Posted September 2022. Updated August 2025
Vienna: The Ultimate 3-Day Itinerary – Find out how to spend 3 wonderful days in the city of music and take notes of all the tips about each place!
At the end of April, I spent 3 days in Vienna (followed by another 3 days in Budapest) and the city immediately won my heart. You can feel the history and culture of Vienna wherever you go, it is like traveling back in time.
In this article, you will find all the information you need to prepare your trip to Vienna and my complete 3-day itinerary.
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Table of Contents
Plan Your Trip to Vienna
Best Time to Visit Vienna
Vienna is a year-round destination. Spring (April – June) and fall (September – October) are the most pleasant, with mild weather and fewer crowds. December is magical if you want to experience the Christmas markets, while July and August can be hot and busier. I visited in April and the city was blooming, so beautiful.
How Many Days in Vienna?
Three days is a great introduction to the city, allowing time for palaces, historic landmarks, and Vienna’s café culture. If you’re especially into art and museums, add an extra day.
Where to Stay in Vienna
For first-time visitors, staying in Innere Stadt (1st District) keeps you within walking distance of most highlights. Neubau (7th District) is a good alternative if you prefer trendy cafés and boutiques, while Landstraße (3rd District) puts you close to Belvedere Palace. Make sure to stay close enough to a metro station for easy navigation.
how to get to the city centre from the airport
The most affordable and fastest way to get to the city center is by train. To easily compare trains and prices, I advise you to install the OBB app. To the central station of Vienna the regional train S7 takes about 25 minutes and costs 4.60€ (however I was accompanied and bought a ticket through the app to which I added a second passenger, and it was less than that for a ticket for two people! But I don’t know it this is still valid, I was there in 2022)
When leaving the airport towards the train station you will also see a lot of information for CAT – City Airport Train: run away! Each ticket costs 12.45€ and the trip is only 5 minutes faster than on the regional trains.
How to get Around in Vienna
To move around the city I used the subway several times since some points of interest are further away from the center, as well as the Airbnb where I stayed. Each individual metro ticket costs 2.40€. The 24h ticket costs 8€, the 48h ticket costs 14.10€, and the 72h ticket costs 17.10€.
Itinerary
Day 1
Schönbrunn Palace
As I only arrived in Vienna late in the morning, I decided to use the afternoon to visit Schonbrunn Palace, as it is a place that I already knew would take me some time to visit and because it is also one of the farthest from the city center (but relatively close to my accommodation).
I booked the Grand Tour, a guided tour inside the palace that lasts about 50-60 minutes with audio guide through 40 rooms of the palace, which no longer exists, at least with the same name. Currently, the most common visits are through the Palace Ticket, with audio guide too. The ticket costs 28€ for students <25 years old and 34€ for adults. There are also other types of tickets for other areas of the site, which you can find here: ticket prices here.
Note: Photography is not allowed inside the palace
When I was planning my trip I remember debating going on this tour due to the huge number of museums that exist in Vienna related to imperial history. I ended up really enjoying it, but I don’t know how different the experience is now, it is certainly pricier.
In the end I went to visit the gardens, which are HUGE! Some of the most interesting and well-known points are the Palm House, a greenhouse with a beautiful interior botanical garden (I didn’t visit it because by that time it had already closed and the entrance was paid separately, I had to make choices ahah); the Gloriette, a structure on the opposite side of the palace that allows you to have an incredible view over the city (going up to the top is also paid, but I don’t think it’s worth it); Neptune’s fountain, the oldest Zoo in the world (paid, of course), a labyrinth (paid separately too…) and much more…
Yes, it’s true, you pay to see everything and I chose not to because I had already done the tour with an audio guide, but believe me, the free area of the gardens is beautiful too, and so big that I stayed until the gates closed.
(Pay attention to this, I left 1 minute BEFORE closing time, and even then I had a lady yelling at me…) I will leave here the opening hours, which change throughout the year.
Day 2
Albertina Museum Terrace
This is one of the most photographed locations in Vienna, a terrace overlooking the Opera House! You don’t have to enter the museum to access this terrace, there are escalators directly from the street to it. I went in the morning and it was quiet, but by the time I was leaving there was a significant amount of people waiting to take pictures in the best spot.
If you do want to visit Albertina Museum, here is the important information:
- Opening Hours: Daily from 10AM to 6PM
- Tickets: 19.90€ for adults, 15.90€ for <26 yearls old, free for <19 years old.
Burgarten
Later I stopped by Burgarten, the ideal garden to rest for a while. This is where you will find the Mozart monument and the Butterfly House botanical garden where you can see lots of butterflies up close (entrance to the Butterfly House costs 10€).
- Garden Opening Hours:
- April – October: 6AM – 10PM
- November – March: 7AM – 5:30PM
Hofburg Palace
The Hofburg Palace square is also a very popular place in the city and the busiest place I’ve been. Besides the huge amount of tourists passing by, there were still some cars and, unfortunately, a lot of horse-drawn tourist carriages. This palace was the imperial residence for several years and it is here that the Sisi museum dedicated to Empress Elisabeth is located, where you can visit several rooms, the silver and porcelain collection and many costumes of the time. I skipped the museum this time, but it is still one of the most visited in the city. You can see all the information about the tickets here.
