Vienna Transport and Accommodation

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, here is Lili, your co-editor.

Vienna is considered the best city to live in according to Mercer’s ranking for nine years in a row. And there is a reason why. It has extremely well organized transport, very good social system, high level of security, competitive remuneration. Apart from the rankings, Vienna is also a home of century old traditions, modern art, beautiful places. Millions of tourists come and visit every year. It is among top 10 most visited cities in Europe. We hope this insider tips are of help for you.

Lili’s 5 good-to-know tips when traveling to Vienna

• Transportation

Vienna has one of the best organized public transport services in Europe, so even if you come by car, you won’t need it to reach main places of interest. It would be even cheaper to use public transport instead of paying parking fees (which are very high).

• How long you should stay in Vienna

Depending on what you want to see, better plan to spend here at least 3 days – Vienna offers a lot of things to see/ do.

• Cost of staying

As most of the Western European capitals, Vienna is relatively expensive. If you come on budget, you of course can buy cheaper goods in the supermarkets; otherwise beware that most of the restaurants (especially those in the central area) can be quite pricey.

• Best time to visit Vienna

There are two times of the year which we consider as best time to visit Vienna. The first is the period before Christmas. This is the season of the Weihnachtsmarkts- i.e. the Christmas markets, open already in November. It is be better in terms of prices to visit Vienna already in November (more about the best Weihnachtsmarkts in Vienna you can find when just clicking on the link).

The second period is the summer. The summer in Vienna can be very pleasant. You would have the chance to enjoy Danube and also the many restaurants offering outdoor sitting. If you are coming in the period before Christmas, better book your trip a lot in advance- without exaggerating the hotel prices triple in this period.

Transportation

Vienna airport is not a big one and not that crowded (compared to Frankfurt, Munchen, London or Paris CDG). You will easily find your way out and after around 10-15 mins (even if you had checked-in your luggage, it arrives on the belts surprisingly fast) you will have to decide how to get to the city. There are several options which you can choose depending on where you are staying.

• Train

This is my favorite option and also it is the cheapest one. For about 3 years there are regular trains between the airport and the central train station (Wien Hauptbahnhof or Wien Hbf as you will see it on the screens) every 30 mins (the first one departing at around 05:00 and the last one – at 23:00). The cost for the train is €4.20. If you have a ticket for the inner zone, you pay only €1.80. There are no stations between Vienna Airport and the central train station and the ride takes only 16 mins. Most of these trains are further continuing their ride to other Austrian cities or even Germany, so we find them very convenient.

• S-Bahn (Schnell Bahn)- line S7

This is a regional train. The ticket for this train is also €4.20, it just goes in another direction (the same applies to this train- if you have inner city card, then the ticket costs only €1.8). The closest stop to the city center is Wien Mitte and it takes about half an hour to get there.

• CAT (City Airport Train)

This one is heavily advertised at the airport and also in some airlines (you will recognize it by the green sign). Honestly after the normal trains stated operation, we have no idea who is using this one. Yes, it has the advantage that you can check-in your luggage already at Wien Mitte (same stop as the one for S7) and it gets to the city for 15 mins, but it costs €12 one way and €16 return (compared to the €4.2 for the other trains we consider this quite expensive). Well, if it still exists, there might be people using it.

All trains leave from the same place- Flughafen Bahnhof (Station in German) which is located in the same building as the airport. When you go out of the hall after the baggage belts, just take right and you will see the signs for the trains. You can see the train schedule on ÖBB website and zo ucan as well download this app which allows you to plan your trip within the city. There is free wi-fi at Vienna Airport and also on every bigger station in Vienna.

• Bus

There are also bus options to get from Vienna airport to the city center (some of them going to Wien Hauptbahnhof as well). However to be honest we have never used them as the trains were always the better and the faster alternative. There is a night bus though which might be good to know- here you can find schedule and route of the night bus.

• Taxi

Taxis in Vienna are expensive. If you have to take a taxi though (due to late arrival or early departure), we have some better alternatives for you than just going out of the airport and take those that wait there (we consider them quite expensive- you may end up paying up to €50 depending on where in Vienna you are staying). If you know when you are departing/arriving, you can order from this website.

The taxis are not branded and you will not see the sign “Taxi” on the car, but they are correct, reliable and they can issue a receipt if you request one. They are by far the cheapest ones we have found- e.g. of course the ride depends on which part of Vienna you are coming/ going, but from Hauptbahnhof (where we live) to the airport it is €27. They will be waiting for you at the last entrance on the 1st level of the airport (Departures).

There is another alternative- the company Airport Driver which has a stand at the airport, located on the left when you go out of the arrival hall. They offer a ride for a fixed  fee of €36 from the airport (I never used them the other way around). We would not advise taking the taxis from outside the airport building (level 0)- as they are really expensive (as I already mentioned).

• Uber

Yes, Uber still operates in Vienna (just check whether this is still valid by the time of your trip). We have used it once to the airport and it was much cheaper than the Taxis. As to using it within the city- we strongly recommend this as in most cases it is more than twice cheaper than the normal taxis.

Public transport in Vienna

Basically you would rarely have to use taxis. As we mentioned in the beginning, the public transport is very well organized and you can easily reach every place within Vienna and around. There are subway, trams and buses. The subway runs during the whole night on Fridays and Saturdays.

