Vienna Travel Guide: Best Things to Do, See & Eat (Vegan)

vienna city center
schönbrunn palace garden vienna
two girls walking in schöbrunn palace gardens
upper belvedere gardens vienna
girl sitting outside at cafe in vienna
girl in front of st stephen's cathedral vienna
two girls in front of vienna opera house
man playing violin on street in vienna
vienna opera house

Vienna is a European city that we weren’t ever planning on visiting, but now that we have we are obsessed! It has everything you could ever want from a Eurotrip — beautiful architecture, rich history & culture, great museums, it’s walkable, and less touristy than a lot of other European cities we’ve been to. We spent about 5 days in Vienna and we felt like it was enough time to see the city, but we were also able to leave stuff to do if we ever come back. You could also see the city in less days if you needed to as well, just depends on what kind of trip you want to have! So keep on reading to see our top things to do and see in Vienna!


Where to Stay in Vienna

We stayed at Hotel Motto in Vienna and adored this hotel so much! It’s a chic and elegant luxury hotel nearby to everything you want to do and see! We were able to walk everywhere, there’s tons of shops & food nearby, and the U-Bahn (metro) entrance is right on the corner. The breakfast at this hotel was amazing and they even have a rooftop bar as well! We loved staying here so much and wold definitely recommend booking here if you’re visiting Vienna.

You can find other Vienna hotels here on Expedia!


How to Get Around Vienna

Vienna is an extremely walkable city. We were able to walk almost everywhere we wanted to visit! But if you don’t want to walk, you can talk public transportation all around the city as well. We used both the U-Bahn (underground metro) and the trams as well. From the airport, you can take the CAT train from the airport to the city center direct in just 16 minutes. It was very fast and easy to use.

We had the Vienna City Card, which gave us access to public transportation and discounts on attractions as well. Depending on the length of time you are staying in Vienna, the city card prices vary. For example, a 72 hour city card is €29. If you don’t want the Vienna city card, you can purchase tickets for public transportation in the stations at the ticketing machines.

Uber and Bolt are also available in Vienna if you prefer rideshares.

Best Things to Do in Vienna

two girls sitting near st. charles church vienna karlsplatz

St. Charles Church / Karlsplatz

schönbrunn palace gardens vienna

Schönbrunn Palace

the kiss gustav klimt upper belvedere vienna

“The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt in Upper Belvedere

two girls hugging in front of vienna opera house

Vienna Opera House

  • Visit the Upper Belevedere - The Upper Belvedere is an art museum with majority of works from Austrian artists. The most famous work they have there is “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt. The grounds and garden of the Belvedere are also gorgeous. As far as museums go, this is the most worth it one in Vienna in our opinion!

  • Walk through the Naschmarket - Vienna’s largest and most popular outdoor market! Here you’ll find local food vendors, cafes, shops, and more.

  • Explore the Albertina Museum - a famous art museum in Vienna where you can find works from some local artists as well as some works from internationally famous artists like Van Gogh’s Monet, and Picasso. Make sure to check out the upper terrace for a great photo spot & view of the Vienna Opera House.

  • Visit St. Stephen’s Cathedral - one of the most beautiful cathedreal’s we’ve ever seen! This area is kind of touristy (really the only tourist-y area in Vienna in our opinion) but definitely worth it. Near to the cathedral is also the Column of Pest - a beautiful Baroque memorial.

  • Check out the Vienna Opera House - you can go see a show there or just admire the building itself! We loved the view from the upper terrace of the Albertina Museum.

  • Explore Schönbrunn Palace - This was once the main summer residence of the Habsburg royal family. The grounds are exceptionally gorgeous and so large! You can definitely get lost exploring here. We did not go inside the Palace because the tickets were €35 each, but the grounds are free to explore!

  • Check out St. Charle’s Church - beautiful Baroque Church in the Karlspltaz. We didn’t go inside but it’s gorgeous for a photo!

  • Go vintage shopping at Burggasse 24 - a hip vintage shop & cafe.

  • Stop in a Manner - Manner - the famous Austrian wafer treat, can be found in a places over the city. It’s a great souvenir to bring back for people or to try yourself!

  • Stop in St. Charles Apothecary - local Viennese pharmacy.

You can book more Vienna tours & day trips here on Expedia!


Where to Eat & Drink in Vienna (Vegan)

swing kitchen vegan vienna

Swing Kitchen

Pia’s Wohlleben vegan spatzle

Pia’s Wohlleben

landia vegan schnitzel vienna

Landia

veganista vegan ice cream vienna

Veganista

  • Swing Kitchen - vegan fast food chain that can be found all over the city

  • Pepper & Ginny - cute local cafe with vegan versions of Austrian favorites

  • Landia - vegan versions of traditional Austrian food like Schnitzel and Pierogies.

  • Pia’s Wohlleben - Spatzle (german pasta dish) restaurant with vegan menu

  • Liebling - cafe with vegan options

  • Veganista - vegan ice cream chain that can be found all over the city

  • Pizzi’s & Cream - vegan pizzeria with local pizza toppings

  • No Panic Coffee

  • The Truth Coffee

  • Zum Wiener Würstl - vegan Bratwurst/Currywurst options

  • Velani - vegan versions of traditional Austrian food

  • Cafe Savoy - LGBTQ+ bar & cafe


The LGBTQ+ Scene in Vienna

two girls under pride flag in vienna
wlw couple street crossing signal vienna

We visited Vienna during Vienna Pride, and the whole city was covered in rainbows. There were rainbow crosswalks, tons of Pride flags, there’s even inclusive street crossing signals at some of the crossings all over the city. And Vienna Pride was amazing to experience — there are no barricades and everyone who attends can march in the parade with the floats. We’ve never seen anything like it at any Pride we’ve been to before. There are also tons of LGBTQ+ spaces in Vienna as well including:

  • Cafe Savoy

  • Village Bar

  • Felixxx

  • Villa Vida

  • Flinte

  • Why Not

We felt extremely safe and welcomed in Vienna as a couple and seeing the whole city come together for Vienna Pride was absolutely amazing.


If you want to see everything we got up to in Vienna, make sure you check out our Vienna YouTube vlog!

 
 
 

As always, all opinions are honest and our own. Some links on this post are affiliate links of which we receive a small commission, but the price is the same for you.