The Musikverein building is Vienna’s premier venue for classical music and home to, for example, the New Year’s Concert and the Wiener Philharmoniker orchestra.
If you wish to reach your hotel before the last strains of the violins fade, then read on for suggestions.
As with each such guide, my selection is based on how close the hotel is to the Musikverein (none are more than a short walk away) and limited to those establishments rated highest at booking.com (at the last check).
Following the list of hotels, you can find information about the area around the Musikverein, travel tips, plus a map with more accommodation options.
- See also:
- Hotels in Vienna (general advice and location-specific tips)
- The New Year’s Concert
- The Musikverein venue
Let us begin with the more luxury end of the hotel scale…
Hotel Imperial
(The front entrance to this “5-star superior” establishment)
You can’t get any closer than this, since the hotel is right across the street from the Musikverein. A five-star option that opened as a hotel in 1873 and has since welcomed many world leaders and other famous guests (and the Vienna Blood actors & crew).
Also, the ground floor has the Café Imperial alongside the Ring boulevard and a source of one of Vienna’s special homegrown cakes: the Imperial Torte.
Hotel Sacher
(Another 5-star superior option!)
Continuing the cake theme brings us to Hotel Sacher. You don’t have to stay here to try the famous Sacher Torte (visit, for example, Café Sacher in the same building, though I strongly recommend reserving a table to avoid the queue).
Hard to stay in a better location if you want to go exploring around Vienna’s city centre.
Hotel Sacher is within walking distance of the Musikverein, right across from the Staatsoper opera house and the Albertina art museum, and on the pedestrianised Kärntner Straße shopping street that leads down to Stephansdom cathedral.
Hotel Bristol
(The façade features Jugendstil fittings)
Completing a triumvirate of official five-star and five-star (superior) options is Hotel Bristol.
Like the Sacher, another hotel with views of the opera house and a five minute walk from the Musikverein. So ideal for fans of those composers who straddled the opera and concert stages.
Various musical greats have stayed here, including Gustav Mahler and Enrico Caruso.
Grand Hotel Wien
(One of the majestic locations along the Ring boulevard)
Another top luxury hotel located just two blocks away from the Musikverein.
Johann Strauss (II) apparently celebrated 50 years on stage inside. A near neighbour is Café Schwarzenberg, one of Vienna’s more traditional coffee houses.
Then we have a cluster of three hotels within shouting distance of each other…
Hotel am Schubertring
(An appropriately musical name and location)
Situated within a beautiful town palais on (surprise) the Schubertring part of the giant Ring boulevard. It’s a five-minute walk from here to the Musikverein.
Hotel Grand Ferdinand
(I’m told the Meissl & Schadn restaurant inside does great Schnitzel)
Just across the street from the above. The location originally contained a palais for Eugen Graf Kinsky but this newer building went up after WW2 bombs damaged the original.
Pop out the back and up Schwarzenbergstraße for a museal homage to the great composers (in the House of Music) or drop into Flanagans Irish pub (slightly lower on the cultural music scale, but great for watching football and rugby).
The Ritz-Carlton Vienna
(Another luxury option. This really is prime luxury hotel territory)
The Ritz-Carlton sits right next to the Stadtpark recreational park, which has its own musical highlights in the form of statues and monuments to the likes of Strauss and Schubert.
Only a couple of minutes’ walk away from the Musikverein, the hotel combines four palais buildings from the 19th century, including a former casino for aristocrats.
Schlosshotel Römischer Kaiser
(Located down a side-street)
A little further away, but I include this one because it’s in a quieter area and still just 7 minutes walking distance to the Musikverein.
Also worth a mention because of the astonishing Baroque Annakirche church almost opposite (you have to go inside to understand what I mean). Also close to the bars and cafés on Schwarzenbergstraße.
Hotel am Konzerthaus
(Find a Michelin-Star certified restaurant inside)
As the name suggests, one close to the Konzerthaus, another highly regarded venue for classical music concerts (see below).
The Hotel am Konzerthaus also puts you within a very short walk of the Belvedere palace and art museum complex.
Motel One Staatsoper
(A good choice for the state opera house, too)
One of the Motel One locations strewn across Vienna. Just a 6-minute walk to the Musikverein and about the same distance to the Naschmarkt, where you can pick up culinary specialities from around the world.
If you’re in the mood for some coffee and cake, look for Café Museum, which is one of Vienna’s best-known cafés and shares the same block as the hotel.
Hotel alternatives
(Map provided by booking.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
Booking.comThe local area
The area is on the doorstep of the old town, so your hotel is likely in (or next to) the historical centre with all it has to offer, including numerous restaurants and cafés if you fancy a change from hotel fare.
The Musikverein is anchored in music and art territory (though the same might be said of many locations in Vienna, frankly).
Next door is the Künstlerhaus, home to the contemporary art exhibitions of the same-named association. Another occupant of that building is the Albertina Modern with its own top art exhibitions.
(Karlskirche)
Go across the big road in front of the Musikverein to reach Karlsplatz square with its Brahms monument, Otto Wagner station buildings, and the beautiful baroque Karlskirche church.
The church also hosts concerts and has a panorama lift that takes you into the dome with views down onto the Musikverein.
Alternatively, turn left before crossing the road to skirt the old town counterclockwise along Lothringerstraße and pass Schwarzenbergplatz (with the fountain and Red Army monument), the Beethoven monument, and the Konzerthaus (as mentioned earlier, another prestigious concert venue).
That route eventually takes you to the Stadtpark park with yet another beautiful concert venue (!) and various musical memorials, including the photogenic Golden Strauss.
(The Secession building)
In the other direction (i.e. clockwise), follow the big road round on to Linke Wienzeile to pass the Secession (once home to Klimt and associates) and reach the intriguing bar and restaurant area that is the Naschmarkt open-air market mentioned for the Motel One.
On the way, you can veer off up Operngasse to find more bars, restaurants, and the Café Museum coffee house, which once counted Franz Lehár among its regulars. The road leads to the State Opera House, and then you can head toward the mighty Hofburg complex and sightseeing paradise.
Getting there
The local area is thick with tram stops and subway stations. Karlsplatz, for example, is a major underground hub with three subway lines (U1, U2 and U4). The tram lines 1, 2, D and 71 also pass through the area. See more detailed travel tips in the Musikverein article.