The Best Time to Visit Vienna: A Month-by-Month Guide

The short version

There is no bad month for Vienna — the city was built for indoor pleasures, and its coffee houses, concert halls and museums work in any weather. But there are better months for different trips.

• Best overall: May–June and September–October. Mild weather, long light, the opera and concert seasons running (except in high summer), the Heurigen open, gardens at their best.
• Most atmospheric: late November and December. Christmas markets, Punsch, the start of the ball season — and higher hotel prices.
• Best value: January to March. Cold, grey and quiet, but the museums are empty and the balls are in full swing. Avoid the Opera Ball week if you are chasing low rates.
• Hottest and liveliest outdoors: July and August. Swimming in the Danube, open-air cinema at the City Hall — but the State Opera takes its summer break.

Vienna's climate in numbers

Official averages for 1991–2020 from the GeoSphere Austria station at Hohe Warte, published by the City of Vienna's statistics office (checked September 2026). Recent years have been running warmer than these normals.

| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Sunshine | Rain | |---|---|---|---|---| | January | 3.5 °C | −1.3 °C | 70 h | 42 mm | | February | 6.5 °C | −0.5 °C | 105 h | 38 mm | | March | 10.7 °C | 2.6 °C | 155 h | 52 mm | | April | 17.2 °C | 6.7 °C | 217 h | 42 mm | | May | 20.7 °C | 10.7 °C | 248 h | 79 mm | | June | 25.1 °C | 14.7 °C | 261 h | 70 mm | | July | 26.4 °C | 15.9 °C | 274 h | 78 mm | | August | 26.1 °C | 15.6 °C | 266 h | 69 mm | | September | 21.1 °C | 12.0 °C | 192 h | 64 mm | | October | 14.3 °C | 7.3 °C | 130 h | 47 mm | | November | 8.8 °C | 3.7 °C | 68 h | 46 mm | | December | 4.0 °C | −0.4 °C | 57 h | 47 mm |

Two things the table tells you: summer is the wettest season, mostly in short thunderstorms, and December and November are the darkest months, with less than half the sunshine of spring. For the forecast before you travel, see our Vienna weather page.

Month by month

January

Cold and dry, with the best chance of snow. The ball season peaks: in 2027 the Vienna Philharmonic Ball is on 21 January at the Musikverein, and the Confectioners' Ball on 14 January (wien.info, checked September 2026). The Wiener Eistraum ice rink returns to the Rathausplatz from 22 January to 7 March 2027 (christkindlmarkt.at, checked September 2026). The New Year's Concert on 1 January 2027 is conducted by Tugan Sokhiev; tickets are allocated by the Vienna Philharmonic, not sold on the open market. A superb month for museums and coffee houses — and one of the cheapest for hotels once the holidays are over.

February

Still cold, slightly brighter. The Vienna Opera Ball, the social event of the year, takes place on Thursday 4 February 2027 at the State Opera (wiener-staatsoper.at, checked September 2026); hotels near the Ring fill and rates rise that week. Otherwise February is quiet. Our ball season guide explains how a visitor can actually attend a ball.

March

The turning month. Days lengthen, the first café terraces open, and by late March the Danube boats and the Wachau abbeys start their season — Melk Abbey opens daily from 28 March in 2026 (stiftmelk.at, checked September 2026). Easter markets usually appear at Schönbrunn and Freyung in the run-up to Easter. Pack layers: the average high is only around 11 °C.

April

Spring proper, with blossom in the Stadtpark, the Belvedere gardens and the Prater. The Vienna City Marathon runs on Sunday 18 April 2027 (vienna-marathon.com, checked September 2026) — note the road closures that day. More and more Heurigen open among the vineyards. Our Vienna in spring guide has the details.

May

For many, the finest month: warm without heat, gardens in full leaf, all the concert halls still in season. The Wiener Festwochen, the city's big performing-arts festival, normally opens in mid-May and runs into June. May is also one of the rainiest months on average, so carry an umbrella and plan a museum for the afternoon.

