Winter in Vienna – What to see and do

Temperatures fall, and the days get shorter, but Vienna never falls asleep. The weather can vary between 10 °C and -15 °C in January. Within a few days, you can experience sun from a clear blue sky to bitterly cold snowstorms. Nonetheless, there are plenty of activities to enjoy whatever nature throws. Furthermore, enjoy a much less crowded city, compared to summer. Well, at least away from the Christmas Markets. There are plenty of things to do — outdoors and indoors.

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Ice-skating

Every November the Ice Skating rink – Eistraum at the Rathausplatz opens for the season. You can show of your skills at the 9.000 m² large ice-rink. Moreover, free practice areas invite children and beginners to take their first steps on the ice, while eight ice stock shooting lanes provide entertainment for team games. You can rent skates onsite.

Season: Open from January until March.
Hours: Daily from 10:00 to 22:30 o’clock 
Metro/subway: U2 U-Bahn Station Rathaus
Tram: Lines 1 and D to Rathausplatz/Burgtheater

Ticket Prices: approx. 8,00 Euro per adult
Skate rental: approx. 7,50 Euro

Museums and exhibitions

Vienna has a long list of museums that are a perfect getaway on chilly, windy winter days. Austria’s capital has more than 100 museums, which include everything from world-renown collections to quirky exhibits. Check out what the Romans were up to at the Römermuseum, marvel at Emperor Rudolf II’s crown at The Imperial Treasury Museum (Wiener Schatzkammer), or take the tram to The Remise – the city’s public transport museum, which is full of old-timer trams and other vehicles.

Café’s & Culinary Delights

Experiencing Vienna’s coffee house culture should be on the top of your list of activities at any time of the year. Nevertheless, on a cold winter day, it really makes sense not only to mingle with the Viennese but also to try some of the local culinary delights such an Altwiener Suppentopf (vegetables and pasta in a meat broth). Moreover, a good hot cup of coffee accompanied by a delicious cake is a must. Do like the Viennese, relax with a good read, enjoy a Wiener Melange and take your time choosing a cake from the exquisite menagerie of sweet delights.

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Relax at a Spa

Therme Wien, to the city’s south, is Europe’s most extensive and modern city spa. Its waters are heated by sulphur springs, popular even as far back as Roman times. On a cold winter day in Vienna, the 26 pools and 25 saunas and steam rooms are the perfect retreats. Although it’s located in Oberlaa, on the southern outskirts of Vienna, it can be reached quickly from the city centre with subway line U1.

Get close up to sharks and monkeys

Haus des Meeres, or “the house of the sea” as it is called in English is actually not only an aquarium, as it also houses a mini zoo. The idea is to show nature in interaction, from the fish in the water to the birds in the trees. Haus des Meeres has 11 floors where they display fish from both salt and fresh water. In addition, a small tropical house has been added, where you can observe the nature from the forest floor and the alligator dam and right up to the tree canopies. Birds fly to your head and little monkeys are swinging in the trees. This is the closest you can get to the jungle without actually going there.

For more info: Haus des Meeres Aqua Terra Zoo

Enjoy a concert

The Wiener Musikverein is one of the world’s most beautiful concert halls and the most decorative and striking buildings on Vienna’s Ringstrasse. Furthermore, it is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The most famous event is the annual Vienna New Year’s Concert. Why not enjoy famous classical music such as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – in the Brahms Hall of the Wiener Musikverein! If you love Mozart, Strauss, or classical Viennese operettas, check out The Vienna Residence Orchestra program that performs daily concerts at Palais Auersperg.

Be impressed by heavenly frescos

Churches, public buildings, and palaces in Vienna are important monuments to history and architecture. Especially churches in Vienna are not only places of belief, but are impressive cultural monuments. You can see stunning ceiling frescos in many of the public buildings, and palaces in Vienna. One example is the 17th century Jesuit Church that conceals an opulent interior with some heavenly frescos. Another place for fabulous frescos is the Austrian National Library. It is the biggest Baroque library in Europe. The Prunksaal (State Hall) has a palatial interior.

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