In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The free option is Good Vienna Tours’ Old Town walk: 2½ hours, tips only, in English daily at 10:00 and 14:00, meeting at the Albrechtsbrunnen fountain on Albertinaplatz, with up to 5 places per booking. For a fixed price, the two-hour city-centre walkad is €24 (5,653 reviews) and the small-group walkad is €35. Themed walks run €22 to €34: World War II, the Underworld basements, a ghost walk after dark and the Central Cemetery. Bike tours are €47 to €49 for three hours. None of the centre walks includes a ticket for the Opera, the Riding School or the cathedral towers. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices and move with the date.
The tours, compared
| Tour | Length | GetYourGuide from | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town walk, Good Vienna Tours | 2½ hours | Tips only | A free walk from the Albertina to the Danube canal |
| City Center Highlightsad | 2 hours | €24 | Mozart’s house and St Stephen’s Cathedral |
| City Highlights and Hidden Gemsad | 2 hours | €24 | The Hofburg entrance, the Riding School, the Opera |
| Small Group Guided Walkad | 2 hours | €35 | The same ground in a small group |
| Essential History Walkad | 2 hours | €30 | The centre told as history |
| World War II Historical Walkad | 2½ hours | €27 | Vienna under the Nazis and after the war |
| Viennese Underworldad | 1½ to 2 hours | €34 | Hidden basements in the centre |
| Ghosts and Legendsad | 2 hours | €22 | A walk after dark |
| Central Cemeteryad | 2 hours | €25 | The graves of Beethoven, Strauss and Brahms |
| Classic Vienna Bike Tourad | 3 hours | €49 | Sights and landmarks, with a stop at the Hundertwasserhaus |
| City Highlights Bike Tourad | 3 hours | €47 | St Stephen’s and the Hofburg by bike |
| Old Town in a Vintage-Style E-Carad | 1 hour | €25 | Over 40 sights from an electric car |
The free walk
Good Vienna Tours: the Old Town walk
Tips only · 2½ hours · English daily at 10:00 and 14:00 · up to 35 in a group
The walk starts at the Albrechtsbrunnen fountain on Albertinaplatz, at street level in front of the Albertina, not up at the museum entrance. The guide holds a green umbrella. It runs from the Opera past the Hofburg and the oldest coffee house to St Stephen’s Cathedral, and ends near Schwedenplatz by the Danube canal. It enters no sights or museums.
The Albrechtsbrunnen and the Albertina on Albertinaplatz. Photo: Gugerell, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Arrive 15 minutes early and check in with the day manager. A reservation expires 5 minutes before the start, and the places of no-shows go to people without one, first come, first served. A booking is for up to 5 places; a group of 6 or more books a private tour by email. Children under 16 with a parent join without a booking. The walk runs every day of the year in all weather, but on 24 and 31 December only in the morning, and not on 1 January. Guides take only tips (goodviennatours.eu).
To get there, take the U1, U2 or U4 to Karlsplatz and the exit marked “Oper”, or tram 1, 2, 71 or D to Kärntner Ring/Oper.
Paid city-centre walks
City Center Highlights
From €24 · 5,653 reviews · 2 hours · book at least 4 days ahead
Vienna: Guided Walking Tour of City Center Highlightsad takes in where Mozart lived and St Stephen’s Cathedral. It lists hotel pick-up and a private option, and is wheelchair accessible. It closes for booking four days before the walk, so it is not a last-minute choice.
City Highlights and Hidden Gems
From €24 · 4,165 reviews · 2 hours · book at least 2 days ahead
Vienna: Guided Walking Tour of City Highlights & Hidden Gemsad goes past the grand entrance of the Hofburg, the Spanish Riding School and the State Opera, and into the Minoriten Church to see its mosaic of the Last Supper. A private option is listed.
Small Group Guided Walk
From €35 · 816 reviews · 2 hours · small group
Vienna: Small Group Guided Walking Tour of City Highlightsad covers the Hofburg, the Opera, the Riding School and St Stephen’s with a local guide. It books up to 2 hours before the start.
Essential History Walk
From €30 · 670 reviews · 2 hours
Vienna: Essential History Walking Tour Past Major Landmarksad tells the city through its history as you walk the streets of the centre. It books up to 6 hours before the start.
Themed walks
World War II
From €27 · 2,046 reviews · 2½ hours
Vienna: World War II Historical Walking Tourad is about the Vienna that shaped Hitler, and what happened there during and after the war. World War II, Hitler & Nazi History Walking Tourad covers the Nazi era and Austria’s reckoning with it from €23 (341 reviews).
Viennese Underworld
From €34 · 2,822 reviews · 1½ to 2 hours
Vienna: Viennese Underworld Guided Walking Tourad goes into hidden basements in the centre that are closed to the public. It is the one walk here that goes underground, and it books up to 30 minutes before the start.
