$142+ Cheap flights to Vienna, Austria

Vienna Travel Guide

Vienna, the capital city of Austria, was for more than 600 years the center of the Hapsburg Empire. Travelers taking cheap flights to Vienna will discover that this city is indeed fit for emperors. It’s a city of stunning architecture, art, music and culture. 

If Salzburg is Austria’s cultural core, Vienna is Austria’s modern city center. Lined with cafes, parks and wine bars, Vienna is an alluring metropolis to first-time Austria travelers. Vienna is home to nearly two million people, but the millions of travelers who book flights to Vienna every year have made this city one of the most popular European destinations.

Vienna is a great destination spot for any type of traveler. Rated one of the most romantic cities in Europe, a flight to Vienna is sure to soothe matters of the heart. Scholars will enjoy Vienna’s history with a stroll down medieval alleyways and a walk through some of Austria’s famous castles. First time travelers can find cheap flights to Vienna and spend time lounging in sidewalk cafes or taking part in open-air festivals. No matter your reason for visiting Vienna, you’re sure to find something exciting to do. Here are some tips to help you plan and enjoy the smoothest possible trip to Tokyo.

Getting to and around the city of Vienna

One of the easiest ways to make up the 11 miles’ distance between Vienna International Airport (VIE), often locally referred to Schwechat, and the city center is on a train. The City Airport Train runs every half an hour from 6 in the morning until around 11 at night and only takes fifteen minutes to the Vienna subway station. An alternative option would be to consider jumping on a bus. These are frequent and some lines run twenty-four hours a day providing ease if you’re arriving late at night. Once your flight to Vienna lands, you can find information for the 4 different lines so you can decide which is best for you. Lastly you can opt to grab a taxi from outside of the airport, however you’ll be spending a lot more money in comparison. Make sure you agree on the price before getting in.

Once you’ve settled in to your hotel and are ready to explore, you’ll soon realize that Vienna is easy to get around, with public transportation in the form of trams and metro lines stretching out to the suburbs. If you’re moving on to other European cities like Prague or Budapest, you can take a train or ride a ferry down the Danube River. Walking, however, is the best way to see this beautiful city. The Inner City – containing the historic must-see buildings – is pedestrianized. There’s also the U-Bahn, which is clean, fast and reliable. It runs from very early morning to about midnight. The tram is a delightful way of getting around Vienna. Buses are also clean and reliable.

Tips for your stay in Vienna

• The Hapsburgs had a winter palace (Hofburg) and a summer residence (the Schönbrunn) as well as a passion for collecting art. The Kunsthistorisches Museum almost groans under the weight of art treasures (works by Rubens, Titian and Vermeer among others) and the family’s gilded fairytale carriages, housed in the Wagenburg building. 
• Once you’ve traced Mozart’s footsteps around the city and marveled at Gustav Klimt’s ceiling paintings in the University of Vienna’s Great Hall, take yourself off to the Museumsquartier. Known as Muqua to locals, this massive space houses several museums (including Leopold Museum and MUMOK, the modern art museum), restaurants and shops. It’s also where the Viennese go to kick back and relax.
• Does jet lag have you craving a good cup of coffee after your Vienna flight? You’re in luck, because no trip to Vienna is complete without an hour or two spent in one of the city’s famed coffeehouses. Made popular by the intelligentsia and artistic elite of 18th and 19th century Vienna, the coffeehouses of the city are ideal for relaxing, reading, and enjoying the excellent caffeinated concoctions. Be sure to order mélange, which is basically a creamier, Viennese cousin of the cappuccino. One of Vienna’s more famous coffeehouses is Café Central, a seasoned favorite and former haunt of Beethoven, Goethe and Trotsky. Lavishly decorated in Baroque style and generous with comfortable seating, Café Central is the ideal locale for a post-flight pick-me-up.
• Only tourists order “coffee” in Vienna. To fit in, order like the Viennese. A Doppelmokka or Mokka gespritzt perhaps? That’s a Mocha with brandy. A Kleiner Brauner is a double shot of coffee served with cream. And a Fiaker is coffee with a shot of cherry brandy with lots of cream and a cherry on top. 
• No trip to Vienna is complete without a stop at the famous cemetery, Zentralfriedhof. Pay your respects to some of Austria’s most notable composers, including Ludwig von Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, as well as Austrian heads of state, architects, artists and writers.
• A charming and relatively close-by side trip is taking a boat to Bratislava. The Twin City Liner is a catamaran that does the Vienna-Bratislava run four times a day.
• The Naschmarkt (between Linke and Rechte Wienzeile) is Vienna’s best-known food market. Nearly 200 stalls, a nearby flea market and a number of restaurants keep visitors enthralled. The name Naschmarkt is derived from naschen, a word that means something like, in the words of novelist Iliya Troyanov, “to nibble away delectably with abandon at a small, predominantly (but not exclusively) sweet and extremely tasty bit of food.” The Naschmarkt provides a feast, for both the stomach and the eyes, with its colorful stalls selling everything from dried strawberries to cut flowers to freshly prepared schnitzel. On Saturdays, the Naschmarkt also hosts a massive flea market full of standard and non-traditional treasures: Browse through the antique chandeliers, used accordions, and infinite baskets of buttons and Victorian skeleton keys for quirky Viennese souvenirs.
• The Life Ball is Europe’s largest AIDS fundraiser. It is held at Vienna’s city hall in May and starts with fashion shows by top designers such as John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood and Thierry Mugler. 
• The “Donauturm”, a radio signal transmission tower, is Vienna’s highest building. At 827 feet high, it offers awesome views of the city. There’s an observation deck and two revolving restaurants.

Finding Flights from Vienna

From Vienna, you can catch a flight to any major airport in Europe, as well as your return flight to the United States or many other locations across the globe. The majority of international and U.S. carriers that fly into Vienna International Airport, also fly out of it, including British Airways, Delta, and more. Visit https://www.cheapflights.co.uk for the top flight deals for routes out of Vienna.

Getting to the airport is simple. Order a taxi ahead of time, or take a city bus. Taking the S-Bahn, which is the main public train system around Vienna, isn’t recommended as an airport transportation choice if you have a lot of luggage, as it’s very difficult to get large suitcases on and off the train. However, express trains run from the airport to the city center and back again, with it taking only around 15 minutes to make the trip, and they’re much more user-friendly.

Once you choose a destination, be sure to check out our Vienna airport guides for more detailed travel information and helpful tips.

Vienna, Austria airport overview

Vienna International Airport (VIE) is Austria’s biggest and busiest airport, just 11 miles (18 km) from central Vienna. It is often locally referred to as Schwechat, as it is located in Schwechat County.

The airport has three terminals, one of which was built specifically for low-cost carriers. The terminals offer plenty of shopping, wining and dining opportunities to passengers. Shopping ranges from small- change souvenirs to mid-range duty-free items and expensive electronic gadgets. The food and drink options also cater for all, with small coffee kiosks and larger sit-down restaurants.

As a hub for both Austrian Airlines and Niki Airlines, there are many flights to Vienna International Airport. Passengers flying from across Europe as well as from destinations in Africa, Asia and North America can easily book flights to Vienna International Airport.

As the gateway to the capital city, Vienna International Airport provides the perfect introduction.