Vienna on a budget: how to do it well
Short answer
Vienna on a budget is possible, helped by free palace gardens, cheap standing-room opera and good-value public transport, but it is not a cheap city. Plan on about €100 per person per day (bed in a shared double €50, food €25, sights €20, transport €6), with one paid museum a day.
A realistic daily budget
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing) | €50 | €90 | €200 |
| Food & drink | €25 | €50 | €100 |
| Sights & tickets | €20 | €50 | €100 |
| Local transport | €6 | €8 | €25 |
| Per person, per day | €101 | €198 | €425 |
Approximate 2026 prices, two people sharing a room. From our Vienna day-cost table.
Free things to do
- Schönbrunn Palace gardens and the walk up to the Gloriette
- The nave of St Stephen's Cathedral
- The free open-air film festival at Rathausplatz (July and August)
- The Naschmarkt (closed Sundays) and the Saturday flea market at its end
- The Prater park and its long tree-lined Hauptallee (the rides are paid)
- The Volksgarten roses and the Ringstrasse walk past the Parliament and the Burgtheater
Cheap eats
- Käsekrainer or Burenwurst from a Würstelstand: roughly €5–7
- Gulasch in a Beisl: roughly €13–18
- Apfelstrudel in a coffee house: roughly €5–8 a slice
- Kaiserschmarrn as a main course: roughly €11–16
- Heuriger buffet: roughly €15–30 per person, plus about €3–5 for a quarter litre of wine
Where to sleep for less
Budget travellers stay in Mariahilf and Neubau, near the museums and the Naschmarkt on the U3 and U6, where a double costs roughly €90–140 a night, or in Leopoldstadt near the Prater at roughly €110–170. Hostel dorm beds are often roughly €25–45 a night. A small city tax is added.
Getting around cheaply
Buy a 24-hour, 48-hour, 72-hour or weekly ticket for the U-Bahn, trams and buses; the weekly ticket is especially good value. From the airport, the S-Bahn into the city is the cheapest option, much cheaper than the CAT express train.
A sample budget day
- Morning: Bakery breakfast (about €4), then the free nave of St Stephen's Cathedral
- Lunch: Käsekrainer and a roll from a Würstelstand (about €6)
- Afternoon: Upper Belvedere for Klimt's The Kiss (about €17), then a Melange (about €5)
- Evening: Gulasch in a Beisl, or the free film festival at Rathausplatz in summer (about €12–15)
- Total: about €100 with a budget bed (about €50) and a day ticket (about €6–8)
More ways to save
- Pick the weekly public transport ticket if you stay several days; it costs little more than a 72-hour ticket.
- Spend afternoons in the free Schönbrunn gardens, Prater or Volksgarten between paid sights.
- Drink tap water; it is Alpine spring water and served free with coffee.
- Stay in Mariahilf, Neubau or Leopoldstadt rather than the Innere Stadt.
- Visit in January to March, outside the ball season peak and Easter, for the lowest room prices.
- Watch for free summer events such as the Rathausplatz film festival and the Schönbrunn Summer Night Concert.
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Common questions
How much money do I need per day in Vienna?
About €100 per person on a budget, about €200 mid-range and about €425 in comfort, including a bed in a shared double.
How can I see the Vienna State Opera cheaply?
Buy standing-room tickets online the day before or at the box office about 80 minutes before the performance, for under €20.
What is free in Vienna?
The Schönbrunn gardens and Gloriette walk, the nave of St Stephen's, the Naschmarkt, the Prater park, the Volksgarten and, in summer, the Rathausplatz film festival.