Vienna Ringstrasse walk: from the State Opera to the Votivkirche on foot, with what is open each day

One of 2 self-guided walks in Vienna. See every walk.

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Start at the State Opera, above Karlsplatz station, and finish at the Votivkirche, 390 m from Schottentor: 3.2 km, about 40 minutes of walking and a day with the visits. Go on a Wednesday or Friday: the Rathaus tour runs only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 13:00, the Natural History Museum is shut on Tuesdays and the Votivkirche on Mondays. The tours of Parliament and the Rathaus are free but need a booking, and Parliament wants a photo ID. The Volksgarten shuts at 17:30 until the end of February. The Christmas markets on the Rathausplatz and Maria-Theresien-Platz open on 13 and 20 November. Or book a tour: the Vienna highlights walking tour with a local guidead is from €33 for 3 hours.

The route

Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order

Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions, which is the version to put on your phone.

Emperor Franz Joseph ordered the Ringstrasse in 1857, and it is 5.3 km long (Vienna Tourist Board). This walk takes the stretch from the Opera to the University and ends at the church beyond it. The Innere Stadt walk ends at the Opera, where this one starts. Prices are the adult rate in euros from each operator.

Walk it with a guide

A guide adds the stories, and none of these includes entry to the museums above. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.

• Vienna: Highlights Walking Tour with a Local Guidead: from €33, 4.7 stars from 250 reviews, 3 hours. It passes Maria-Theresien-Platz, the Burgtheater, the City Hall and the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
• Vienna by Bike: 3-Hour All-In-One City Bike Tour in Englishad: from €47, 4.6 stars from 474 reviews, 3 hours. It covers the Ringstrasse and the banks of the Danube.
• Vienna: Big Bus Hop-On, Hop-Off Sightseeing Tourad: from €33, 4.4 stars from 4,180 reviews, valid for 1 to 2 days. It runs from the State Opera along the Ringstrasse: see Vienna hop-on hop-off.
• Good Vienna Tours runs a free walk on tips from Albertinaplatz, daily at 10:00 and 14:00 in English: see Vienna walking tours.

1. The State Opera

Tour €18 · standing places €13, €15 or €18 on the day · Opernring 2

The Opera opened on 25 May 1869 with Mozart’s Don Giovanni. August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll designed it, in the Neo-Renaissance style (Vienna Tourist Board). Bombing in 1945 spared only the main façade, the grand staircase and the Schwind foyer, and the rebuilt house reopened on 5 November 1955. The tour, the standing places and the box office are in stop 10 of the Innere Stadt walk and on Vienna State Opera tickets.

• The first leg: head west along the Opernring past the Burggarten and the Mozart monument, 735 m to Maria-Theresien-Platz. The garden path beside the Ring is shut after 17:30 from November to February.
• Before you start: Plachuttas Gasthaus zur Oper is 230 m behind the Opera.

2. Maria-Theresien-Platz

Kunsthistorisches Museum €22 online, €24 at the museum · Natural History Museum €18 · Christmas market 20 November to 26 December 2026

The Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Natural History Museum face each other across the square, with the monument to Maria Theresa between them.

The Natural History Museum on Maria-Theresien-Platz. Photo: Isiwal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

• Kunsthistorisches Museum: since 8 September 2026 every ticket is for a timed slot, with no limit on how long you stay. It is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, Thursday to 21:00, to 31 December 2026, and under-19s are free. Kunsthistorisches Museum tickets has the rooms and the Treasury combination.
• Natural History Museum: €18, under-19s free, open Thursday to Monday 9:00 to 18:00 and Wednesday 9:00 to 20:00. It is shut on Tuesdays, except on 27 October and 29 December 2026 and 5 January 2027, and on 25 December and 1 January. On 24 December it closes at 15:00. Admission ends 30 minutes before closing, and halls 31 and 32 are shut for renovation.
• Christmas market: about 70 stalls from 20 November to 26 December 2026, Monday to Friday 11:00 to 21:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 21:00, and 24 to 26 December 11:00 to 16:00. See Vienna Christmas markets.

3. The Heldenplatz and the Burgtor

Square free · Weltmuseum Wien €16, shut Mondays · Haus der Geschichte Österreich €10, shut Mondays

The Burgtor is 190 m from the monument to Maria Theresa. It was built from 1821 to 1824 as a gateway between the Hofburg and the Ring and turned into an Austrian heroes’ memorial in 1933 and 1934. The two equestrian monuments on the Heldenplatz are Archduke Charles, unveiled on 22 May 1860, and Prince Eugene, unveiled on 18 October 1865. On 15 March 1938, after the Nazi takeover, the regime held its rally on this square.

The Heldenplatz and the Neue Burg, with an equestrian monument in front. Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

The Neue Burg, the curved wing round the square, holds two museums. The Weltmuseum Wien is open daily except Monday 10:00 to 18:00, and to 21:00 on Tuesday; its €16 ticket also admits you to the Imperial Armoury and the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments. The Haus der Geschichte Österreich is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00 and on Thursday to 20:00 with free entry from 18:00. Its €10 ticket includes the Ephesos Museum, and the last entry is 30 minutes before closing.