There are 5 subways lines- 4 going in 4 directions and one kind of circle line (illogically they are named U1, U2, U3, U4 and U6, while U5 is currently under construction and it is supposed to be ready by 2023).

Ticket price and validation

The ticket costs €2.4 and you can buy it from the stations from red ticket machines or inside the vehicle (there are vending machines). Have in mind that the ticket from the vending machines within the vehicles costs more –  €2.6.

You have to validate your ticket either before entering the subway or within the bus/tram. The machines at subway entrance are a bit small and you might miss them- they are blue and they are usually located before the elevators The ones in the bus/ tram are yellow and you can find them mostly in the first part of the vehicle.

A good alternative to the single ticket is to buy a 24, 48, 72-hour or weekly pass as they are much cheaper. The prices is respectively €8, €14.1, €17.1 and the weekly one is €17.1. Have in mind that the weekly pass is valid for one calendar week and not for 7 days).

City Bikes

One good way to explore the city are the public city bikes. You can use for the price of €1 for one hour (the second hour is €2, 3rd- €3). There are around 120 stations across the city. Within one hour you will reach you destination. You take the bike from one place and leave it at any other station you find on your way. All you need to do is to register your credit card either online or at any of the city bike stations. On the website above you can read all the info that you need.

Bratislava airport

If you want to come to Vienna, but you find the flight tickets expensive, you can always check the options to Bratislava airport. There are low cost airlines operating to this airport and usually the flights are 2 times cheaper. From Bratislava airport you will need around 1.5 hours to get to Vienna. Your two options to get to Vienna from Bratislava airport:

• Train

Take the city bus to Bratislava Train Station and then the train to Vienna Central Station. They depart every hour and the ride takes also 1 hour. The ticket for the train to Vienna is €16 return (you can also use the public transport in Bratislava on the day of the purchase).

• Bus

You can also take a bus from Bratislava airport directly to Vienna. There are several options depending which is your final destination. You can choose among several carriers and also between several final stops- Vienna Airport, Wien Hauptbahnhof, U2 Stadion Station and Erdberg Station. Ticket prices vary depending on the carrier and also the time of the day. You can get to Vienna for as cheap as €5. On the following website you can see a good description of bus companies and their timetables.

Vienna is also a very good hub for getting to other European cities which are otherwise difficult/ expensive to reach. If you have time, you can go to from Vienna to Budapest, Hungary which take you 2.5 hours or to Prague, Czech Republic which is 4 hours away. The trains are very comfortable, also have Wi-Fi inside, so you will not feel the ride. The local government company ÖBB is the one offering most of the rides. However recently there are some “challengers” like Westbahn (going to Salzburg) and Regiojet which drive the prices down and offer the same comfort.

Accommodation

Now that you know how to get to the city centre, it’s time to think about how to choose accommodation. The most important thing is where exactly your hotel. hostel/ apartment should be located. I have stayed in some hotels  when I was visiting Vienna on business trips, but there are so many options that maybe it is better you chose yourself. There are a few important things to consider when choosing your accommodation in Vienna:

• Ring

Vienna is not a big city, but still you would most probably prefer to stay in a central area. The heart of Vienna is being surrounded by the so called Ring. This is the central boulevard which goes only in one direction. This is where the 1st district (here it’s called Bezirk) is located. Usually it is a bit touristy and also the accommodation there is quite expensive. Most buildings in this district are in that typical Viennese style with high ceilings, no balconies and royal architecture.

• Gurtel

The other important street is the Gurtel road– this is a bigger street which surrounds the wide center. Our recommendation is that you look for a place to stay within its boundaries or closely on the other side. The prices are still a bit higher, but you will have the possibility to get to main places of interest only by walking.

In general there are no places which you should avoid in Vienna. It is a safe place to be and you can also walk even by night. Maybe our only reco will be not to walk at night around  Praterstern U-bahn station and around Westbahnhof. They are not “criminal” areas, but maybe you should be a bit more careful when going through these areas.

• Districts

Vienna is organized in 22 districts which are spirally located around the 1st Bezirk. Only 21st and 22nd districts are located on the other side of Danube.

The trendiest districts also among locals are 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th (do not worry- even after 4 years here we still have difficulties knowing which street to which district belongs). There is a small number on the street name signs which shows the district you are in.

So, coming to where we would recommend you to stay. We always act pragmatically and we would say that the region around Wien Hauptbahnhof is a good option. You have good access to the airport. The main train station in Vienna is the new trendy location to live in. It is literally brand new with a lot of buildings still in construction. There are many hotel/ hostel options to choose from. There are also a lot of shops which are open till later in the evening. In Vienna like in many European cities the shops close around 18:00. If you are lucky, they will be open until 19:00. There is a shopping mall at Wien Hbf with a lot of shops and also dining options. Some of the shops are open as late as 23:00.

We hope that we helped you a bit with planning your trip to Vienna. We have more tips about what to see, do and eat in Vienna:

Our sellection for Top 6 Best Rooftop bars in Vienna

Which are the Top 10 Best Ribs Places in Vienna

Top 20 Things to Do in Vienna 

Top 12 Weihnachtsmarkts in Vienna

Bon Voyage!