Ghosts and Legends
From €22 · 1,221 reviews · 2 hours · after dark
Vienna: Ghosts and Legends Guided Nighttime Walking Tourad follows the haunted history of the old city and passes the Hofburg and Neuer Markt.
Central Cemetery
From €25 · 572 reviews · 2 hours
Vienna: Central Cemetery & Famous Graves Guided Tourad visits the graves of Beethoven, Strauss and Brahms and the cemetery’s monuments. It is wheelchair accessible.
Bike, e-bike and car tours
Classic Vienna bike tour
From €49 · 2,538 reviews · 3 hours
Classic Vienna: 3-Hour Guided Bike Tourad takes in sights and landmarks, with a stop at the Hundertwasserhaus. It closes for booking 30 minutes before the start.
City Highlights bike tours
From €47 · 634 and 473 reviews · 3 hours
Vienna: City Highlights Guided Bike Tourad rides past St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Hofburg and has a private option; it closes for booking 24 hours before. Vienna by Bike: 3-Hour All-In-One City Bike Tour in Englishad covers the Ringstrasse and the banks of the Danube on comfortable city bikes.
E-bike tours
From €52 · 1½ to 3 hours
Vienna: Guided E-Bike Tourad is 1½ hours from €52 for a small group, and you can ask to keep the e-bike for the day. City Highlights E-Bike Tourad is 3 hours from €69.
Car and Segway tours
From €25 · 1 to 3 hours · small groups
The vintage-style e-car tourad is 1 hour from €25 and covers over 40 sights in the Old Town. The classic-style car tourad is 1½ hours from €35 and adds the Hundertwasserhaus and the Prater. The Segway tourad is 3 hours from €99, passing the State Opera and the Rathaus.
What the walks cover
The centre walks run through the Habsburg core between the Opera and the cathedral, and each building on the way sells its own ticket.
- Albertinaplatz and the State Opera. The start of the free walk. The Opera’s own tour goes inside: Vienna State Opera tickets has the €18 tour and the standing places.
- The Hofburg. The former imperial palace, whose rooms are the Sisi Museum and Hofburg. The Riding School’s own guided tour is €24 for 60 minutes: see Spanish Riding School tickets.
- Graben and St Stephen’s Cathedral. The towers and catacombs are separate tickets: St Stephen’s Cathedral tickets.
- Schwedenplatz and the Danube canal. Where the free walk ends, with the U1 and U4 beneath it.
The Graben and the Plague Column. Photo: Falk2, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Which tour
- Free: Good Vienna Tours’ walk. Book ahead and tip.
- A fixed price, cheapest: the City Center Highlights walk or the Hidden Gems walk, €24. The first closes for booking 4 days before the walk, the second 2 days before.
- A small group: the €35 walk.
- The war years: the World War II walk, €27.
- After dark: Ghosts and Legends, €22.
- Underground: the Viennese Underworld, €34.
- Ground to cover quickly: a bike tour, three hours.
For a walk with food, Vienna food tours compares the tastings. The hop-on hop-off buses are the alternative to a walk for the palaces and the Prater. What to book before you go to Vienna lists the sights that need tickets, 3 days in Vienna fits a tour into the days round the closed ones, and Vienna public transport covers the way to Karlsplatz. Where to stay in Vienna compares the areas, and the Vienna Pass or City Card guide works out when a pass pays.
Common questions
Are the free walking tours in Vienna really free?
They have no fixed price. Good Vienna Tours' free walk asks guests to tip the guide at the end, and the company recommends carrying small notes. The guides are paid only from tips. Booking is online, up to 5 places per booking.
Where does the Vienna free walking tour start?
Good Vienna Tours meets in front of the Albertina at the Albrechtsbrunnen fountain on Albertinaplatz, at street level, under a green umbrella. The English walk runs daily at 10:00 and 14:00, takes 2½ hours and ends near Schwedenplatz by the Danube canal.
How much is a paid walking tour in Vienna?
From €24 for a two-hour walk through the city centre, and €35 for the small-group version. Themed walks run from €22 for a ghost walk after dark to €34 for the Viennese Underworld basements. These are GetYourGuide's lowest 'from' prices for one adult.
Do walking tours in Vienna include entry to the sights?
No. The free walk enters no sights or museums, and none of the city-centre walks includes a ticket for the Opera, the Riding School or the cathedral towers. Each sells its own: the State Opera tour is €18, the Spanish Riding School tour €24 and each cathedral tower €8.
Is a bike tour of Vienna worth it?
For covering the Ringstrasse and the Danube banks in three hours, yes. The Classic Vienna bike tour is from €49 and the City Highlights bike tour from €47, both three hours. An e-bike tour is from €52 to €69.
