Luxury things to do in Vienna
Steirereck at lunch, two tasting menus, Blaue Bar, and Tür 7 to close
Three days built entirely around the upper end of what Vienna can do, which turns out to be considerable. Tasting menus anchor two of the three evenings, the city's grandest coffeehouse gets a proper visit, and nothing here asks you to compromise.
Day 1: Sacher, Stadtpark and Silvio Nickol
Café Sacher, the Albertina, lunch at Steirereck in the Stadtpark, then Silvio Nickol's tasting menu and the Blaue Bar.
- 9:30 AM
Café Sacher Wien
The Sacher is Vienna's most iconic grand café, start the day with a Melange and a slice of the original Sachertorte.
Map - 10:30 AM
Albertina
The Albertina holds Monet, Picasso, and the world's finest Dürer collection, grand enough for the most discerning eye.
Map - 12:30 PM
Steirereck im Stadtpark
Steirereck in the Stadtpark: Austrian produce at its most exact, and the famous bread trolley. Weekdays only.
Map - 2:30 PM
Stadtpark
Stroll off a legendary lunch in the manicured Stadtpark, right outside the restaurant, Johann Strauss statue and all.
Map - 7:30 PM
Silvio Nickol Gourmet Restaurant
Silvio Nickol's tasting menu in Palais Coburg, with one of the city's deepest wine cellars; Tue to Sat.
Map - 9:30 PM
Day 2: Grand coffeehouses and Konstantin Filippou
Café Landtmann, the Karmeliter quarter, lunch at Griechenbeisl, the Prater wheel, then Konstantin Filippou's tasting menu.
- 9:30 AM
Café Landtmann
Vienna's grandest historic coffeehouse, the most boujee morning coffee in the city, full stop.
Map - 10:30 AM
Karmeliterviertel
Stroll Vienna's coolest neighbourhood quarter, markets, galleries and boutiques all in one tight wander.
Map - 12:30 PM
Griechenbeisl
Vienna's oldest inn: find the room where Mozart, Beethoven and Mark Twain signed the walls.
Map - 2:30 PM
- 4:30 PM
Viennese Giant Ferris Wheel
The 1897 Riesenrad's wooden cabins turn slowly over the Prater; go in the late-afternoon light.
Map - 7:30 PM
Restaurant Konstantin Filippou
Konstantin Filippou's tasting menu: Greek-Austrian, seafood-led and precise, by Dominikanerbastei.
Map
Day 3: MuseumsQuartier, Spittelberg and [aend]
Café Jelinek, the MuseumsQuartier, lunch at Collina am Berg on Spittelberg, the Leopold's Schieles, then [aend] and a drink at Tür 7.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
MuseumsQuartier Wien
Vienna's iconic cultural campus, stroll the grand courtyards and dip into its world-class collections.
Map - 12:30 PM
Collina am Berg
Seasonal Austrian cooking on cobbled Spittelberggasse, two minutes from MQ; lunch runs Monday to Saturday.
Map - 3:00 PM
Leopold Museum
Leopold Museum: one of Europe's great Egon Schiele and Klimt collections, right on the doorstep.
Map - 7:30 PM
[aend]
Fabian Günzel's open-kitchen tasting menu on Mollardgasse; turbot over charcoal with trout roe.
Map - 9:30 PM
Tür 7 - Boutique Bar - No garnish. Only balance.
Tür 7 boutique bar: critic-endorsed, balance-obsessed cocktails, the ideal boujee nightcap.
Map
Where to stay
Hotel Sacher Wien
The Sacher is the address in Vienna: steps from the Albertina, the Blaue Bar is already on your itinerary, and no other hotel earns its price tag quite so convincingly.
Rosewood Vienna
Rosewood Vienna sits close to Café Landtmann and Konstantin Filippou, and its own interiors are grand enough to hold their own against the rest of this itinerary.
Make Vienna your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Schönbrunn Palace: a few days ahead
- Upper Belvedere: a few days ahead
- Vienna State Opera: months ahead
- Spanish Riding School: weeks ahead
- Amador: weeks ahead
- Steirereck im Stadtpark: weeks ahead
Skip these
- Costumed Mozart ticket sellers push mediocre concerts at premium prices. The opera standing ticket costs less and is the real thing.
- Restaurants with touts on Kärntner Strasse, Graben and along the Naschmarkt main run are the overpriced zone. Walk two streets away.
- The Café Sacher queue can run an hour for cake also served at Demel and other grand cafes. Pick the short queue.
- Hundertwasserhaus is homes with no interior tour. Photograph it free, then visit Kunst Haus Wien for the museum.
The full Vienna travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around