7 Reasons for Spending Christmas in Vienna (& The Best Things to Do)

Christmas in Vienna is magical.

With its imperial architecture, magnificent museums, classical music scene and cafes galore, this is a superb destination at any time of year. But visit Vienna at Christmas, and you will find that it is transformed into a sparkling, festive wonderland, and one that is well and truly open for business.

And Vienna is a great destination if you are travelling alone, even if it is your first solo travel trip.

Are you up for a spot of festive flashpacking? If so, here are my seven reasons to spend Christmas in Vienna.

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WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT VIENNA AT CHRISTMAS

Reason #1: Vienna is Open for Business on Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Many cities, especially those in Europe, essentially shut down on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and beyond. The last thing that you want to be faced with is a city that has no public transport over the festive period and whose museum and restaurant doors are firmly shut.

Therefore, it pays to do your homework before you book that flight.

Unlike my home city of London, most of Venice’s main attractions are open on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, its transport system is operational and many of its restaurants welcome diners. For me, this is a non-negotiable criterion for a Christmas short-break destination.

Christmas Eve in Vienna

That said, don’t expect much to be happening on Christmas Eve from 2 pm as this is when Austrians celebrate Christmas.

However, I arrived in Vienna on Christmas Eve night and, with the help of my hotel, was able to eat at Bistro/Restaurant Süd Länder, an excellent local restaurant.

Recommended restaurants open on Christmas Day in Vienna

Although not all restaurants will be open in Vienna on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, I didn’t struggle to find somewhere to eat, and you can always refuel at one of the city’s Christmas markets. And that’s not a hardship!

Here are some recommended restaurants that are open on Christmas day in Vienna.

What can you do in Vienna at Christmas?

There’s no shortage of places that are open in Vienna on Christmas Day and Boxing day.

To get your bearings, I suggest you start off by taking a walking tour of Vienna’s old town.  Although organised tours may not be operating over the holiday period, armed with a guidebook, it is very easy to do a self-guided walking tour.

I followed the historic centre self-guided walking tour in Lonely Planet Vienna.

After that, it’s time to hit Vienna’s highlights!

Here’s my pick of the best things to do in Vienna on Christmas Day and Boxing Day with travel tips, ticket prices and opening hours on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. However, to avoid disappointment, please check opening times before your visit in case these have changed.

Kunsthistoriches Museum  

Housed in a sumptuous former Hapsburg Palace, the vast collection of the Kunsthistoriches Museum transports you from Ancient Rome to the Renaissance.

There’s no way that you will be able to ‘do it all’ in a few hours, so my advice is to pick a section and stick with that. If your time is limited, spend your time in the Picture Gallery getting to know its collection of Old Masters paintings.

But don’t leave before checking out the museum’s café.

Schloss Schönbrunn

One of Europe’s finest palaces, Schloss Schönbrunn also belonged to the Habsburg Empire. It would be a crime to visit Vienna at Christmas and not include this on your itinerary as it is also home to one of the city’s best Christmas market stalls, albeit on a small scale.

If you are a Mozart fangirl or fanboy, this is a must-see as this is where Austria’s wunderkind gave his first public performance in front of Empress Elisabeth.

The Belvedere 

I preferred The Belvedere to both the Kunsthistoriches Museum and Schönbrunn Palace.

This elaborate and romantic UNESCO World Heritage site is rightly considered to be one of the world’s finest baroque palaces. The place that Prince Eugene of Savoy liked to call home now houses an art collection to rival that seen in the Kunsthistoriches Museum.

Its most famous exhibit is Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss (1908), not to be missed by art history buffs. And get this: The Belvedere has thoughtfully provided a ‘selfie room’ where you can Instagram yourself next to a replica of Klimt’s masterpiece without running the risk of annoying other visitors.

Make sure that you make time to wander around the palace’s manicured gardens. It’s no accident that the palace and gardens were named Belvedere – literal translation ‘beautiful view’ – as from here, Vienna’s skyline is laid out before you.

