13th district · right bank of the Danube
Hietzing & Schönbrunn
Schönbrunn Palace and its gardens, the Gloriette, the world's oldest zoo and a villa suburb where the Habsburg court summered.
What it is
The 13th district is Vienna's green south-west, and it exists as a place to visit because of one building. Schönbrunn began as a hunting lodge, was rebuilt as the Habsburgs' summer residence and took its present form under Maria Theresa; Franz Joseph was born and died there. The old village of Hietzing grew up at its side gate as the place where courtiers and, later, the wealthy built their villas. Beyond it, the district rolls on into woods and the walled former imperial hunting park of the Lainzer Tiergarten.
What is here
Schönbrunn Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its park, open to walk in, climbing to the Gloriette of 1775 and its café with the classic view back over the palace towards the city. Inside the grounds: the zoo, founded in 1752 and the oldest still operating anywhere, the iron-and-glass Palm House, the maze and the Imperial Carriage Museum. In the village, Café Dommayer, heir to the casino where the young Johann Strauss II made his debut, and Plachutta for boiled beef. Hietzing Cemetery holds the graves of Gustav Klimt and Otto Wagner. Further out, the Hermesvilla, Franz Joseph's gift to Empress Elisabeth, inside the Lainzer Tiergarten.
What it is like
Two speeds. Schönbrunn's main courtyard and state rooms are among the most crowded places in Austria from mid-morning; the upper park, the woods behind the Gloriette and the streets of old Hietzing are calm, green and prosperous. Evenings are very quiet — dinner, a walk, bed.
Who should stay here
Families with children, for the zoo and the space. Travellers who want a garden-suburb calm and a palace on the doorstep, and do not mind riding into the centre each day. The Parkhotel Schönbrunn, built for the emperor's guests, faces the palace grounds.
Practical
U4 Schönbrunn and Hietzing stations bracket the palace; the centre is roughly twenty minutes away. The catch: book a timed palace ticket online and arrive at opening, or expect a long wait — and once the Schönbrunn crowds leave, there is almost no nightlife. Read our palaces guide before choosing a ticket.
🏛️ Attractions
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🍷 Heurigen & wine taverns
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🍽️ Restaurants
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☕ Coffee houses
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🛏️ Where to stay
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🍸 Cocktail bars & nightlife
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Where to stay in Hietzing & Schönbrunn
Live prices and availability on a map centred on this exact spot — hotels, apartments and hostels, so you can judge the walk from here rather than guess from an address.
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Tours & tickets nearby
Skip-the-line tickets, tours and experiences bookable ahead — free cancellation on most.
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Frequently asked
Which district of Vienna is Hietzing in?
Hietzing is Vienna's 13th district, on the right bank of the Danube, the same side as the historic centre. It is easy to verify from the postcode: the four digits start with 1, the middle two give the district and the last is 0, so any street address here carries 1130. That is the quickest way to find out where a listing actually is before you book it.
What is worth seeing in Hietzing?
The best-known sights here are Botanical Garden, Schönbrunn Palace Park and Gloriette Schönbrunn. The full list, with opening hours and a map, is further up this page.
Where should I eat in Hietzing?
Among the best-rated restaurants in the district are Jin's Ramen Hietzing, Passione-Da Ferdinando and ARGO griechisches Restaurant. The ratings come from Google and are refreshed periodically — they are not paid placements.
Is Hietzing a good area to stay in?
It depends what you want from it. The accommodation section above lists a few options in the district, and the write-up at the top of this page says plainly who the area suits and who it does not. The map at the foot of the page is centred on Hietzing itself.
Is there a proper Viennese coffee house in Hietzing?
Yes — Allgemein and Café Dommayer. A Viennese coffee house is judged on simple things: the glass of water that arrives with the coffee, the newspapers on wooden holders, and nobody hurrying you out after a single Melange.
Are there Heurigen or wine taverns in Hietzing?
Yes — Heurigenschenke Zur Wildsau and WEIN & CO Wien Hietzing – Weinbar & Shop. Vienna is one of the few capitals with working vineyards inside its city limits, and the wine tavern is the local institution: the good ones pour the house wine by the glass — often a Grüner Veltliner or a Gemischter Satz — and announce themselves with tables full of Viennese.
Districts next door
Vienna's districts run into one another without a seam, and the U-Bahn makes most of them closer than they look — these are the nearest, measured from the centre of this one.
Before you go
Skip-the-line ticketsTimed entry booked ahead for Schönbrunn, the Sisi Museum and the Kunsthistorisches Museum — which in Vienna's high season is a genuinely long queue avoided, and at KHM now a requirement.Check tickets →Museum & palace ticketsMobile tickets for Vienna's museums, palaces and the Riesenrad, bought in advance — useful now that the Kunsthistorisches Museum requires a time slot.See tickets →City passOne pass covering a set of attractions. It pays off only above roughly three paid sights a day — worth the arithmetic before you buy.See what it covers →Self-guided audio toursA guided route on your own phone, at your own pace, for a fraction of a walking tour. Good on the Ringstraße and in the Hofburg courtyards, where the story is not written on the buildings.Browse audio tours →
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