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.
Should 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 highly at booking.com (with a rating of at least 8 at the last check in early November, 2024).
Following the list of hotels, you can find information about the area around the Musikverein, travel tips, plus a map with more accommodation options that include apartments.
- Add a classical concert experience* to your stay
- See also:
- Hotels in Vienna (general advice and location-specific tips)
- Handy for the New Year’s Concert
- Concert venues in Vienna
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 (including the Vienna Blood actors & crew).
Also, the ground floor has the Café Imperial alongside the Ring boulevard, which doubles as a source of one of Vienna’s special homegrown cakes: the Imperial Torte.
- Address: Kärntner Ring 16
- Hotel & booking details*
Hotel Sacher Wien
(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.
- Address: Philharmoniker Straße 4
- Hotel & booking details*
Hotel Bristol
(The façade features Jugendstil fittings)
Completing a triumvirate of official five-star and five-star (superior) options is Hotel Bristol: a five minute walk from the Musikverein.
Like the Imperial, the hotel lies on the great Ring boulevard. And, like the Sacher, it has views of the opera house. 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.
Note that the hotel is closed for major refurbishments from early March 2025 until a (planned) reopening at Christmas 2027.
- Address: Kärntner Ring 1
- Hotel & booking details*
Grand Hotel Wien
(One of the majestic locations along the Ring boulevard)
Another top luxury hotel on the Ring boulevard, 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.
- Address: Kärntner Ring 9
- Hotel & booking details*
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 also a five-minute walk from here to the Musikverein via Schwarzenbergplatz square with its equestrian statue of Prince Schwarzenberg (nemesis of Napoleon), large fountain and giant Red Army monument.
- Address: Schubertring 11
- Hotel & booking details*
Grand Ferdinand Vienna
(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).
- Address: Schubertring 10-12
- Hotel & booking details*
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.
- Address: Schubertring 5-7
- Hotel & booking details*
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 (great for concerts) almost opposite. You have to go inside to understand what I mean. Also close to the bars and cafés on Schwarzenbergstraße.
- Address: Annagasse 16
- Hotel & booking details*
Hotel am Konzerthaus Vienna – MGallery
(Find a highly-rated restaurant inside)
As the name suggests, one close to the Konzerthaus, another highly regarded venue for classical music concerts.
The Hotel am Konzerthaus also puts you within a very short walk of the Belvedere palace and art museum complex.
- Address: Am Heumarkt 35/37
- Hotel & booking details*
Motel One Wien-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 open-air market, 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.
A friend of mine stayed at the Motel One here and was very happy with it.
- Address: Elisabethstraße 5
- Hotel & booking details*
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 building)
The Musikverein is anchored in music and art territory (though the same might be said of many locations in Vienna, frankly). Some of the following I mention in the hotel descriptions, but here a broader overview…
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.
Go across the big road in front of the Musikverein to reach Karlsplatz square with its Brahms monument, Otto Wagner station buildings, beautiful baroque Karlskirche church and the Wien Museum with its free permanent exhibition.
(Karlskirche)
The Karlskirche church also hosts concerts (Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons) and has a panorama terrace with views across to the Musikverein (the Wien Museum also has a panorama terrace).
Alternatively, turn left before crossing the road to skirt the old town counterclockwise along Lothringerstraße and pass Schwarzenbergplatz (with its statue, 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 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.
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.