3 Days in Vienna Itinerary: Travel & Sightseeing Guide

Planning your Vienna itinerary and looking for the highlights, attractions and the best things to do in Vienna ? Here you will find our suggestion for amazing 3 days in Vienna! We show you what you can experience in two, three or more days and which attractions you should not miss on any visit. On top of that, there are lots of travel tips, we reveal the most beautiful places in the city and grandiose viewpoints, as well as real insider tips that certainly not everyone knows! Whether it’s your first trip to the Austrian capital or you’ve visited this beautiful city before, with this perfect Vienna itinerary your short trip will be unforgettable.

In this travel guide we are going to share our ultimate 3 days in Vienna itinerary for an unforgettable city trip and additionally we show you the best attractions while staying in this wonderful Austrian city.

Good to know!

If you are searching for particularly beautiful accommodations and hotels in Vienna, then we can recommend the hip Hotel Altstadt Vienna. This boutique hotel inspires with a lot of attention to detail and delicious breakfast!

Vienna is the city of unforgettable experiences! A classical concert evening, a market visit with tasting, a coffee house tour or a cooking class are just a few cool things you can also find online on GetyourGuide.

If you are in Vienna for 3 days, then it is definitely worth buying a 72-hour ticket of the Wiener Linien. This ticket is valid in all trams, buses and subways of Vienna and brings you easily to the most popular attractions of the city.

Did you know that Vienna is only 45-minutes away from Bratislava and is easily accessible by boat or train. Therefore, many combine their Vienna city trip with sightseeing to the most beautiful attractions in Bratislava.

 

Vienna Itinerary, DAY 1

Start your Vienna trip with exploring the beautiful Belvedere Palace and the magnificent baroque gardens. At first walk from the Upper Belvedere down to the Lower Belvedere and enjoy the outstanding beautiful scenery. We really loved the flower gardens and the reflecting pool in front of the palace. Even though the Belvedere is one of Vienna’s most impressive palaces, at morning time you will have all the area nearly to yourself. In case you are a fan of art you definitely should consider a visit of the Belvedere museums too: A permanent exhibition at the Upper Belvedere displays among others the world-famous Klimt´s Kiss.

Tip: Right nearby is the “Stöckl im Park”, a fantastic restaurant with a wonderful Viennese flair and delicious schnitzel.

At early lunch time we recommend a visit to Vienna’s most popular market, the Naschmarkt which is just a short walk from Karlsplatz. Make a stop at the St. Charles Church, an eye-catching religious building with a magnificent blue cupula. Not just in summer, but also in winter the Karlsplatz is really worth a visit at this time a traditional Christmas market is taking place in front of the church.

Without a doubt, the Naschmarkt is one of the coolest places for where to eat in Vienna and a popular meeting point for young and old. In generally, the market has around 120 market stands and restaurants, selling exotic products and delicacies from all over the world.

The Ringstrasse is a 5,3 km long road that circles Vienna’s city centre. On that street, you are going to pass some of the most remarkable and breath-taking buildings of the town. The most noteworthy sights are the Parliament, the City Hall, the Imperial Palace (Hofburg) and the Burgtheater. A lovely option is to tour the Ringstrasse on the tourist Ring Tram or you can also catch the public city tram (Nr.1 & Nr. 2).

If you have some time left we recommend a visit inside the glorious Burgtheater. You can visit this theatre without seeing a performance by taking a guided tour (daily 15:00). There you will learn a lot about the fascinating history of the Burgtheater and you will get a look behind the scenes. On top you are going to see the breath-taking beautiful grand staircase and the famous ceiling paintings by Gustav Klimt.

For the evening we round of our first day of sight-seeing with a visit to Vienna’s amusement park the Prater. Why not dine out at the Schweizerhaus restaurant for tasting some traditional Austrian food. It is famous for serving the best Schnitzel in Vienna!

For entering the Wiener Prater you won`t have to pay any entrance fee, you just have to pay for the attractions you would like to ride. Even if you are not that kind of adrenal junkie you will love exploring the nostalgic Prater with its unique atmosphere. Recommended is a ride with the Giant Ferries Wheel which is Vienna’s landmark.

Vienna Itinerary, DAY 2

A trip to Vienna won’t be complete without visiting one of the numerous museums. Actually, we loved visiting the Museum of Natural History. The huge museum exhibits over 30 million objects and we had been fascinating by the dimension. Also, the Art History museum located at the opposite is well worth seeing. Absolutely interesting is the MuseumsQuartier, spreading over 90,000m2 encompassing 60 cultural institutions.

If you are around also take the chance to look inside the Palace of Justice! Step inside and you will find yourself in one of the most impressive locations you will find in Vienna. The grand staircase dominates the huge hall and the imposing interior will take your breath away! Most of the people don`t know that the building is open for the public and the entrance is for free. Furthermore from the roof-top Cafè you will have an amazing view.

After spending the morning inside a museum, you should hit off to see the world-famous Lipizzaner horses. Best you cross the picturesque square Michaelaplatz to buy tickets for the Spanish riding school. Just take a rest at the baroque square and watch the traditional Vienna Fiaker passing by. Visiting the white Lipizzaner show was just lovely. It was so interesting to watch the horsemanship accompanied by classical music. Good to know: This noble horse and the traditional stallions can be seen for free, just peep in at Reitschulgasse 2.

Another must do in Vienna is a visiting an original Viennese coffee house. You are going to find plenty of them inside Vienna’s Old town. All along, the Viennese coffee house is a typical institution of Vienna that plays an important role in Viennese culture. Have a break, enjoy a delicious “Melange” coffee and soak in this elegant and very specific atmosphere.

