Things to Do in Vienna in Spring

Spring is one of the best times to travel to Vienna. The city is in full bloom, locals flock the parks and the cafés open their terraces which are perfect for people watching. Here are my favourite things to do in Vienna in springtime:

Chill in the Parks

As soon as the sun comes out, Austrians make use of every opportunity to be outdoors. Winters are quite long and dark. Hence, we love to maximize our time in the sun.

In the city centre, parks like Burggarten or Stadtpark are a perfect spot not only for sunbathing but also for meeting your friends, picnics or studying.

This is not limited to these two parks. Basically every green area in Vienna is turned into a happening place in spring  – from the parks inside the university campus at Altes AKH, to Tuerkenschanzpark in Waehring district, to Lainzer Tiergarten in Vienna’s West.

Cherry Blossoms at Setagaya Park

It is really tough to choose the top pictures during springtime in Austria and not to overcrowd this website or Instagram profile. There are just too many beautiful spots I wanted to capture. One of the highlights is the cherry blossom season at Setagaya Park in the Northern district of Doebling. Check out my post for more details.

Ice Cream

Even though some ice cream parlours are open all year round, the real start of the gelato season in Austria is in March. A lot of Italian families who run the places spend the winter in Italy and return to Austria in spring.

There is a broad range of ice cream places to choose from but one of my favourites is the Eissalon Tuchlauben (Tuchlauben 15). Try the Kaffeecrème (coffee creme) or Nougat-Spezialeis (their nougat special ice cream). I also love the wild strawberry ice cream which is only available during the wild strawberry season.

Enjoy Coffee and Dine Outside

Most of the restaurants and cafés have outdoor seating areas. At the above-mentioned Burggarten, the Palmenaus has a big terrace where you can enjoy your coffee and lunch in the sun.

Even though it is a bit touristy, Café Landtmann has a beautiful outdoor seating area as well with a view of the city hall, the parliament and the Burgtheater. Another great spot in spring is Motto am Fluss with a deck above the Wien Kanal. If you want to be among Vienna’s who-is-who, Zum Schwarzen Kameel is the place. Check out my favourite coffee places in Vienna here.

Walk through the City

Spring is the best time to walk through Vienna and explore. It is not freezing anymore and not too hot yet. I really enjoy wandering the small streets and see where I end up. I compiled a Quick Guide for you with my favourite walking route which covers all the major sights in the city centre.

And if It Rains…

… visit one of the many museums and exhibitions. This spring, there are the Man Ray exhibition at BA-CA Kunstforum (review coming soon) or the Keith Haring exhibition at the Albertina, just to name a few.

Furthermore, the Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM, Art History Museum) is always a good idea. Their permanent collection involves works from the most famous artists in history (such as Raffael, Rubens or Brueghel). These classics are currently paired with “contemporary” artworks (from the 20th century onwards). Furthermore, you can see the Klimt paintings up close in the main staircase. I am currently working on a post about this as well, stay tuned! 🙂

Day Trips

Within a 30 to 60 minute drive radius, there are a lot of places which are perfect for a (half-)day trip. I recently visited Laxenburg Palace (find my Laxenburg post here). Alternatively, you can also drive to the “Adriatic Sea for the Viennese”, ie. Lake Neusiedl and visit the beautiful towns of Rust and Moerbisch and watch the storks coming back from the winter homes. Near Rust, there is another small town called Eisenstadt which used to be the home of the composer Joseph Haydn and the beautiful Esterházy Palace. For architecture fans, I highly recommend a quick trip to Brunn am Gebirge, which is about 20 minutes from Vienna and hosts a street of residential houses in the typical Austrian Jugenstil architecture style. (You can find the article here.)

For more information about Vienna, check out my Ultimate Guide and area-specific “Graetzl” Guides (Gumpendorfer Strasse and Lindengasse).