Maria-Theresian Platz
In this square there are a lot of museums, but not only. The square was full of gentlemen dressed like the old Vienna musicians, naturally selling tickets for the opera. It didn’t bother me much at first, but then I was being approached by all of them at the same time, without them accepting my first no. They kept going and going and I ended up just leaving the place because it was so uncomfortable… It was not the best experience.
Vienna State Opera
Although I didn’t go inside the building and the best view is really from the top of the Albertina museum, I went back for a walk around the Opera House to appreciate it more closely. Also, the best area to try Vienna’s famous sausages/dogs, the Kasekrainer, is here!
Sigmund Freud Museum
This museum is located in the building where Freud lived and had his practice. Even for someone like me who knew very little about the “Father of Psychoanalysis”, I found the museum super interesting. Besides several personal objects, curiosities, and stories about Freud, it is also possible to listen to his interpretation of some dreams. The ticket can be bought online or on-site and is valid for the whole day. You can check all the information here.
Votive Church
This is the second tallest building in the city, a beautiful neo-gothic style church that is worth visiting. It is surrounded by a very nice park.
- Opening Hours:
- Church: Tuesday – Friday 10AM – 3PM; Saturday 11AM – 7PM; Sunday 9AM – 1PM
- Museum: Tuesday – Friday 1PM – 3PM; Saturday 2PM – 5PM
- Tickets:
- Church: Free
- Museum: Adults 8€, free for <14 years old
Rathaus/ City Hall
I had seen stunning pictures of Vienna while I was planning this trip, including the majestic City Hall, and I was so excited to see it in person. But of course, as I am a very lucky person, I arrived just after they had set up a huge stage in front of the building. But anyway, please enjoy its beauty for me! Right in front of it is the Burgtheater, or Austrian National Theater.
Ferstel Passage
A not-so-well-known but definitely “Instagram-worthy” place! It’s a small passageway with a few stores and cafés and a super cozy atmosphere. This was the last place I visited on the second day and I enjoyed the late afternoon on a terrace bar just outside this gallery.
Day 3
Karlskirche
The Church of St. Charles, or Karlskirche, is in my opinion one of the most beautiful monuments in the city and is called the Taj Mahal of Vienna (you can understand, right?). I had breakfast here and took the opportunity to photograph a little. Unfortunately, I couldn’t photograph the reflection of the water because it was super dirty, I hope you, who are reading this article, have better luck on your visit. Also, unlike the pictures I saw of the place, the lake is surrounded by huge pots with palm trees, which in my opinion only spoiled the view… Please let me know if they have already removed them!
- Opening Hours:
- Monday – Saturday: 9AM – 6PM
- Sunday: 11AM – 7PM
- Tickets: 9.5€ for adults, 6€ students, 5€ youth
St. Stephen's Cathedral
The tallest building in Vienna and one of the great symbols of the city could not be missing from my itinerary. The outside was completely full of people, so if you want to photograph it without anyone you really have to go early in the morning. When you enter the cathedral you have a small hall that you can visit for free. However, for everything else you have to pay: north tower, south tower, catacombs, treasure, etc… You can buy an all-inclusive ticket or just the individual ticket for something you really want to visit.
I did the catacombs tour because it was something I had never done before. The schedules are available on the website and it is not possible to make a reservation. Inside the cathedral go to the ticket office on the left side and tell them you want to take the catacomb tour, they will show you where to wait and the guide will show up at the appointed time. The tour is in English and German and photography is not allowed. A fee of 7€ is paid in cash to the guide at the end of the tour. You can check all the tour options here.
St. Peter's Church
You will probably come across this church if you walk in the area of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. This is also the area where the “Plague Column” can be found.
- Opening Hours:
- Monday – Friday 8AM – 7PM
- Weekends and holidays: 9AM – PM
- Tickets: Free entry
Hundertwasser Quarter
These famous colorful houses were designed by the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. His works are characterized by curved lines, irregular shapes, and strong colors. In this neighborhood, you can find a small shopping center in the same style with lots of souvenir stores. This place is a little further away from the center, the ideal is to go by subway.
Belvedere Palace
This palace also easily entered the list of my favorite places. It consists of two main buildings: the Upper Belvedere and the Lower Belvedere. These buildings were the imperial summer residence in the past and now function as art galleries that can be visited by paying a ticket (they are separate tickets, which you can find here). The gardens can be visited for free and they are beautiful!
The Upper Belvedere garden is well known for having a huge pond, which is very popular for taking pictures. However, as soon as someone decided to rest on the grass or walk on it to take a photo, a security guard from the palace would immediately appear and warn that it was forbidden to be there, even though there were no signs about it. Unfortunately for that guard, as soon as he managed to scare someone away, someone else was already on the other side of the lake, not knowing anything, sitting and taking pictures, so the security guard was literally running around the garden non-stop… So, if you see someone running towards you… you know why. I wonder if there are any signs about it now.
Prater Park
Next, I visited the oldest amusement park in the world! This is where you can find the oldest Ferris wheel in the world, which is still running and is already one of the symbols of the city. Admission to the park is free, you only pay to ride each of the rides if you want to do so. The park is huge, with many attractions that I had never seen before.
This is how my trip through Vienna ended, which was short but quite intense. I loved the atmosphere of the city and I hope to return one day, maybe in December so I can see the Christmas markets!
I hope this article “Vienna: The Ultimate 3-Day Itinerary” helped you to plan your trip to Vienna! Leave your opinion in the comments and follow me on social networks so you don’t miss my next trips. Use #travelplannerholic to get noticed.
With Love,
Catarina Vieira
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