Vienna Itinerary: How to Spend Three Days in Vienna

Rich in culture, art, music, and history, Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. (At least that’s what I think!)

The entire historic center of Vienna is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is dotted with countless museums and art galleries, magnificent Baroque palaces, traditional markets, and excellent restaurants.

There’s a lot to do here. (In fact, there’s so much that you can easily spend a week here without getting bored.) ）

However, if you only have a few days, then if you have limited time, here’s my recommended three-day itinerary for Vienna. It hits all the highlights.

Vienna Itinerary: Day 1

Take part in a free walking tour

Whenever I reach my destination, I always go hiking. Starting your tour with a walking tour is a fun way to get to know the city and get a taste of its history and culture. Plus, you can ask your guide questions about where to eat and where to go, because they’re all locals, so they know the inside scoop!

Two great free walking tours are:

• Good tour
• Anna loves Vienna

If you want to see more places, consider cycling tours. I love the tours offered by Pedal Power Vienna. All the main highlights are covered in three hours.

Admire St. Stephen’s Basilica

Built in the Romanesque and Gothic styles, Stephen’s Cathedral has been standing since the 12th century. It is best known for its polychrome roof made up of 230,000 glazed tiles, but the interior is also ornate, with high arches, vaulted ceilings, and a large collection of statues and religious paintings. There are also two beautiful altars inside: the 17th-century main altarpiece and the 15th-century Vienna Neustadt altarpiece.

Over the years, the cathedral was destroyed and rebuilt, and the current version was mainly initiated by Duke Rudolf IV (1339-1365). The most recent reconstruction was carried out after the end of the Second World War.

Worship services are Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. It is open to visitors Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets cost €20, guided tours €3.50 and audio guides €6. A tour of the catacombs costs €6, a climb to the south tower costs €5.50 and a climb to the north tower costs €6. Dress appropriately as this is a place of worship.

Visit the Forbidden City

The 13th-century Hofburg Palace was the main palace of the Habsburg Monarchy, one of the most famous dynasties in European history, for more than seven centuries. Today, it is the official residence of the President of Austria.

You can easily spend half a day exploring all the attractions, including the Princess Sissi exhibition (highlighting the life of Queen Elizabeth), the Royal Silver Collection, and the Royal Apartments themselves. It’s oversized.

Open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The entrance fee is €16. If you have the Vienna Card, it’s free. Skip-the-line tours start at €48.

Stroll through the Central Market

This is the largest open-air food market in Vienna. There are 120 stalls, including restaurants, street stalls, and grocery stores, as well as a flea market on Saturdays. It’s a bit touristy (don’t go grocery shopping here) but the atmosphere is cool and it’s a great place to sit and eat. Despite its fame, you’ll still find a lot of locals here, so don’t feel like it’s a tourist-only place. Be sure to stop by Umarfisch for seafood and wine tasting. The food there was delicious.

Vienna Itinerary: Day 2

Explore the Museum District

Day 2 begins at the Museum Quarter (MQ). Once the royal stables, it now covers more than 90,000 square meters and is home to 60 cultural institutions, including the Leopold Museum of Art Nouveau and Expressionism, the Kunsthalle Vienna, which hosts rotating exhibitions, and the Museum of Modern Art, which has the largest collection of its kind in Central Europe. MQ is also home to several festivals throughout the year, including open-air concerts and Fashion Week. If you love art, this place is a must-visit.

The price of the pass to the five main museums is €35. Guided tours of the area are also available for only €8.

Also, be sure to visit the nearby Museum of Art History (Museum of Fine Arts). Founded in 1891 by Emperor Franz Joseph I, the museum has become the largest art museum in the country. You can easily spend a few hours here (if not more). Most of the objects come from old Habsburg collections, including artifacts from ancient Egypt and Greece and paintings by Rubens, Raphael, Rembrandt, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and others. The interior itself is also very ornate, with plenty of marble, gold leaf, and frescoes.

