Vienna Half Day Itinerary

Short on time in Vienna? We hear you. Here’s a half day itinerary, designed to maximise your few hours in Vienna. This self-guided walking tour is ideal for those passing through Vienna for about 4-5 hours.

Vienna is one of Europe’s all time classic cities, but there’s so much to see. While it would be amazing to spend at least 4 days in Austria’s capital, some of us just don’t have that time up our sleeves! We passed through Vienna in under a day, on Christmas Day, and wanted to share our half-day itinerary, which also serves as a self-guided walking tour.

Keep in mind that because you’re so short on time, you’ll have to decide which attractions you want to explore more and actually enter. Realistically, you might only be able to enter 2 or 3 attractions.

Note that you can walk from attraction to attraction on this itinerary, except the last one, which will require a train or taxi ride.

Where to stay in Vienna

You’ll need a nice and comfy place to stay before you take on this Vienna Half Day Itinerary. Vienna has some amazing accommodation options - here are our top recommendations!

Budget: Hotel-Pension Wild

Vienna isn’t known for being the most budget-friendly city, but thankfully, the Hotel-Pension Wild is a great affordable option for all.

You can check out Hotel-Pension Wild by clicking here.

Mid-Range: Ruby Lissi Hotel Vienna

The Ruby Lissi Hotel Vienna features some eclectic yet stylish furniture and decorations, and is known for its extremely central location.

You can check out Ruby Lissi Hotel Vienna by clicking here.

Luxury: Small Luxury Hotel Altstadt Vienna

I love this small boutique hotel! Right in the heart of Vienna, everything here is so immaculately designed and carefully curated to maximise comfort and style for hotel guests.

You can check out Small Luxury Hotel Altstadt Vienna by clicking here.

Belvedere Palace

Belvedere Palace will be the best place to start your itinerary if you’re coming from Vienna Central Station (Wien hauptbahnhof).

The Belevedere is a collection of historic buildings featuring not one, but two Baroque palaces – the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. It sometimes referred to as Belvedere Museum.

For a quick visit, you can tour the exterior of the palaces and the gardens for free. The gardens are absolutely magnificent, so this stop is worth a good 30 minutes if you have the time.

Entrance to the Upper Palace is 16 Euro, while entrance to the Lower Palace costs 14 Euro. You can get a combination for 24 Euro to enter both palaces.  Remember to take into account the time taken to line up and get a ticket – which can range from 20 minutes to 2 hours on a busy day.

Note – The Belvedere palaces are currently closed until 2021 for renovations. You can still walk around the main gardens for free.

St Charles Church

St Charles Church (Karlskirche) is one of Vienna’s most recognisable buildings. Located within one Vienna’s main plazas (the Karlsplatz), this church is 72m tall and features a teal dome, white pillars and classic baroque architecture.

Entrance to the church costs 8 Euro for adults, while children get free entry.

Vienna State Opera

The best way to see one of the world’s most famous Opera theatres is obviously to watch an opera show. However, if short on time, a quick stop to look at the State Opera’s exterior will do.

Maria-Theresien-Platz

The Maria-Thersien-Platz is one of Vienna’s most impressive public squares. As you walk through the square, you’ll notice the huge Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) building with the Empress Maria Theresia Monument in front of it. On the other side of the platz will be the Naturhistorishes Museum (Natural History Museum), which looks almost looks identical to the Art History Museum. Both museums are worth entering if you’re interested in those topics.

Museumsquartier (Museum Quarter)

The Museumsquartier is a huge area for some of Vienna’s most well-known museums, including the MUMOK, Leopold Museum and Kunsthalle Wien. If you have the time, I would suggest going into only one of these museums.

St Stephen’s Cathedral

With its stunning gothic architectural style, St Stephen’s Cathedral has been one of Vienna’s most enduring symbols over the centuries. First constructed in the 12th century, St Stephen’s Cathedral is still one of Austria’s ultimate gems.

If there’s one place to spend a little longer than usual at on your half-day, it’s this one.

Entrance costs 5.5 Euro for adults and 2 Euro for children, but this attraction is definitely worth paying the entrance fee for.

Hofburg

The Hofburg used to be where the Habsburg dynasty rulers used to reside. Today, it serves as the official residence and office of the President of Austria (sort of like the White House, but in Austria). Its exterior is very impressive, and is worth strolling along to awe at how big the complex is.

The palace is indeed very beautiful inside but unless you’re a history buff, we would probably skip going inside on your half-day, as there’s a lot to see inside the Hofburg. We’ll save this one for our next trip.

However, if you still wish to visit, entrance is 15 Euro for Adults and 9 Euro for Children.

Rathausplatz

The Rathausplatz is another square in Vienna (Vienna sure does love its public squares!), and this time, it’s been named that way because it encapsulates the Rathaus (City Hall) of Vienna. The Rathaus is also one of Vienna’s most important buildings because of its historical significance and striking architecture.

During Christmas time, the Rathausplatz transforms into an electric Christmas market, featuring an ice rink and other activities.

Schönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn Palace was where the Hasburg dynasty rulers stayed in the summer. It is quite possibly Austria’s most important monument, due to its historical, cultural and architectural significance.

Astonishingly, Schönbrunn Palace contains a jaw-dropping 1,441 rooms, all opulently designed to ‘wow’ visitors.

If you have time, you should absolutely buy a ticket inside, because this is Vienna’s most impressive tourist attraction. However – please note that the palace is quite far away from the other attractions which are located in Vienna city. Getting to the palace requires about a 30-minute train journey or a 15-minute car ride, so this is something you should do as your last stop of the day.

Entrance fees to Schönbrunn Palace vary widely, depending on which attractions you want to see in the complex. For the Imperial Tour, you’ll get to see 22 rooms for 18 Euro, and this lasts rougly 30 minutes. There are other tours available for a more expensive fee. Touring the gardens and seeing the palace from the outside is thankfully free.

If you don’t have the time, I would recommend skipping it for this time and coming back later, as you need at least 1.5 hours to really do the palace any kind of justice.

Going around Austria? Check out our posts on the picturesque town of Hallstatt and the underrated resort town of Velden am Worthersee!.

Also read: Which city should you choose – Vienna, Prague, Budapest or Bratislava?

Did you manage to tick off all the items? Did you feel rushed? Let us know how much you enjoyed visiting Vienna in the comments below!