Hundertwasserhaus 

Now for something completely different.

A short tram ride from the city centre, Hundertwasserhaus is a residential apartment block with a twist. In contrast to Vienna’s stately architecture, this is completely wacky with uneven surfaces, curved lines, bright primary colours and mosaic pillars.

Sadly, you can’t take a peek inside the houses – people live here – but there’s plenty to admire from the outside.

Reason #2: To Relive The Third Man on the Riesenrad Ferris Wheel

As a film buff, this was a must-do in Vienna for me.

Soaring above the Prater, the Riesenrad Ferris wheel was the setting for a pivotal scene in the 1949 film noir The Third Man. The film’s central character, Harry Lime, takes a slow, tense ride on this wheel, culminating in his ‘cuckoo clock speech’, now enshrined in the annals of film history:

In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.

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Reason #3: To Hear the Vienna Boys’ Choir Sing on Christmas Day Morning

The world’s most celebrated choir has been around since 1498 when Maximillian I replaced castrati with young boys whose voices had not yet broken. Hearing the Vienna Boys’ Choir sing at Mass on Christmas morning had been on my bucket list for a long time and was one of my main reasons for spending Christmas in Vienna.

It was an extraordinary and unmissable experience. The acoustics of the Wiener Hofburgkapelle (Hofburg Chapel) in Vienna’s Imperial Palace, made the celestial notes of Haydn’s Mass in G Major soar.

How to get tickets for the Vienna Boys’ Choir

• You will need to book tickets to hear the Vienna Boys’ Choir on Christmas morning well in advance.
• Prices are from 12 Euro (restricted view).
• Mass starts at 9.15 am.

Reason #4: To Attend a Classical Music Concert in One of Vienna’s Baroque Churches

Why stop at hearing the Vienna Boys’ Choir?

Austria’s capital is not lacking in musical heritage; both Mozart and Beethoven are buried here. Accordingly, the city is awash with opportunities to attend a classical music concert in a magnificent setting that is decked out for Christmas.

On my final night in Vienna, I attended a concert of Mozart’s Requiem, with a few bonus numbers thrown in, at Karlskirche (St Charles’s Church)  Seated ticket prices from 33 Euro.

Spine-tingling stuff and enough to make you want to watch Amadeus all over again.

Reason #5: To Gaze at Vienna’s Christmas Lights

The Viennese do Christmas really well.

No tacky Tango lights here (London, hang your head in shame). Instead, the streets of Vienna are decked with classy Christmas decorations and illuminations.

The main Christmas lights in Vienna are switched on in late November.

Reason #6: To Drink Glühwein at Vienna’s Christmas Markets

One of the very best reasons to spend Christmas in Vienna is to visit one or more of its Christmas markets. These open in mid-November with some continuing until early January.

It’s hard to beat strolling around one of these festive wonderlands, lights twinkling, the smoky aroma of roasted chestnuts perfuming the crisp night air. This is a tradition dating back to the late 13^th Century, and the city has plenty of choices, each market having its own personality.

Christkindlmarkt on the Rathausplatz is the biggest Christmas market in Vienna. Although it is not exactly a well-kept secret, the backdrop of the Rathaus is spectacular and its location in Old Town is central.

Not only can you pick up authentic Vienna souvenirs at the Christmas markets, including gingerbread houses or the iconic snow globes, but they are also the place to drink glühwein (mulled wine).

Once you’ve paid a deposit for a festive mug at one of the mug stalls, you can then fill it with glühwein. When you’ve had enough of the warm spicy stuff, then return the mug and get your deposit back.

Alternatively, you can hold on to the mug as a cheap reminder of the time you had one glühwein too many at the Christmas market in Vienna!

To soak up the alcohol, tuck into Viennese Christmas market food. Sausages galore, gingerbread, pancakes, doughnuts, and pastries; the choice is yours. My favourite was Bratkartoffeln, a tasty pan-fried potato dish.

