18 Things to Do in Vienna If You’re Not Here to Spend 3 Days Inside Palaces

The first time I arrived in Vienna, I had just come from Bratislava.

That was probably already a problem.

I had loved Bratislava. It was small, colorful, easy to explore and exactly the kind of place where I could walk out of the hostel and just see where I ended up.

Then I got off the train in Vienna and immediately got lost trying to find my hostel.

Everything felt huge. Everything seemed far away. I was tired, annoyed and staying in this dark hostel with terrible Wi-Fi, wondering why I had left Slovakia.

The funny part is that Vienna eventually became memorable for me, but not because I suddenly fell in love with all the famous attractions.

It got better because I met two girls in my dorm.

The three of us started exploring together, went to a food market, wandered around the graffiti-covered areas by the river, got lost around the city and somehow ended up at the cinema one night.

I did see some of Vienna’s big attractions too, including Schönbrunn, but more than ten years later, I remember the random parts of those days much more clearly than most of the monuments.

So when I think about the best things to do in Vienna, I’m not thinking about trying to squeeze 25 museums and palaces into three days.

These are the places I would actually prioritize, the things I remember from my own trips and the experiences I would add if I went back again.

1. Visit Schönbrunn Palace

If I had to choose one of Vienna’s famous attractions to see again, it would be Schönbrunn Palace.

And I’m saying that as someone who is absolutely not traveling around Europe collecting palaces.

The whole place is enormous, especially the gardens.

I remember walking and walking through them until eventually I was less interested in imperial Austria and more interested in figuring out how the hell to get back out because I was hungry.

Still, I genuinely liked Schönbrunn.

You can spend hours here if you want to visit the palace properly, but even if you don’t care about going inside every room, the gardens alone make it worth coming.

2. Explore Vienna’s Historic Center

Vienna’s center is where you can see a huge amount of the famous city without turning every building into a separate attraction.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Hofburg, the Vienna State Opera and a ridiculous number of grand buildings are all around this part of the city.

This is how I prefer seeing places like Vienna.

Walk around.

Look at everything.

Go inside whatever actually interests you.

Ignore the rest.

You do not need to buy a ticket for every historical building just because it appeared on somebody’s Vienna checklist.

3. See St. Stephen’s Cathedral

St. Stephen’s Cathedral is right in the center of Vienna, so this is one of those things you’ll probably see even if you make almost no effort to plan it.

It’s one of Vienna’s biggest landmarks and easy to combine with everything else around the historic center.

I wouldn’t build half a day around it, but I definitely wouldn’t skip seeing it either.

4. Walk Around the Hofburg

The Hofburg is another one of Vienna’s huge historical complexes.

And when I say huge, I mean Vienna has a serious talent for making every attraction feel like it could consume your entire afternoon.

There are museums and different areas you can visit inside, but I would choose what actually interests you instead of trying to do all of it.

You can also just walk around the complex and see a lot without turning it into another marathon attraction.

5. Go to Naschmarkt

This is much more the kind of place I remember.

One of the things I did with the girls I met at my hostel was go to a food market, and that day somehow stayed in my memory far more clearly than several of Vienna’s famous buildings.

Naschmarkt is one of the places I would happily go back to.

Food, stalls, people, something actually happening.

Give me that over another palace room any day.

6. Walk Along the Danube Canal

This was another side of Vienna I liked more.

Street art, graffiti, bars, people sitting outside and a completely different feeling from the perfectly polished historic center.

I remember wandering around this part of the city with the girls from my hostel.

It felt less formal.

Less like I was supposed to be admiring architecture.

More like somewhere people were actually hanging out.

If I went back to Vienna, I’d definitely spend time around here again.

7. Take a Boat Cruise

I didn’t do a Vienna boat cruise on my trips, but this is one of the things I would seriously consider now.

Mostly because Vienna is massive and eventually my feet would appreciate me finding an activity that involves sitting down.

There are sightseeing cruises along the Danube and Danube Canal, so it’s an easy way to see another side of Vienna without walking another 20,000 steps.

And after doing enough European city sightseeing, being moved around while sitting with a drink sounds increasingly attractive.

→ Find Vienna Boat Tours here

8. Go on a Food Tour

A food tour is another Vienna activity I would probably choose now.

Not because I suddenly need every minute of my trip organized into tours.

Quite the opposite.

But if I am choosing between spending three hours inside another museum or spending three hours walking around eating things, I know exactly which one is winning.