June

Long evenings and warm nights. Vienna Pride and the Rainbow Parade on the Ring fill the city in June; the Vienna Philharmonic's free Summer Night Concert in the Schönbrunn gardens usually takes place in June as well. The Donauinselfest, a huge free music festival on the Danube Island, is normally held on the last weekend of June — in 2026 it moved exceptionally to early July. The opera and concert seasons wind down at the end of the month.

July and August

Hot — average highs of 26 °C, with heatwaves well above 30 °C in recent summers — and the most outdoor months of the year. The Viennese swim in the Alte Donau and on the Danube Island, and the Film Festival on the Rathausplatz screens music films for free in front of the City Hall through the summer. The downside: the State Opera and most of the great concert halls close for the summer, and many Viennese go on holiday. If music is your reason for coming, avoid these two months; if you want lakeside life in a capital, they are perfect. See Vienna in summer.

September

The second-best month after May, and our favourite. The heat breaks, the opera and concert seasons reopen, and the grape harvest begins. In 2026 the Wiener Weinwandertag — a free wine-hiking weekend across the vineyards — falls on 26–27 September, and Vienna Design Week runs from 25 September to 4 October (wien.gv.at and viennadesignweek.at, checked September 2026). Expect congresses and busy hotels.

October

Golden light in the vineyards of Döbling, young Sturm (partly fermented grape juice) in the Heurigen, and a strong cultural calendar. The ORF Long Night of Museums is on Saturday 3 October 2026, 18:00 to midnight, with one ticket at €19 (langenacht.orf.at, checked September 2026). The Viennale film festival runs from 22 October to 3 November 2026. Melk Abbey's daily season ends on 1 November, so do the Wachau day trip before then. More in Vienna in autumn.

November

Grey and dark, but the city switches on. The ball season opens on 11 November at 11:11 with a public waltz on the Graben. The first Christmas markets open on 6 November 2026 at Schönbrunn and Stephansplatz; the big Christkindlmarkt on the Rathausplatz runs from 13 November to 26 December 2026 (wien.info, checked September 2026). Late November is the sweet spot: markets open, prices not yet at their December peak.

December

The most atmospheric and most expensive month. Markets everywhere, Punsch and roasted chestnuts, the concert halls full of Christmas programmes — see our Christmas markets page and market-by-market guide. On 31 December, the free Silvesterpfad fills the old town with stages and music. Hotel rates peak between Christmas and New Year, so book early.

The best time for…

• Opera and classical music: September to June. The State Opera and the Musikverein are dark or on reduced programmes in July and August. See our concerts page.
• Wine and Heurigen: April to October, especially September and October for the harvest and Sturm. Read the Heuriger guide.
• Museums without crowds: January to early March, weekday mornings.
• Balls: from 11 November to Shrove Tuesday, with the densest calendar in January and February. Details in Vienna in winter.
• Swimming and outdoor life: late June to early September.
• Low hotel prices: January to March (except around the Opera Ball) and the second half of November. Note that Vienna's city tax rose to 5% of the room price from 1 July 2026, and is scheduled to rise to 8% in July 2027 (wien.gv.at, checked September 2026).

What is on, autumn 2026 to spring 2027

• 25 Sep – 4 Oct 2026: Vienna Design Week
• 26–27 Sep 2026: Wiener Weinwandertag (free)
• 3 Oct 2026: Long Night of Museums
• 22 Oct – 3 Nov 2026: Viennale
• 6 Nov 2026: first Christmas markets open (Schönbrunn, Stephansplatz)
• 11 Nov 2026: ball season opens
• 13 Nov – 26 Dec 2026: Christkindlmarkt on the Rathausplatz
• 31 Dec 2026: Silvesterpfad
• 1 Jan 2027: New Year's Concert (Tugan Sokhiev)
• 21 Jan 2027: Vienna Philharmonic Ball
• 22 Jan – 7 Mar 2027: Wiener Eistraum
• 4 Feb 2027: Vienna Opera Ball
• 18 Apr 2027: Vienna City Marathon

For current listings, see our events calendar. Once your dates are fixed, where to stay in Vienna helps you choose the right district.