During my 4-day stay in Vienna, I was able to briefly experience the nightlife in Vienna. In this article, I will recommend the places I liked and where I went to go out in Vienna!
Essential to remember
Partying in Vienna: Bermuda Triangle (center, student vibe), Gürtel (alternative clubbing), Schwedenplatz (bars by the Danube), Volksgarten (open-air in summer). Vienna offers a dense and affordable nightlife, much cheaper than Berlin or Paris.
Going out in Vienna: the evening in Vienna!
Most of the advice you will find about Vienna will be about places to visit, but for me, you don’t really know a city if you haven’t seen it both by day and by night! Berlin may be a nice place to visit, but the most interesting thing is its nightlife!
Find what you can do in Vienna during the day here: Visit Vienna in 2 days
Going out in Vienna: General information about nightlife in Vienna
My experience
My best nights in Vienna: Volksgarten in summer. Open-air in a park, techno DJ, reasonable prices. Unbeatable on a Saturday in June. Closes at 6 a.m. with breakfast outside.
Did you know?
Vienna is home to the oldest amusement park still in operation in the world: the Prater, opened in 1766. Its giant Ferris wheel Riesenrad (1897) remains a symbol of the city, immortalized in The Third Man (1949).
The nightlife in Vienna is rather calm or quiet; it’s more of a relaxed atmosphere even if you feel a serene vibe. It’s not like London at Piccadilly Circus, Sydney in Australia, or Paris, but you find your place. German speakers, although they love to party, tend to be calm by nature, whereas the French or countries further south have a more Latin behavior!
The nightlife is more like in France: going for an aperitif until midnight, then for the younger and braver ones, going to nightclubs.
Advantages
- Dense and varied nightlife
- Reasonable prices compared to Paris/Berlin
- Complete safety
- 24-hour metro on weekends
- Many clubs open until 6 a.m.
Weak points
- Very cold winter (-5°C)
- Quieter nightlife during the week
- Volksgarten expensive (entry + cocktails)
- Bermuda Triangle crowded some nights
- Many tourists in summer
I warn you right away, there are a lot of nice bars and nightclubs, but I will only describe those I went to!
Going out in Vienna: Going for a drink in Vienna
The classic trap to avoid
Beware of the “Champagne Bars” in the city center: bottles at €200 for low-end products, tourist trap atmosphere. Prefer the bars in the 7th district (Mariahilf) for an authentic experience.
- Schwedenplatz, is a trendy spot for Viennese to go for a drink, this place also has many restaurants. In this area, you will find mostly pub bars, you can then go to Badeschiff (Description below).
- Leopold Museum Square, during the day it’s a gathering place for tourists to enter the museums or to stroll on a terrace for a coffee, but at night, this square becomes a gathering of small bars and a crowd of young Austrians! You will find them resting on plastic sofa-like seats or on wooden chairs! Be careful to bring back your glass as you get 1 euro back. There are a lot of people at night.
Going out in Vienna: Going to nightclubs in Vienna:
| Neighborhood | Style |
|---|---|
| Bermuda Triangle (1st) | Student bars |
| Gürtel (8th/9th) | Alternative clubs |
| Schwedenplatz | Bars on the Danube bank |
| Volksgarten | Open-air club in summer |
| Naschmarkt | Neighborhood bars |
- The Volkgarten disco, located near the U3 Volktheater station, near the park, be careful to find the right entrance as the park is quite large and it’s easy to get lost! It’s the best place where I partied. However, the DJ’s music is only commercial music. There is a room for dancing, one for having a drink and talking, and another that does both! There is also a bar side! This place is the one I recommend!
- The Leopold café, after having a drink on the square, finish your night at the Leopold café, which is a pub/club place. If you want to start the evening and enjoy the nice weather at the Leopold museum square, this is where the biggest partygoers end up!
- The Ost Club, located in the Schwarzenbergplatz district, this small club has several rooms where electro music is played, with 3 rooms, 1 in the basement and 2 in the main bar room, the club is less festive than the Volkgarten disco!
- The Badeshiff, located not far from Schwedenplatz, this place is a big shack on the Danube bank, you can dance there or go chat after getting the stamps to be able to re-enter! It’s a very popular place among young Austrians on Sundays to have a drink!
If you want more information about European countries, I invite you to follow this section: Travel Tips Europe.
If you are preparing to leave, take a look at our guide on conseil voyageur fête which complements the topic well. The feedback about partying in Tokyo also provides useful benchmarks to avoid unpleasant surprises. And for further inspiration, the article on partying in Sydney is worth a detour.
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Where to go out in Vienna?
Bermuda Triangle (student), Gürtel (alternative), Volksgarten (open-air in summer), Schwedenplatz (bars by the Danube).
How much does a night out in Vienna cost?
Beer 4-5€, cocktail 8-12€, club entry 5-15€. Budget 50-80€ for a full night out.
Does the metro run at night in Vienna?
Yes, the metro runs 24/7 on Friday and Saturday nights.
