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You’re planning a trip to Vienna and you’re wondering what pass would be most suitable for you and your stay? You want to make the most of your holiday and do it the most cost-effective way possible?
Look no further!
This is your full and most detailed guide on the topic, and you won’t find anything more detailed or helpful on the internet.
Wanna know why?
Well.. not to brag, but I recently started working at the Tourist Information Office in Vienna, where I got trained everything I need to know about the city, so that I am able to be as helpful as possible for tourists like you. I also have daily access to all sorts of leaflets and every bit of information about Vienna. And I’ve went through them all in order to put this guide together.
Do you trust me now? Okay, great! Let’s dive into it then 🙂
The Vienna Cards Explained! Which one to choose – Vienna City Card or Vienna Pass?
I’d like to start things off by saying that Vienna is a big city, and it offers quite a few services. In this blogpost I will cover all the current possible ‘cards’ and ‘passes’ that are being offered, and I will explain the benefits that come with each of them.
The main card on the market is the:
Vienna City Card
What’s included?
→ Free use of public transport within Vienna
→ 210 different discounts for museums, attractions, coffee houses etc (valid for 1 week)
→ One child per card (up to 15 years old) is included and travels for free
→ Guidebook and App to plan your stay
Examples of discounts you get with Vienna City Card:
| → Schönbrunn Palace | – €4/ -15% |
| → Giant ferris wheel | – €1/ -8% |
| → Zoo | – €3/ -15% |
| → Albertina | – €2/ -13% |
| → U4 Discotheque (Club) | – 50% |
| → Therme Wien | – 5/10% |
And over 200 more…
Pricing for the Vienna City Card:
24 hours: €17
48 hours: €25
72 hours: €29
*valid from moment of activation
Optional add-ons:
→ Airport Transfer with City Check-in (unlimited travel to and from the airport by any sort of public transport)
→ 24h Hop-On Hop-Off Bus (Big Bus Vienna)
Who is the Vienna City Card suitable for?
- Families with children between the ages 6 – 15
If you’re a family, or even one parent with one child, and you’re staying between 1 and 3 days, the Vienna City Card might be the best option for you.
Unless your child is below 6, you would have to pay for public transport for it as well. By buying the city card you already have one child covered as well, so this usually turns out to be the most inexpensive way. On top of that, you get discounts in museums and attractions, which makes things even cheaper in the long run.
- People who want to visit more than 3 attractions
If you’re planning to spend some time in Vienna exploring more than 3 or 4 museums and attractions, then the Vienna City Card is the perfect solution. You will end up saving money through the discounts, and public transport will be covered anyways.
Click here to purchase online.
The second possible pass to consider is the:
Vienna Pass
What’s included?
→ Free entrance to over 60 museums and attractions in Vienna
→ Hop-On Hop-Off bus on 6 routes – unlimited rides, taking you directly to the main attractions
→ Fast track entry at many attractions
→ Guidebook and App to plan your stay
What’s NOT included?
→ Public transport ticket
Examples of attractions included in the Vienna Pass:
| → Schönbrunn Palace – Grand Tour | regular price: €20 |
| → Zoo | regular price: €20 |
| → Albertina | regular price: €17,90 |
| → Belvedere Palace | regular price: €22 |
| → Donauturm | regular price: €14.50 |
| → Natural History Museum + Museum of Art History | regular price: €12 each |
Pricing for the Vienna Pass:
1 day Adults: €79
1 day Junior: €39.50
2 days Adults: €99
2 days Junior: €49.50
3 days Adults: €129
3 days Junior: €64.50
6 days Adults: €159
6 days Junior: €79.50
*valid for full calendar days
Who is the Vienna Pass suitable for?
People who want to make the most of their stay and visit as many attractions as possible.
As you’ve noticed, entry fees for museums and attractions in Vienna aren’t cheap, and they usually vary between 15 and 20 euros.
In my opinion, if you’re staying for at least 2-3 days and want to visit a few of the pricier attractions, and also want to travel around town with the big sightseeing bus, then the Vienna Pass is the right option for you. Getting to skip the lines is also another great advantage and time saver.
Bear in mind that the public transport is not included. You can either move around with the Big Hop-On Hop-Off Bus, or get yourself an additional public transport ticket (I am talking about it in more detail at the end of the blog post).
Click here to purchase online.
Vienna Flexi Pass
What’s included:
→ Free entry to 3, 4 or 5 sights/ activities
→ Skip-the-line entry to selected attractions
→ Guidebook with information on all offers included
What’s NOT included:
→ Public transport
Possible attractions to choose from:
→ Hop-on Hop-off Ticket for 24-hours and all lines
→ Schönbrunn Zoo
→ Ferris wheel
→ Museum of Natural History
→ Imperial Treasury
→ Spanish Riding School
→ Museum of Modern Art (MUMOK)
→ Upper Belvedere
→ Vienna ring tram
→ Albertina
→ DDSG City Cruise
→ Kunsthistorisches Museum
→ Madame Tussauds
→ And over 30 other sights
Pricing for the Flexi Pass:
Who is the Vienna FlexiPass suitable for?
People who want to visit only a set amount of chosen attractions.
Make sure you calculate the total amount of the admission fees before purchasing to make sure you get your money’s worth. If you choose 3 attractions, costing €20 each, then it is worth it to purchase the FlexiPass for 3 attractions and pay €45 instead.
