11 Things to Do in Vienna at Night

Although Vienna has a reputation for being a quiet city, the truth is that at night it gets quite lively and combines party and good atmosphere with the tranquility and beauty that the night offers. On the one hand, the beautiful buildings of the historic center are illuminated and encourage visitors to take a walk and enjoy the view. On the other hand, the pubs and discos open their doors for nightlife enthusiasts.

This versatility is one of the main advantages of the city, as it offers plans for all tastes. Therefore, in this post I have gathered what, in my opinion, are the best options for when the night comes. Read on!

If you travel to Vienna and you are looking to make a different and unique plan at night there is an option that shines above the rest of the alternatives. I'm talking about going to the opera in Vienna, the Wiener Staatsoper.

It is best to book tickets in advance, but on the same day you can buy them at the box office and even at the last minute. However, the faster you hurry, the longer the queues. The last tickets are standing tickets, but the prices are very cheap.

The best tickets for the Vienna opera

There are always options to enjoy one of the quintessential experiences of the city of music. Here are some options for classical music concerts in Vienna:

• Tickets for Vivaldi's Four Seasons concert, from $36.
• Tickets for classical music concert at St. Peter's Church, from $47.
• Classical concert tickets for St. Anne's Church, from $35.
• Mozart concert tickets in Vienna, from $62.
• Mozart and Strauss concert tickets in Vienna, from $68.
• Tickets for a concert at Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna, from $61.
• Tickets for a concert atSchoenbrunn Palace Vienna with dinner and tour, from $143.

Booking a dinner cruise on the Danube in Vienna is one of the best plans you can make in the Austrian capital, either as a couple or with family or friends, to admire the impressive palaces, buildings and monuments such as the Vienna State Opera, the Danube Tower, the Schonbrünn Palace.

You will enjoy the most typical and traditional Austrian dishes such as schnitzel, Viennese sausages and apple strudel, while listening to live classical and folk music. Don't hesitate, feel the magic of the city in this approximately three-hour experience!

Vienna's city center is filled with historic buildings of extraordinary beauty. Their baroque facades and architecture make strolling through the streets a real visual treat. This is reinforced at night, as the illumination projected on the buildings highlights their beauty even more and added to the tranquility of the streets make an evening stroll through the center one of the best plans.

The list of buildings and monuments is very extensive. But it is worth mentioning the illumination of St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Staatsoper (Vienna's opera house), the Town Hall, the Parliament building or the church of St. Charles Borromeo. Further away from the center we can approach the surroundings of the Belvedere Palace or even further away by the Schönbrunn Palace.

Although it is also advisable to get lost in the streets of Imperial Vienna without having to take a fixed course. In this way, you will surely enjoy discovering the secrets of the city.

It can be said that the Danube flows through Vienna twice. Apart from the river itself, a canal was built from the river that runs through the old part of the city. The banks of the canal have been used to make walking areas and put several terraces, restaurants and shops that make it a very nice place to stroll and dine.

In summer they even install a floating pool on a boat and set up bathing areas. But it is at night when the canal is best used. In addition to illuminating the bridges that cross it, the canal's bars and restaurants set up terraces with armchairs and chill out areas to forget the hustle and bustle of the city. For all these reasons, it is one of the best areas to enjoy Vienna at night.

The best tours to get to know the Danube in Vienna

If you want to enjoy the Danube at night some of the best options are:

• Book a private walking tour, from $171.
• Take a night bus tour, from $20.
• Take a guided bike tour, from $52.
• Take anight cruise on the Danube, from $62.

In Vienna on Thursdays there is a special timetable for both stores and museums and they stay open until 9 pm or even 10 pm in some cases. These are quite late hours considering that they are usually only open until 17 or 18 h. So it's time to take advantage and visit some stores.

One of the best shopping areas is Mariahilfer Straße, next to the train station. This is where most of the franchises and interesting stores are concentrated. It is also a good idea to leave Thursdays at the last minute to visit some museums to better organize our time, as the city has a lot to see.