Dates of Vienna’s Christmas markets in 2022

In 2022, Vienna’s Christmas markets will start to open from mid-November, with all of them opening by the end of that month. Most of the big markets remain open until the end of December.

Reason #7: To Get Cosy in One of Vienna’s Cafes

It would be criminal to visit Vienna at Christmas and not spend time in at least one of the city’s cafes.

Vienna has Europe’s oldest café culture – its first coffee shop opened in 1683 – and one of its most thriving. The Viennese take their coffee and cake very seriously, and the city’s coffee houses have an atmosphere unlike others that you may have visited.

I sampled Sachertorte, layers of chocolate cake glued together with apricot preserve, in Café Goldegg, which was old-fashioned art nouveau heaven with green velvet booths and billiards tables. Other cafes are more formal and waiters will bring you your caffeinated nectar on a silver tray.

Why not try both?

What is it Like to Visit Vienna at Christmas as a Solo Traveller?

If you are nervous about taking a Christmas break as a solo traveller, I completely understand.

Solo travel can be lonely at the best of times. But with its focus on family togetherness, Christmas can be a particularly tough time to travel alone.

Therefore, it is important that your destination has plenty to occupy you to keep loneliness at bay.

Vienna is a perfect destination to visit as a solo traveller at Christmas. Its museums and many of its restaurants are open for business and public transport is operational on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

There is more than enough to keep even the most restless soul entertained.

You can bone up on your art history, visit historic palaces, take advantage of Vienna’s vibrant classical music scene or simply explore the city on foot. Cosy restaurants and cafes are easy places to hang out whilst savouring Austrian cuisine.

I too was uncertain about spending Christmas away from family and friends. But I had such a good time that the following year I took a Christmas break in Krakow.

Where to Stay in Vienna

Although accommodation in Vienna tends to be on the pricey side, there are some gorgeous properties oozing old-world charm. This is a sprawling city, so try to pick somewhere fairly central or near a subway station.

READ THIS NEXT: 10 Factors You Cannot Ignore When Choosing a Hotel (Especially as a Solo Traveller)

Mid-range – Hotel Kaiserhof Wien 

I highly recommend staying at this wonderful hotel on Frankenberggasse 10. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

It is in a great location, less than a ten-minute walk from Karlsplatz subway station, and has a cosy salon bar and friendly, helpful staff. The generous and varied breakfast also deserves special mention.

>>> CLICK HERE TO CHECK RATES & BOOK

Here are a few other hotels in Vienna that I have found to suit other tastes and budgets:

Splurge – Small Luxury Hotel Altstadt Vienna

This boutique hotel in a renovated historic building close to the Museum Quarter offers prized single rooms. Reviews are glowing.

>>> CLICK HERE TO CHECK RATES & BOOK

Budget – Hotel-Pension Wild 

In Vienna, budget is a relative term, but this modest hotel within walking distance of the city centre will bring down your accommodation costs, particularly if you are prepared to share a bathroom or toilet.

>>> CLICK HERE TO CHECK RATES & BOOK

>>> None of these places take your fancy? Discover other great hotels in Vienna here.

How to Get Around Vienna at Christmas

As Vienna’s attractions are fairly spread out, it is inevitable that you will need to use public transport. The good news is that this is highly efficient, frequent and integrated.

As of October 2022, the flat rate for one journey is € 2.40.

24-/48-/72-hour tickets are also available for €8, €14.10 and €17.10 respectively.

There is also a hop-on-hop-off bus.

READ THIS NEXT: Is the Vienna Explorer Pass Worth it? An Honest Review

>>> GRAB YOUR GOLDEN TICKET TO VIENNA’S TOP ATTRACTIONS. CLICK HERE TO BUY THE VIENNA EXPLORER PASS OR HERE FOR THE VIENNA PASS.