Click here to purchase online.
#4 EASY CITY PASS
What’s included in the Easy City Pass?
→ Free use of public transport within Vienna
→ One child per card (up to 15 years old) is included and travels for free
→ Some discounts for museums and attractions
Examples of discounts included in the Easy City Pass:
| → MAK Museum | – €3 |
| → Mozarthaus Vienna | – €2 |
| → Jewish Museum Vienna | – €10 |
| → Haus der Musik | – €4 |
Pricing for the Easy City Pass:
24 hours: €14,90
48 hours: €19,90
72 hours: €24,90
1 week: €29,90
Who is the Easy City Pass most suitable for?
Parents with children below the age of 15. If you’re travelling with a child, you might want to consider this pass, since you won’t have to pay additionally for public transport for the kid.
What’s the difference between the Vienna City Card and the Easy City Pass?
You may be thinking: both passes include public transportation and some discounts for museums, so which one should I choose?
Well, let me try to explain.
The Vienna City Card has much more and much better discounts, covering all major attractions in the city, while the deals with the Easy City Pass aren’t that great.
However, the Easy City Pass offers a weekly option, while the Vienna City Card doesn’t.
But there is another option which should also be considered, or maybe even combined with one of the other passes:
#5 Simple Public Transport Tickets
One of the most popular choices are also the normal public transport cards. Bear in mind, these cards do not give you any benefits, discounts or whatsoever. They are purely just public transport cards.
So if you’re thinking of visiting some of the main attractions (which you definitely should), then I’d recommend opting for one of the upper options.
Pricing for public transport tickets:
24 hours: €8
48 hours: €14.10
72 hours: €17.10
1 week (from Monday till Monday 9am!): €17.10
Where to purchase?:
At every metro station or at the Tourist Info/ Wiener Linien office.
POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS:
Case 1: You’re staying for 4 days and you want to see as much as possible.
You could buy the Vienna City Card for 24 hours and a simple public transport ticket for 72 hours. This way the discounts will be valid for your whole stay (because they are valid for a whole week).
Case 2: You’re staying for a whole week and want to see as much as possible.
Then just purchase the Vienna Pass and a simple public transport weekly ticket. This way you will have absolutely everything covered – free entries, unlimited rides with the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus, and unlimited use of public transport.
Case 3: You’re staying for a few days and you have decided you for sure want to visit 3 or 4 attractions, whose fees vary between 15 and 20 euros. Then you can get yourself the FlexiPass for the set amount of attractions and buy additional simple public transport ticket. But be careful, depending on the museums, the Vienna City Card might be more worth it.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to what you want to visit, how long you’re staying and who you’re travelling with.
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Want more information about Vienna? You may also enjoy:
2 Days in Vienna – The Perfect Vienna Itinerary!
25 Free Things to do in Vienna, Austria
Vienna to Bratislava Day Trip – How to Spend One Day in Bratislava, Slovakia
11 Marvelous Things to do in Vienna in December: Winter in Vienna Guide
Vienna Insider Tips – What to know before visiting?
Where to Find the Best Schnitzel in Vienna – Tips + Prices!
Ultimate Vienna Christmas Markets Guide
21 Incredibly Instagrammable Places in Vienna, Austria
Where to go Ice Skating in Vienna – Ice Rinks in Vienna, Austria (Full List + Tips!)
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Lyubomira is the creator and author behind Bulgarian On The Go. With a background in journalism and experience in the field of tourism and marketing, her mission is to show travellers many beautiful places they might have never thought of visiting or even knew existed.
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I feel like this saved my life! Or my trip 🙂 thank you!
Hi Lyubomira,
I just saw you blog and found it very interresting.
We are 2 canadians who are planning a trip to Vienna in early september.
I have questions for you… about Viena Card and transport .. if you allow me
Base on the different option that you describe.
Do I understand that the different discount on the Vienna card are good for one week ??? even if we purchase it for one day??? Is that for all attractions cover by the card ???
The way I see that… we will purchase the Vienna Card for one day at 17 eur each , and public transport for one week at 17.10 eur each… ( Vienna weekly ticket (valid from Monday to Monday at 9.00 am): € 17,10)
For a total of 34.10eur each …
Is that sound good ???
Thanks
Marc
Author
Hi Marc, thank you for the lovely comment. I’m so happy you found this post useful.
If you’re asking about the Vienna City Card (not Vienna Pass), when I was working at the Tourist Board back in 2019, this was exactly the case – you can get it for even one day, but the discounts are valid for 7 days. To be 100% sure this is still the case, I suggest that before purchasing it (you can buy the card at the counter at the airport or from the tourist offices in town), ask them whether the discounts are still valid for 1 week. If you don’t want to wait and are willing to purchase the cards online, you can email the Vienna Tourist Board instead. I’d highly appreciate it if you let me know afterwards if this information is still valid!
So you can purchase the card for 1 day and then get the weekly card for, both for 17 euros, but this would only make sense if you plan to visit a lot of attractions. The discount is usually around 10-15% from the ticket price, so you can calculate whether this is worth the 17 euros you’d pay for the card. 🙂 I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions.
Have a wonderful stay in Vienna!
– Lyubomira