Vienna in 4 days
A ready route for 4 days in Vienna: the main sights grouped by area, so you don't walk back and forth. Each day opens on the map with all its stops.
Stephansdom & the Historic Core · Hofburg & Imperial Vienna
6 places · about 6,5 h of sightseeing · 1,1 km between them
Morning
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Mozarthaus Vienna (Domgasse 5)The only surviving Vienna apartment where Mozart lived, now a museum spread over several floors.
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Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral)Vienna's soaring Gothic cathedral and the literal center of the city — free nave, paid towers.
Afternoon
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Graben & Kärntner StrasseVienna's grandest pedestrian shopping streets, linking Stephansplatz to the Opera.
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Hofburg Palace ComplexThe Habsburgs' vast winter residence — a walled city-within-a-city of courtyards, wings and museums.
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Spanish Riding School (Lipizzaner Stallions)Classical Lipizzaner horsemanship in a stunning Baroque hall — performances, training sessions, or stable tours.
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Sisi Museum & Imperial Apartments
Empress Elisabeth's life story plus the lived-in Habsburg state rooms — one combined ticket.
Route of the day: Google Maps Apple Maps
The Ringstrasse & Museum District
4 places · about 7 h of sightseeing · 1,4 km between them
Morning
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Vienna City Hall (Rathaus) & RathausplatzNeo-Gothic city hall with a vast public square out front — free guided tours, and the stage for the winter Christkindlmarkt.
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Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural History Museum)Dinosaurs, meteorites, and the 25,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf, mirroring the KHM across the square.
Afternoon
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Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History)One of the world's great art museums — Bruegel, Vermeer, Titian, Velázquez — inside a palatial domed building.
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MuseumsQuartier (Leopold Museum & mumok)One of the world's largest cultural quarters — Klimt and Schiele at the Leopold, contemporary art at mumok, plus a free-to-enter courtyard full of cafes and lounging spots.
Route of the day: Google Maps Apple Maps
Belvedere & Karlsplatz
4 places · about 5 h of sightseeing · 3,3 km between them
Morning
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Karlskirche (St. Charles's Church)Vienna's grandest Baroque church — a panoramic elevator rides right up into the dome frescoes.
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NaschmarktVienna's largest and liveliest market — food stalls, produce, and a Saturday flea market. Closed Sundays.
Afternoon
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Belvedere Palace (Upper & Lower)Baroque palace and gardens holding Klimt's 'The Kiss' — Prince Eugene's summer residence, now Austria's national art gallery.
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Belvedere 21A light-filled 1958 expo pavilion turned contemporary-art museum behind the main station, with a free cinema and a Thursday late opening.
Route of the day: Google Maps Apple Maps
Schönbrunn
2 places · about 6 h of sightseeing · 0,7 km between them
Morning
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Schönbrunn Palace & GardensThe Habsburgs' vast summer palace — 1,441 rooms, the Gloriette hilltop folly, and free gardens open daily.
Afternoon
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Tiergarten Schönbrunn (Vienna Zoo)The world's oldest continuously operating zoo (founded 1752), inside the Schönbrunn grounds — pandas, elephants, and a rainforest house.
Route of the day: Google Maps Apple Maps
Good to know
When to go
May, June, September and October are best for the palaces and coffee houses — without summer crowds. In winter the Christmas markets make the city magical.
Book ahead
Mozarthaus Vienna (Domgasse 5), Spanish Riding School (Lipizzaner Stallions), Sisi Museum & Imperial Apartments, Vienna City Hall (Rathaus) & Rathausplatz, Belvedere Palace (Upper & Lower), Schönbrunn Palace & Gardens, Tiergarten Schönbrunn (Vienna Zoo)
Closed days
- Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural History Museum) — closed: Tuesday
- Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) — closed: Monday
- MuseumsQuartier (Leopold Museum & mumok) — closed: Tuesday
- Naschmarkt — closed: Sunday
- Belvedere 21 — closed: Monday
Want times, places to eat and a plan for your own dates?
In your own plan:
- exact times for each day, checked against the opening hours on your dates
- places to eat near every stop, in three budgets
- your flights, hotel, kids and pace taken into account