Essential Information – Vienna City at Christmas

Location

Vienna is the Capital city of Austria and is famed for its Christmas markets. The square outside its city hall is turned into a fairy tale land full of bright lights and Christmassy smells, like mulled wine and roasted nuts.

Aside from its Christmas markets, the city is full of impressive architecture. It is also home to the world’s most important treasury which holds two imperial crowns as well as the Burgundian treasure and the treasure of the Golden Fleece!

For more information to plan your visit, check out Visiting Vienna website HERE

Best time to visit

Well, Christmas obviously!

Visit the Christmas markets at night to experience their beautiful lights. The crowds will be huge and you’ll have to wait in line for a mulled wine, but that’s all part of the experience!

Spend the daytime visiting its less Christmas-themed attractions. There’s still a whole load of attractions to keep you busy until the evening.

Getting around

You can buy a travel ticket to Vienna which allows you to use the trains, metro and buses in the city area. Unfortunately, this does not cover the train to the airport which is outside of the city area. For that, you will need to buy a separate ticket.

Airport Train – We were advised to get the train from the airport to the main metro station by our Airbnb host who has done the journey countless times. The train ticket costs €4.10 and can be bought at the airport railway station. You can take either of the following trains:

Metro, Bus, Trains in the City – You can get to all of Vienna’s main attractions via the metro. It’s quick and easy and for the inner city, you’ll never have to wait for more than a few minutes for a tram. The ticket used for the metro can however be used for trains and busses within the city.

Currency

The currency used in Austria is the Euro which you can either purchase at the airport or before you travel for better rates.

Language

German is the predominantly spoken language in Austria.

Hello – Hallo – hâ-loh

Good-bye! – Auf Wiedersehen – ouf vee-der-zey-en

Thank you – Danke – dân-ke

Please/You’re welcome – Bitte – bi-te

Do you speak English? – Sprechen Sie Englisch? – shprêH-en zee êng-lish?

To read all about our top five things to see in Vienna click her