Food tours

After a morning at the museum, head out on a food tour around the city to sample some of Vienna’s traditional cuisine. There are several different tour options for the Vienna Food Tour, the most popular of which is a visit to a café, as well as Austrian favourites such as chocolate, cheese, sausages, and of course, wine. Most food tours usually have 4 to 8 stops, which means you’ll need to bring an appetite. If you have dietary problems, you can also take a vegetarian tour.

Tours vary in price, but most are at least €100 and last 2.5-4 hours.

Admire Schönbrunn Palace

End your day with a visit to one of Vienna’s most popular attractions. The palace was originally a 17th-century hunting lodge and later became the summer residence of the Habsburgs in the 18th century. There are more than 1,400 rooms in total, but only a few are open to the public (22 rooms for the Imperial Tour and 40 rooms for the Grand Tour). However, it’s more than enough to wander for a few hours in the beautifully restored, extremely ornate room, filled with fine paintings, woodwork, chandeliers, and ornaments. It’s one of my favorite places in the whole city. Bring some food and wine and have a picnic in the garden. Since it is located on a hill, you can enjoy a stunning view of Vienna.

The palace is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (longer in summer). The park is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (8 p.m. in summer). The Imperial Tour costs €22 and takes around 40 minutes, while the Deluxe Tour costs €26 and takes over an hour, both with an audio guide included. If you have a Vienna Pass, admission is free. Skip-the-line guided tours cost EUR 48.

Vienna Itinerary: Day 3

Excursion to Albertina

Start your last day at the Albertina Museum, one of the best museums in town (which means a lot for a city full of great museums)! Housed in an old private residential wing of the Forbidden City, it is famous for its collection of over 1 million prints and 60,000 drawings.

The building itself was once the residence of the Habsburgs, and a self-guided tour of the 20 restored Habsburg State Rooms is included in the museum ticket. You’ll get an interesting insight into aristocratic life in the 19th century as you wander through the beautifully decorated rooms with gilded chandeliers, magnificent fireplaces, elaborate furnishings, and elaborate wall decorations.

For more contemporary art lovers, the Albertina Modern opened in 2020. Located just a few blocks from the Albertina Museum, the museum focuses on post-1945 contemporary art and houses more than 60,000 works by 5,000 artists.

Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Wednesday and Friday at 9 p.m.). The entrance fee is €18.90 (get your tickets here in advance). The combined ticket for the Albertina Museum and the Albertina Museum of Modern Art costs €24.90. If you have a Vienna Pass, you can enter both attractions for free.

Visit the Mozart Museum

Although Mozart lived here for only three years in the 1780s, this is the only surviving apartment of all the places he lived in Vienna. This neat little museum was opened in 1941 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his death. The ground floor is where Mozart and his family lived, although you’ll need to use your imagination as little is known about the actual look or use of the room. But the museum has a selection of interesting paintings, artifacts, letters, and memorabilia so that you can learn about his life, music, family and friends, and be able to listen to his work.

Visit the Freud Museum

This is another condominium-turned-museum that is home to the famous psychoanalytic founder Sigmund Freud (the theory holds that our present is shaped by our past). He lived here from 1891 to 1938, and the museum opened in 1971 with the help of Anna Freud, his youngest daughter. You will find it decorated with original furniture and antiques from Freud’s private collection. There are also films of his private life as well as the first editions of his works. Due to the small size, the tour takes about an hour.

Admire the Vienna State Opera

End the last day at the Opera House. Vienna is synonymous with this genre and the main focus of life here. Its opera house is one of the largest and most famous in the world. Completed in 1869, this Renaissance building can accommodate more than 1,700 spectators and is magnificent both inside and out.

It is advisable to buy a last-minute standing ticket for 13-18 euros. They’re on sale 80 minutes before the show (you can line up early, though). On a first-come, first-served basis, only one ticket can be purchased per person.

Check the website for the most up-to-date show schedule. Ticket prices start at €59. A guided tour of the building costs €13 (free if you have a Vienna Card).