Later, we recommend to have a look inside the Austrian National Library, the State Hall. The imposing baroque hall impressed us a lot! More than 200.000 tomes are exhibited and four picturesque Venetian baroque globes grace the ancient library.

Most surprising for us was the visit inside the Imperial Crypt also named the Capuchin Cryp. That place contains the bodies of the Habsburg rulers: 149 Habsburgs, including 12 emperors as well as 19 empresses and queens, have their final resting inside the crypt. Popular examples are Franz Joseph I., Empress Elisabeth and Crown Prince Rudolf and visitors can observe their magnificent free-standing tombs.

Don`t leave the town without window shopping at the Graben, the Kohlmarkt and the Kärntnerstraße, Viennas most exclusive shopping streets! Even if you don`t likes shopping, walking down the Graben street towards the St. Stephen´s Cathedral. With its beautiful architecture like the Peterskirche the short walk is really pleasureable.

St. Stephen´s Cathedral is one of the main attractions of Vienna and the inside as well as the outside are worth a visit. But also recommendable is the view from the top of the Cathedral. You are going to have the best view of Vienna at the northern tower (Pummerin).

As few of the main sights are located along the Ringstrasse, for example, the Opera house and the Burggarten. Take a break at the wonderful Palmenhouse at Burggarten and enjoy the picturesque scenery. As soon as the sun goes down head of to see the Opera house:  At night the Opera is stunningly lit and looks drop-dead gorgeous!

Vienna Itinerary, DAY 3

After breakfast, set off to Schönbrunn Palace! Because it’s Austria’s most visited tourist attraction you should be there early. That’s why at morning time you will find a calm and peaceful location. Take a stroll along the magnificent Schönbrunn Gardens and inhale the grand imperial atmosphere. Also you shouldn’t miss to walk up to the Gloriette and get rewarded with one of Vienna’s most breathtaking views. Take some time to explore the Schönbrunn Palace. We had been surprised about all the picturesque smaller gardens, fountains and statues.

There’s even a Palmenhaus and the world’s oldest zoo, the Schönbrunn Zoo to explore. The entire area is part of the imperial summer residence and is even listed as an UNESCO world heritage site. The palaces itself is enormous, with a total of 1,441 rooms. Certain parts of the castle and exhibitions can be visited.

If you are interested in outstanding architecture you should definitely go and see the popular Hundertwasserhouse. This architectural masterpiece was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser and constructed between 1983 – 1985. You have to know that The Hundertwasserhouse can only be viewed from outside but the exterior façade draws attention to itself and gives a fantastic foto motif.

 

Where to Stay in Vienna

There is a huge range of brilliant accommodation in Vienna. From cheap backpacker hostels, to vacation apartments, to boutique hotels or absolute luxury hotels, everything is represented. If you are still looking for a recommended place to stay in Vienna, then we can give you these accommodation tips on the way…it’s worth a look!

  • Backpacker Hostel: The Vienna Boutique Hostel is a real insider tip for Vienna. Not only does the unique interior inspire, but the location in one of Vienna’s trendy districts is also ingenious!
  • Apartments: The apartments of JOYN Vienna convince with modern furnishings, good equipment and fantastic location at the main station.
  • 3-star Hotel: The Motel One Wien-Staatsoper is the top address for a budget and at the same time stylish stay in the heart of Vienna.
  • 4-star Hotel: Really nice is the Altstadt Vienna, a boutique hotel with individually designed rooms, very good breakfast and afternoon snack.

Tip: Flight tickets to Vienna can be easily found at Skyscanner or Kiwi. If you like to learn more about traveling in Central Europe, you should check out “the epic central europe itinerary“.


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Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. Meaning that if you click on certain links, and then subsequently purchase a product, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Transparency: For this stay we were invited by Hotel Altstadt Vienna. As usual, our opinion remains unaffected.


9 Comments

  1. Vienna is too far from Innsbruck where we will be Oct. 6-13. Too bad we won’t be able to see all these wonders, especially the Schönbrunn Palace Palace and the Hundertwasserhouse architecture! But what really tickles me is the yellow theme of your room! Love it!

  2. Map Scratchers Reply

    We’ve never been to Vienna, but your photos and travel tips inspired us to go!
    That hotel looked stunning as well 🙂

    Cheers,
    Map Scratchers

  3. This looks like a wonderful itinerary, taking all the “must sees” and many I would not have thought of – the Justice Palace for instance. That staircase is magnificent! Vienna is such a beautiful city and your photos really do it justice.

  4. This is a great list, unfortunately we only had a day trip to Vienna from Bratislava so we could only see a small amount of things. I think for the size of the city if you are on a budget then 3 days is a great amount of time.

  5. We are planning to go to Austria soon and this will certainly help us planning our days in Vienna. Thanks for sharing. Bookmarking for future use.

  6. Love Vienna and your itinerary certainly hits the recommended top highlights. One could spend a week in Vienna and still only scratch the surface of what one can experience.

  7. That is a perfect itinerary. I see they still have the lovely sun seats in the Museum Quartier. When we went a few years back, the color was different. I love that concept for a museum.

  8. Vienna looks so different and beautiful in the summers. I visited Vienna back in January, and it was one awesome day, as we were exploring, when it was snowing. Missed out on the Saturday market though. Beautiful photos btw.

  9. I visited Vienna so quickly last winter and didn’t get to fully enjoy it. I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t even know there was an amusement park! I’d like to see all of these amazing sights next time 🙂

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