Getting around in Vienna

Public Transport (Wiener Linien)

Logo Metro Wien

Viennese tram

Underground station Volkstheater

Tram, bus and underground run from 5.00 a.m. to around midnight (depending on the line, 11pm~1am, metro 0:30am). At night time there is a smaller network of night buses.

• Tickets

Tickets can be bought at the main underground stations (Westbahnhof, Stephansplatz, Karlsplatz, …), at vending machines (railway stations & all metro stations; on trams and buses generally only single, more expensive tickets are available) or in tobacconists, stationary shops and newsagents. There is a type of shop that combines all the above. It is called a Trafik. Tickets are valid within “Zone 100” which corresponds with the borders of the federal state of Vienna and is more than you will ever need (unless you're going to the airport).

• Single Ticket: € 1,70. For a single journey (you may change the lines, but not interrupt your journey).

• 24hours Ticket (€ 5,70) and 72hours Ticket: (€ 13,60). For all means of public transport (including Federal Railways within the city and Night Buses).

• Wochenkarte valid for one week from Monday to Sunday (€ 14,00)

• 8-Tages-Karte valid for eight days of your choice (passengers traveling together can share a ticket - e.g. a group of four would use the ticket in two days) (€ 27,20)

These are already the new prices which increased by about 15% by 1st of June 2007!

• Riding without a Ticket

Riding without a Ticket: may cost you a fine of € 65,00. If you do choose to take the risk of trying, keep the following in mind: Checks are generally less likely to take place on trams than on bussess or subways. They are comparably likely on big, highly populated changing stations where several (especially subway) lines cross (like Karlsplatz, Volkstheater, Westbahnhof...). If you have a map, consider getting off one stop before them. Always carry an ID or they might get the police involved. When asked for an adress give them the address of a hostel and a home address outside the EU. It is very likely they will then let you go as it would be too expensive to follow up on non-residents. On night busses, checks are very likely, but there is the (probably unwritten) policy that when they check for tickets, and you explain to them that you didn't find a place to buy one at night and you planned to buy it on the bus, they sell you a ticket on the spot (costs a little more, 2,20€ as for now). You can never rely on this, but it usually works. More about tickets follow the link Tickets.

• Online Timetable

There is an online timetable information, where you can enter your destination, starting point and time. It's quite useful, as it gives you different routes including the exact busses/trams etc. and produces pdf-maps for changing points as well as start and destination. The system also recognizes major points of interest such as the Hundertwasserhaus or Schloss Schönbrunn. You have to type in the German names though. For example, if you look for the airport, you need to enter "Flughafen". Alternatively, call +4317909100.

Citybike Wien

Citybike Station

Walking

Vienna is a very good city for using your feet to get around. It's simply structured in the sense that you will quickly be able to know where you are if you have a bit of a sense of direction. The majority of important sites, museums, etc. are within walking distance of each other.

Car

You are not allowed to park your car in the central districts (districts 1-9 and 20) for longer than two hours from Monday to Saturday, 9.00am-10.00pm. And you have to pay (80 Cent/hour, from Sept.1st 1,20/hour). There is also a short-term parking zone around "Stadthalle" (festival hall) in the 15th district from 6pm to 11pm with the same conditions for paying as the other zones. "Parkscheine" (tickets for parking) can be bought in any Trafik (combination of tobacconist, stationary shop and newsagent) for 30, 60 and 90 minutes. Its free to park 10 minutes, but you have to write the time of arrival on a paper and put it (readable) in the front window of your car. It's hard to find a place to park your car. There are, however, plenty of underground car parks in the centre, which are more expensive but usually have lots of free parking space. General advice: Don't use your car in Vienna. Driving is pretty tough here and you can get everywhere with public transport.