You can take a tour here but of course it’s free to see the Stadium from the outside and it’s worth walking right around. You may see 1 or 2 teams on the training pitches.
Stephansdom
Right in the centre of Vienna stands the magnificent Stephansdom, St. Stephen’s Cathedral. You can visit part of the interior for free but charges apply for certain other areas. It is spectacular inside and the architecture is incredible. www.stephanskirche.at
Vienna State Opera
Just a few minutes walk away from Stephansdom is Vienna State Opera. It is worth seeing the outside as you may recognise it as a movie location. And. of course, that is another of the things to do in Vienna for free. Surprisingly though, tickets can be obtained to see some operas for as little as 4 Euro for standing tickets. www.wiener-staatsoper.at
Hofburg Palace
Very close to the Museum Quarter is the Hofburg Palace. A truly stunning building, Vienna’s former Imperial Palace now houses the offices of the Austrian President. Again, it’s free to walk around the outside of the building.
Planning your trip
If you enjoyed this post on things to do in Vienna in the Summer, and are planning a trip then check out our page on Vienna for more info on things like how to get around.
And these resources my help you plan your trip:
- Check Skyscanner to see who flies to Vienna and the latest and best prices on flights.
- Search Booking.com to see what’s available in terms of accommodation.
- We always use Holiday Extras for airport parking and hotels as well as transfers in the UK.
- We love the DK Top 10 guidebooks
Thoughts
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1 thought on “Things to do in Vienna in Summer”
Schonbrunn Palace is a really interesting palace with lots of Austrian history and stunning grounds – in December they have a Christmas market in the front garden. It’s all very festive! The tour of the palace is incredibly popular, and worth doing, so we recommend that you book online in advance to get the time slot you want.
The Sisi Museum at Hofburg Palace is also an absolute must do. For a couple of extra euros you can get the guided tour – it’s well worth doing!!