Getting around Vienna

Walking first

Inside the Ring, Vienna is a walking city. From St Stephen's Cathedral to the State Opera is about ten minutes along Kärntner Strasse, and the Hofburg is five more. Most first days in the 1st district need no ticket at all. Transport earns its keep for the palaces and parks outside the centre — Schönbrunn, the Belvedere, the Prater, the Danube and the wine villages on the edge of the Vienna Woods.

The U-Bahn

Five lines, colour-coded and signed by number, frequent from around 05:00 until about midnight:

• U1 (red) runs north–south through Stephansplatz, Karlsplatz and Praterstern to Hauptbahnhof, and across the Danube to Kaisermühlen-VIC for the Danube Island and the UN.
• U2 (purple) curves along the western Ring past Volkstheater and Museumsquartier to Karlsplatz, and out through Praterstern towards the Prater and Ernst-Happel-Stadion.
• U3 (orange) crosses the city east–west via Westbahnhof, Volkstheater, Herrengasse for the Hofburg, and Stephansplatz.
• U4 (green) follows the Wien river from Hütteldorf past Schönbrunn and Kettenbrückengasse (the Naschmarkt) to Karlsplatz, Schwedenplatz and Heiligenstadt, where the buses to the Heurigen start.
• U6 (brown) runs on Otto Wagner's elevated Stadtbahn viaduct along the Gürtel, via Westbahnhof and Meidling.

There is no U5 yet. It is under construction, but trains are not expected to run before 2030.

At weekends the U-Bahn does not stop. On Friday and Saturday nights, and on nights before public holidays, every line runs all night roughly every fifteen minutes. On other nights the NightLine buses — numbered with an N — take over from about half past midnight, running roughly every half-hour.

Trams

The tram network is one of the largest in the world, and some lines are sightseeing in themselves.

• 1 and 2 run along stretches of the Ringstrasse, past the Opera, the Parliament, the City Hall and the Burgtheater. Neither does the full circle, so treat them as a moving view rather than a loop.
• D runs from the Ring past the Belvedere to Hauptbahnhof, and in the other direction out to Nussdorf, among the vineyards.
• 38 climbs from Schottentor to Grinzing, the best-known of the wine villages — busy, but the easiest Heuriger evening to reach.

Tickets and 2026 fares

One ticket covers the U-Bahn, trams, buses and S-Bahn trains within the Vienna core zone (Kernzone Wien), with free changes on a single journey in one direction. Buy in the WienMobil app or the online shop and the fare is lower than on paper; the table below has both.

Two changes from 1 January 2026 catch visitors out. The 48-hour and 72-hour tickets were discontinued, so a three-day visitor now chooses between single rides, 24-hour tickets, a 7-day ticket — which at the digital fare already costs less than three 24-hour tickets — or a Vienna City Card. And Wiener Linien now adjusts fares every year, so expect a change again on 1 January 2027.

Validate paper tickets. Single tickets must be stamped before the journey — in the blue machines at U-Bahn and S-Bahn entrances, or inside the vehicle on trams and buses. There are no barriers, and inspectors in plain clothes check regularly; a ride without a valid ticket costs a penalty fare of over €100. Digital tickets are valid as bought.

Children under 6 travel free. Under-15s also ride free on Sundays, public holidays and during Vienna's school holidays.

The airport is outside the core zone. A core-zone ticket or pass does not get you there — you need an extra ticket from the city boundary. The airport page explains every option.

Vienna City Card or Vienna PASS?

They are different products. The Vienna City Card, sold by Wiener Linien, is a transport ticket with discounts attached: 24 hours €19, 48 hours €31, 72 hours €37, 7 days €39, each with unlimited core-zone travel. The Vienna PASS is the opposite — free entry to a long list of sights and the hop-on hop-off buses, from €109 for one day, with no public transport unless you add it. The arithmetic is in City Card vs Vienna PASS.

Until the end of October 2027: the S-Bahn trunk line is closed

From 7 September 2026 until the end of October 2027, the central S-Bahn line between Praterstern and Hauptbahnhof is closed for rebuilding, and the S-Bahn platforms at Wien Mitte are shut. The U-Bahn is unaffected. What it changes is mainly the airport run — the City Airport Train currently runs as a coach — so check the airport page before you land.

Taxis and ride apps

Vienna's taxis are metered and generally honest, and Uber and Bolt both operate. For the airport, the radio-taxi companies offer fixed prices when booked ahead — see the airport page. Late at night outside the weekend, a taxi or app is often quicker than waiting for a NightLine bus.

Cycling

Vienna is flat enough to cycle, and the shared WienMobil Rad bikes are unlocked through the same WienMobil app as the tickets. The ride along the Ringstrasse has its own cycle path most of the way, and the Danube Island and the Prater Hauptallee are long, flat and traffic-free. The inner city's pedestrian streets are not for riding through at busy hours.

Walking the Ring

The Ringstrasse, laid out where the city walls stood, is a little over five kilometres round and is Vienna's grandest walk: the Opera, the Hofburg and the Burggarten, the museums, the Parliament, the City Hall and the University, one after another. Walk it in a morning, or ride tram 1 or 2 for a stretch and walk the rest. The current fares for everything else are on what it costs, and the practical rest is in essentials.