Vienna is located in the very east of Austria, about 80 km from the border with the Czech Republic, 65 km from the border with Slovakia and about 75 km from the border with Hungary.
The Austrian capital is perfectly and very cheaply accessible by air, train, bus and car.
By air
Vienna has only one airport, but it is one of the most important transfer hubs in Europe.
For information on transport or flights, please visit our page - Vienna VIE Airport.
Where to buy tickets to Vienna
Low-cost airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air have major bases in Vienna, flying all over Europe, as well as to the Middle East and North Africa.
The highly competitive environment at Vienna Airport often results in very cheap tickets, especially to destinations in South East and Southern Europe.
Most flights from Vienna are operated by the national airline Austrian Airlines and tickets can be purchased via austrian.com.
Compare flight prices to Vienna
By car to Vienna
Vienna is a popular destination for tourists travelling by car for day trips, especially to the Christmas markets.
Parking in Vienna
In Vienna, you cannot park anywhere on the street on weekdays. You can park in zones that are not marked as residents-only parking, but only for a maximum of 2 hours at a cost of 1,60 eur for every 30 minutes.
For tourists, this makes on-street parking on weekdays unfeasible, even in any part of Vienna or on the outskirts of the city.
On weekends, however, it is possible to park on the streets free of charge, except in zones marked for residents' parking.
A map of the residents' zones is available on the official website of the City of Vienna: wien.gv.at/parking-residents.
All resident spaces are marked with a blue line on the map. In reality, they are marked with a "No stopping" sign with the additional sign "Anwohnerparken".
Book a hotel in Vienna with parking
The best solution is the P+R car parks at the underground stations.
Most of the time, they are so full that you will have no problem finding a free parking space at any time of the day. All P+R car parks are open 24 hours 7 days a week. All P+Rs cost the same price (the exception is the P+R Muthgasse near Heiligenstadt station, where you pay 5 eur):
- 4,10 eur for 24 hours (there is no discount when buying a public transport ticket)
- 20,90 eur per week
- Can be paid at the machine by card or cash
For clarity, we attach a map of the P+R parking capacities.
List of P+R car parks in Vienna
- Spittelau (underground U4, U6)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for trips from Mikulov, Znojmo, České Budějovice, Gmünd, Horn
- 5 minutes by metro to the city centre
- Details: bestinparking.com/spittelauer-laende
- Donaustadtbrücke (underground U2)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for travel from Brno, Breclav, Mikulov, Znojmo, České Budějovice, Bratislava, Malacky
- 12 minutes by metro to the city centre
- Details: boe-parking.at/donaustadtbruecke
- Erdberg (metro U3)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for travel from Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade, Györ, Brno, Breclav
- 10 minutes by metro to the city centre
- Detailed Information: apcoa.at/p-r-erdberg
- Aderklaaer Strase (metro U1)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for travel from Brno, České Budějovice, Mikulov, Znojmo, Breclav, Malacky
- 14 minutes by metro to the city centre
- Details: boe-parking.at/aderklaaerstrasse
- Leopoldau (underground U1 + S-Bahn)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for travel from Brno, České Budějovice, Mikulov, Znojmo, Breclav, Malacky
- 17 minutes by metro to the city centre
- Direct connection to the airport by line S7
- Details: bestinparking.com/park-ride-leopoldau
- Garage Volkertrasse (tram 2)
- 8 eur for the first day / 10 eur for each additional day
- Suitable for travel from Brno, České Budějovice, Mikulov, Znojmo, Breclav, Gmünd, Horn
- Difficult to navigate - in the next street in a dense housing estate
- Details: bestinparking.com/garage-volkertstrasse
- Ottakring (underground U3)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for travel from Linz, Salzburg, Passau, Munich
- 15 minutes by underground to the city centre
- Details: bestinparking.com/park-ride-ottakring
- Hütteldorf (underground U4)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for travel from Linz, Salzburg, Passau, Munich
- 20 minutes by underground to the city centre
- Details: bestinparking.com/park-ride-hutteldorf
- Siebenhirten (underground U6)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for travel from Graz, Villach, Klagenfurt, Wiener Neustadt
- 25 minutes by metro to the city centre
- Details: wipark.at/p-r-siebenhirten
- Neulaa (underground U1)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for travel from Bratislava, Budapest, Györ
- 14 minutes by metro to the city centre
- Details: wipark.at/p-r-neulaa
- Heiligenstadt Muthgasse (underground U4)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for travel from Mikulov, Znojmo, České Budějovice, Gmünd, Horn
- 14 minutes by metro to the city centre
- Detailed Information: apcoa.at/heiligenstadt
- Perfektastraße (underground U6)
- 4,10 eur per day
- Suitable for travel from Graz, Villach, Klagenfurt, Wiener Neustadt
- 20 minutes by metro to the city centre
- Details: apcoa.at/p-r-perfektastrasse
There are dozens of other garages and secure parking lots throughout Vienna, but daily prices range between 10 eur and 40 eur and parking here is therefore not very worthwhile. A list of all parking lots can be found clearly on parken.at.
By train
Vienna is well connected to the national and international rail network.
There are very frequent connections to most neighbouring countries, especially Bratislava, Budapest, Brno, Prague, Munich and Zurich.
For clearer and more comprehensive information, ticket prices and links to online ticketing websites, read the Train chapter.
By bus
There are also extensive bus connections to Vienna, especially from international destinations. The most frequent connections are to Bratislava, where 3 bus carriers run on average 2-4 times per hour.
Ticket prices tend to be only slightly cheaper than trains and on routes where buses and trains compete with each other, it is usually more convenient and faster to use the train.
Buses are particularly useful for travel to Slovenia, Croatia and Italy on routes where trains are not competitive.
Buses also compete with trains in terms of price and frequency on routes to Prague, Brno, Krakow, Katowice or Warsaw.
For clearer and more comprehensive information, see our article Bus.
Ship Bratislava - Vienna
You can choose a stylish transport on the Danube when travelling from Bratislava.
TwinCityLiner offers regular weekend cruises on a fast boat that can make the journey from Bratislava to Vienna in 1.5 hours, including a stop in Hainburg.
The boats sail 3 times a day from May to September. In March, April, October and November they sail once a day from Monday to Thursday and 3 times a day from Friday to Sunday.
In Vienna there is a dock on the Donaukanal near Schwedenplatz, in Bratislava on the Rázus Embankment near the SNP Bridge.
A one-way ticket costs from 25 eur with a seat in the middle of the deck, the best seats on the upper deck with a view cost 52 eur. Higher ticket prices are at the weekend, when the cheapest seats are sold from 39 eur.
Online tickets, schedules and other info can be found at twincityliner.com.