The best museums in Vienna

Precisely at the end of the street of Mariahilfer Straße begins the so-called museum district where we find some of the best museums in Vienna. Many of them extend their opening hours until 9 p.m., among them are:

• Mumok (the museum of modern art).
• Vienna Kunsthalle.
• Albertina Museum, from $21.
• Vienna Museum of Art History, from $22.
• Leopold Museum, from $18.

Vienna is synonymous with good beer and, therefore, of bars where to taste it. The city is full of pubs scattered throughout its different neighborhoods, but at night the best ones are concentrated in one area, Schwedenplatz square. Around this square on the banks of the Danube, and five minutes from St. Stephen's Cathedral, many of the best pubs in the city are concentrated.

When the weather is good, the square is full of terraces and at night the pubs usually have their so-called "happy hour" in which prices are lowered and the glasses of beer do not stop flowing.

In addition, as in the variety is the taste, in Schwedenplatz there are pubs of various types such as Irish, cocktail bars, German-style breweries and so on. There are also several street food stalls as well as some restaurants in the area, such as the Hard Rock Café Vienna.

There is another alternative to the pubs on Schwedenplatz. In Vienna there are a number of bars known as the Stadtbahnbögen that were built under the arches of the city's former subway in an aqueduct-like arrangement. Most are located under line 6 between the stations Thaliastraße and Nussdorferstraße.

In general, these bars are of a quieter character, perfect for drinks with small groups as they are not very spacious. Ideal to end the day after a long walking tour of Vienna. In summer they set up small terraces outside.

The exception to the tranquility are some of these bars where small concerts are organized especially in spring and summer when the weather is nice. To get to this area it is best to take advantage of the Vienna City Card and go by streetcar to the Alser Strabe stop north of the center of Vienna.

The Prater Park is one of the symbols of Vienna. This extensive park in the eastern part of the city is a huge green area with many facilities including an amusement park.

It is here that you will find and enjoy tickets to the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel. Built in 1897, this Ferris wheel is also an emblem of the city and thanks to its 65 meters high has one of the best views of the Austrian capital.

Luckily, both the amusement park and the Ferris wheel are open when night falls, allowing us to see those views that I mentioned, but with the city illuminated under the night cloak. It is a highly recommended experience that we can also sweeten with a ride on the park's attractions.

Vienna is a city with a great pastry and ice cream tradition. In fact, one of the best things to do in Vienna for the Viennese is to have an ice cream in some of the ice cream parlors to accompany a walk through the streets of the city. So much so that it can almost be considered a tradition. Among all the ice cream parlors in Vienna, two stand out:

• Tuchlauben ice cream parlor: it is located in the heart of the city very close to St. Stephen's Cathedral.
• Zanoni & Zanoni: even closer to the Cathedral, on the same street where the Hard Rock Café Vienna is located.

The ice creams of both are of top quality and with an immense variety of flavors. The best companion for a leisurely evening stroll through the center of Vienna. A perfect plan to enjoy after the Vienna night bus tour.

Vienna has a reputation for being a very romantic city, especially at night. Therefore, dinners in special places are quite common in the Austrian city.

There are few more special places to dine than at the top of the Danube Tower. This emblematic construction of 250 meters high has in its highest part a restaurant with the best views of the whole city, or at least the most complete.

The tower is in the center of what is known as Danube Island and, in addition to the restaurant, at its top there is a 360-degree mobile viewpoint so you won't miss any perspective of the city. The restaurant is a bit expensive, but for the views and to celebrate a special occasion it is worth it.

The night is synonymous of party and it is also it is it in the calm Vienna. In fact, the city is home to some of the most prestigious nightclubs in Europe. Something surprising given the fame of the Austrian capital.

Apart from the pubs and bars we have already reviewed above, the best places to party in Vienna are:

• The Titanic, located in the 6th district, is a popular old-fashioned discotheque.
• The Pratersauna, which, paradoxically, used to be a spa and sauna where you could relax and today is one of the best and liveliest nightclubs in Vienna.
• The Flex, a club built in an old subway station and is reputed to have the best sound in Vienna and one of the best venues in Europe.

Besides these, there are many more discotheques that will delight the most assiduous to the night life.