Christmas Markets in Vienna
So to be totally transparent and honest. I wasn’t fully prepared for my trip to Vienna. I was super busy the few weeks/months leading up to my trip to London & Vienna that I hadn’t fully planned it. Which is very not like me but again it’s kinda nice to wing it sometimes.
With that being said my research on Vienna was pretty minimal so there are a few things I’d love to do differently or adjust for future visits or just as some advice to anyone thinking about visiting! I also found when i did do some research for Vienna there weren’t many blogs or posts about it so I for sure felt the need to write about what I learned. I hope this is helpful and if you aren’t sure about visiting Vienna then this will inspire you to come visit! Especially if you are a Christmas/ holiday lover like myself, which was truthfully the reason I went to Vienna is for the Christmas Markets which litter the city during the holidays.
CHRISTMAS MARKET INFO
11:00 am – 9 pm (Mon-Sunday)
Trinkets, Christmas ornaments, candles, chocolate, dry mixes, gnomes, candle holders, ornaments made from cinnamon and honestly so many other things. In addition to items for sale there are also food stalls. So many in almost every area of the market. Of course each market is slightly different but I did notice that a few of the same stalls were at all of the 6 markets that I visited. Some additional tips that might be helpful is make sure you bring cash since most places mostly take that over credit cards. I did find that few places did actually take card. Also if you plan to have drinks each Christmas Market has their own mugs that you pay (€2-4) in addition to the cost of the drink you’re buying. But if you don’t want to keep it then you can return it and the stall will refund you the deposit for the mug.
Schönbrunn Palace
Belvedere Palace Christmas Village
Museum Quarter / Maria Teresien Platz
Rathausplatz Christmas Village
Stephanplatz Church (behind)
Altwiener Christkindlmarkt
Where to Stay: [ideally stay somewhere near Stephansplatz since is the Center of Vienna]
Hotel Vienna [where I stayed but a little farther out from city center but still a good hotel and everyone was super sweet and helpful]
Hotel Spantzplatz (right by the city center)
Sightseeing: [must visit] (I didn’t get to do everything here but if I had longer I would have)
Big Bus Tours [I did the 2 day premium pass which also included a walking tour]
Big Bus Walking Tour [honestly highly recommend it was so informative and fun but bring layers it’s chilly]
Schönbrunn Palace (UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SIGHT)
Art at the Belvedere Palace [I’m not an art person but it was gorgeous and so much to see.]
Restaurants:
A note that my walking tour guide gave to me was if you see an empty restaurant that means it isn’t good or that it is a tourist trap. Which I guess does make sense but if you see a restaurant that’s super busy then that is the place to go to. Also don’t forget to grab food from the Christmas markets when you visit also.
Cafe Central [Super popular and expect to wait a bit for a seat — make sure you try some dessert it’s delicious.]
Cafe Bellaria Vienna [The goulash was delicious and I couldn’t resist getting a local beer.]
Reinthaler’s Beisl [This was recommended to me by my walking tour guide it was sadly super busy so I didn’t get to go in.]
Also don’t forget to check out the Vienna tourist website or Visiting Vienna for some additional information.