A food tour also takes you away from just looking at Vienna’s buildings and gives you something completely different to do.

→ Find Food Tours in Vienna here

9. Join a Walking Tour

I am probably the last person who should criticize anyone for arriving somewhere unprepared because I do it constantly.

I literally arrived in Vienna and got lost trying to find the hostel.

That should probably tell you enough.

A walking tour would have been useful at the beginning, especially in a city this big.

You get your bearings, understand what half the things you are looking at actually are and then you can decide what you want to go back to later.

Much more efficient than my usual strategy of walking around until something interesting happens.

→ Find Vienna Walking Tours here

10. Go to a Classical Music Concert

I didn’t go to Vienna because I was desperate to listen to classical music.

But if I went back, this is actually one of the very Vienna things I would consider doing.

Vienna has such a huge connection to classical music that it feels like one of those experiences that makes sense specifically here.

And at least it gives you something different from spending another evening wandering around looking at buildings.

There are concerts in palaces, churches and proper concert halls, so you can choose how dramatic you want the whole experience to be.

→ Find Classic Music Concerts in Vienna here

11. Visit Belvedere Palace If You Actually Want to See the Art

Belvedere is another major Vienna attraction.

But I would not automatically tell everyone they need to spend hours inside just because it’s famous.

If you care about art, then yes, absolutely go.

If you don’t, you can see the palace, walk around the grounds and continue with your day.

I think Europe becomes exhausting when every trip turns into forcing yourself through museums you were never interested in just because you feel like you are supposed to.

12. Go to Prater

Prater wasn’t one of the main things I did during my Vienna trips, but it’s something I’d add if I went back.

There is the famous giant Ferris wheel, but also the amusement park around it.

And honestly, after enough palaces and historical buildings, I would happily go ride something stupid and eat instead.

At least it breaks up the sightseeing.

13. Stop for Coffee and Cake

Vienna is also somewhere I would actively give myself permission to stop.

I used to travel like every hour I wasn’t doing something meant I was somehow wasting the trip.

Now I know better.

Vienna is huge.

You are going to walk a lot.

Sit down.

Get coffee.

Get cake.

Do absolutely nothing for an hour.

The city will still be there when you finish.

14. Go to the Cinema If You Feel Like It

One of the things I remember most clearly from my first trip to Vienna is going to the cinema.

Which has absolutely nothing to do with Vienna.

I had met two girls at my hostel, we had been exploring together and one evening we ended up watching a movie.

I remember that night better than some of the famous attractions I saw.

And I think that is exactly why I stopped caring so much about traveling the way you are supposedly meant to.

If you’ve spent all day sightseeing and somebody you just met at your hostel asks if you want to go watch a movie, go watch the movie.

You don’t need to spend every second proving that you visited Vienna properly.

15. Take a Day Trip to Bratislava

If you have enough time in Vienna, Bratislava is ridiculously easy to add.

And yes, I am biased because I liked Bratislava more.

I actually arrived in Vienna from Bratislava during my first trip, so I experienced them one after the other.

Bratislava felt smaller, easier and much more relaxed.

Vienna felt huge.

They are completely different cities, which is exactly why combining them works so well.

If you are spending several days in Vienna, I would absolutely use one of them to see Slovakia too.

→ Read my guide: Day trip from Vienna to Bratislava

16. Take a Day Trip to Budapest

Budapest is another option from Vienna, but this is NOT the same kind of casual day trip as Bratislava.

This is a proper long day.

Budapest is much farther away, so you need to be okay with leaving early, spending a lot of time traveling and getting back late.

Personally, Budapest deserves more than a few hours if you have the time.

But if Vienna is your base and this is your only realistic chance to see Hungary, there are full-day tours that make it possible.

Just do not look at the map, see another capital nearby and think this is going to be a quick little afternoon.

It is not.

You are committing to the day.

→ Check train tickets from Vienna to Budapest

→ Find Tours from Vienna to Budapest

17. Take a Day Trip to Hallstatt

Hallstatt is another very popular trip from Vienna.

This is the postcard Austria option.

Lake, mountains, tiny village, pretty houses, the whole thing.

It is also another long day from Vienna, so I would only do this if Hallstatt is somewhere you really want to see and you don’t have another chance to include it in your Austria trip.

If you have more time, staying closer would obviously make more sense.

But for people using Vienna as their main Austria base, a day tour is one way to see it without reorganizing the entire trip.

→ Find Tours from Vienna to Hallstatt and Salzburg