• The courtyards behind: the Hofburg’s courtyards, the Prunksaal and the Treasury are on the Innere Stadt walk.

4. The Volksgarten

Free · Theseus Temple free, daily 11:00 to 18:00 · garden 7:00 to 17:30 from 1 November to 28 February

The Volksgarten is 410 m from the Burgtor. It has about 3,000 rose bushes of around 400 varieties, which bloom in late spring, and a monument to Empress Elisabeth near the Burgtheater. The Theseus Temple was built from 1819 to 1823 by Peter von Nobile to house Canova’s Theseus Slaying the Centaur, which stood here for nearly 70 years until it moved to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in 1890. Since 2012 the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Weltmuseum Wien have shown one work of contemporary art in the temple each year, with free entry. The garden is open 6:00 to 22:00 from April to October and 7:00 to 19:00 in March.

5. The Parliament

Tours free, about 55 minutes · book up to 28 days ahead · photo ID needed · Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring 3

The Parliament is 270 m on. Theophil Hansen designed it. The tours in English run on Monday at 10:45 and 11:45, Tuesday to Friday hourly at 10:45 to 16:45, on Thursday also at 17:45, 18:45 and 19:45, and on Saturday at 10:45 to 15:45. Register through the event calendar, tab “Führungen”, on the German main site. Everyone passes a security check at the entrance with a photo ID, which is scanned and held for the visit, and bags above 60 × 40 × 21 cm go in the checkroom.

The Parliament on the Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring, with a quadriga on the roof. Photo: MrPanyGoff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

• The Demokratikum visitor centre under the Colonnaded Hall is open Monday 8:00 to 13:00, Tuesday and Wednesday 8:00 to 18:00, Thursday 8:00 to 21:00, Friday 8:00 to 18:00 and Saturday 9:00 to 17:00. It is shut on Sundays and public holidays.
• Other tours: a 30-minute photo tour in English, a contemporary art tour of 85 minutes and a 55-minute tour of the Palais Epstein next door, each booked the same way.

6. The Rathaus

Tour free · Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 13:00 · Christmas market 13 November to 26 December 2026 · Friedrich-Schmidt-Platz 1

The Rathaus is 480 m from the Parliament, across the Rathauspark. Friedrich Schmidt built it from 1872 to 1883, and its main tower is 98 m high, 103.3 m with the Rathausmann on top. The free tour is in German with audio guides in English and four other languages, for which you leave a photo ID. It needs an online registration, and it does not run on council session days, public holidays, 24 and 31 December and days of large events. The meeting point is the Stadtinformation at Friedrich-Schmidt-Platz 1, on the far side of the building.

• Christmas market: in front of the Rathaus from 13 November to 26 December 2026, daily 10:00 to 22:00, to 18:30 on 24 December. The Ice Dream skating paths in the park run from 13 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, daily 10:00 to 22:00, and are closed on 31 December.

7. The Burgtheater

Tour €12.50 · German, English on selected dates · Universitätsring 2

The Burgtheater is 360 m from the Rathaus, across the Ring. The old house on the Michaelerplatz, open since 1748, gave its last performance on 12 October 1888, and the new building on the Ring opened on 14 October. The tour covers the festival staircases with ceiling paintings by Franz Matsch and by Gustav and Ernst Klimt, the sculptures of playwrights such as Schnitzler and Nestroy, the gallery of ensemble portraits, the stage machinery and, when it can, the auditorium. Tickets are €12.50 (€9 for over-65s, €5 for under-27s and students), sold online and at the Bundestheater box offices. Meet in the box-office hall five minutes before the start. The tour is not step-free. The visitor service answers Monday to Friday 10:00 to 18:00.

• Next door: Café Landtmann.

8. The University

Courtyard free · Monday to Friday 6:00 to 22:00, Saturday 7:00 to 19:00 · shut Sundays and public holidays · Universitätsring 1

The University of Vienna’s main building is 370 m on. Heinrich von Ferstel designed it, and it has been in use since 1884. Walk in to the Arkadenhof, the arcaded courtyard with the Kastalia fountain and its monuments, among them one to Anton Bruckner unveiled in 1912. The University’s buildings are shut on Sundays and public holidays, so on those days the façade is all there is.

An arcade of the Arkadenhof at the University of Vienna. Photo: Hubertl, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

9. The Votivkirche

Church open Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 16:00, Saturday 11:00 to 19:00, Sunday and holidays 9:00 to 13:00 · shut Mondays · museum €8 · Rooseveltplatz

The walk ends 430 m from the University at the church Ferstel designed after the assassination attempt on Franz Joseph on 18 February 1853. Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian called for donations to build it as thanks for the emperor’s escape, and 300,000 citizens gave. Ferstel won the competition of 1854 at the age of 26, and the neo-Gothic church was consecrated on 24 April 1879, the day of the imperial couple’s silver wedding.

The twin spires of the Votivkirche. Photo: Flocci Nivis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

• The museum is in the oratory, reached by a spiral staircase, and holds the Antwerp Passion altar of about 1500. It is open Tuesday to Friday 13:00 to 15:00 and Saturday 14:00 to 17:00, €8 (€7 reduced, under-14s free).
• A light show also runs in the church: see Vienna classical concerts.
• The end: Schottentor station is 390 m on, with the U2.

Where to eat

Plachuttas Gasthaus zur Oper

Walfischgasse 5 · daily 11:30 to 24:00 · reserve online

The Plachutta family’s restaurant behind the Opera, built round boiled beef. In Falstaff’s readers’ vote for 2026 it was Vienna’s schnitzel winner. Where to eat in Vienna compares the Plachutta houses.

Café Landtmann

Universitätsring 4 · Monday to Saturday 7:30 to 24:00, Sunday 7:30 to 22:00 · reservation form online

It opened in 1873 beside the Burgtheater, opposite the Rathaus, and is one of the handful left of the original 27 Ringstrasse cafés. Viennese coffee houses lists the cafés of the Ring.

The best day to go

The timing that works, Wednesday or Friday: spend the morning in one museum on Maria-Theresien-Platz, take the Parliament tour at 11:45, be at the Rathaus for the 13:00 tour, have lunch at the Landtmann, and reach the Votivkirche before the church closes at 16:00. The museum in its oratory is open 13:00 to 15:00, so it overlaps the Rathaus tour.

What closes:

• Mondays: the Weltmuseum Wien, the Haus der Geschichte Österreich and the Votivkirche.
• Tuesdays: the Natural History Museum, except on 27 October and 29 December 2026 and 5 January 2027.
• Sundays and public holidays: Parliament, the University and the Rathaus tour.
• 24 and 31 December: no Rathaus tour. The Natural History Museum closes at 15:00 on 24 December and is shut on 25 December and 1 January.
• 17:30 from November to February: the Volksgarten, and the Burggarten at the start.

What does not close: the Ring and its squares, the Heldenplatz and the Rathauspark. A Monday still makes a good walk: Parliament, the museums on Maria-Theresien-Platz and the Rathaus tour are all open, and only the Heldenplatz museums and the Votivkirche are shut.

Getting there and back

• To the start: Karlsplatz station, on the U1, U2 and U4, is at the Opera. Vienna public transport has the tickets.
• By tram: D, 1 and 2 run on the Ring in both directions. All three stop at the Opera and at Parlament/U Volkstheater, and the D and the 1 also stop at Rathausplatz/Burgtheater and Schottentor. Ride to Schottentor and walk back, or hop off at the stops you want.
• From the end: Schottentor, 390 m from the Votivkirche, has the U2, trams D and 1, and trams 37, 38 and 40 to 44.
• In reverse: start at the Votivkirche when it opens, and take the Rathaus tour at 13:00 on the way. The Opera finishes the day with the standing-room queue.

What to do with the rest of the day

• The Hofburg: the Innere Stadt walk ends at the Opera, where this one starts, and covers the Graben, the Hofburg courtyards, the Albertina and the Burggarten.
• An audio guide: the Vienna Tourist Board’s free ivie app has an audio chapter for each of 14 stops along the Ring.
• The Ring from a bus: Vienna hop-on hop-off compares the buses that circle it.
• The days: 3 days in Vienna puts the Kunsthistorisches Museum on day three, and what to book before you go to Vienna has the closed days for every sight.
• Winter: Vienna Christmas markets has the dates, and Vienna New Year’s Eve the street party on the Rathausplatz.
• Where to sleep: where to stay in Vienna compares the areas.

Common questions

How long is the Vienna Ringstrasse walk?

3.2 km from the State Opera to the Votivkirche, measured along the streets: about 40 minutes of walking. The whole Ringstrasse is 5.3 km. With a museum, a tour of Parliament and the Rathaus it fills a day.

Which day is best for the Ringstrasse walk?

Wednesday or Friday. The Rathaus tour runs only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 13:00, the Natural History Museum is shut on Tuesdays, the Weltmuseum Wien on Mondays and the Votivkirche on Mondays. Parliament's tours run Monday to Saturday, and the University is shut on Sundays.

Is the Ringstrasse walk free?

The Ring, the squares, the Volksgarten and the University courtyard are free, and so are the tours of Parliament and the Rathaus. The Kunsthistorisches Museum is €22 online, the Natural History Museum €18, the Weltmuseum Wien €16, the Haus der Geschichte Österreich €10, the Burgtheater tour €12.50 and the Votivkirche museum €8.

What do I need to book for the walk?

The Parliament tour, which needs a booking up to 28 days ahead and a photo ID, and the Rathaus tour, which needs an online registration. The Kunsthistorisches Museum sells timed slots. The Burgtheater tour is sold online and at the Bundestheater box offices.

Can I do the Ringstrasse by tram?

Yes. Trams D, 1 and 2 run on the Ring in both directions. All three stop at the Opera and at Parlament/U Volkstheater, and the D and the 1 also stop at Rathausplatz/Burgtheater and Schottentor.

When do the Christmas markets on the Ring open?

The Rathausplatz market opens on 13 November 2026 and the Maria-Theresien-Platz market on 20 November. Both run to 26 December.