Events in Vienna

Current highlights for visitors plus annual events and festivals of particular interest (listed by month); perhaps you can find something to add that little extra to your Vienna trip…

• See also:
  • Current & future exhibitions
  • Activities in Vienna
  • Catch a classical concert

Selected events on now(ish)

(Home to the Ottakringer beer festival)

For detailed suggestions, try the What to do in August article and also explore current art (and other) exhibitions. Selected event highlights for the coming days:

• The hugely-popular Rathaus Film Festival on the central Rathausplatz continues until September 4th: enjoy (free) daily open-air screenings of concerts and operas, plus (not free) food and drink from around the world

• Staying on the classical music theme, still dates available in the coming weeks for the period Mozart concerts at the world-famous Musikverein and Staatsoper

• Other open-air film events include:
  • Frameout (Friday and Saturday nights in the MuseumsQuartier until August 27th)
  • dotdotdot (Sundays to Tuesdays at the Schönborn garden palais until August 31st)
  • The Stumm & Laut (silent movies with live music on August 11th, 12th and 13th)

• The Ottakringer Bierfest runs through to September 2nd. Beer and street food with a few bonus activities and entertainments thrown in (such as a guest appearance by the Vinyl & Music festival on August 12th and 13th)

Annual events and festivals

These should take place each year but do check the linked individual and (especially) the monthly articles, since events may shift around the calendar.

January

(The Musikverein hosts the New Year’s Concert)

For dates, details and more activities and ideas, see the full guide to January 2023. Some possibilities:

• The 1st of January is, of course, the date of the world-famous New Year’s Concert

• You might catch the final days of the New Year markets at the beginning of the month

• It’s time to slap on your skates for the Vienna Ice World, which usually runs until early March

February

(Open-air ice skating remains a popular February pastime)

For more tips on seasonal activities, try the February 2023 guide. Sandwiched innocently between the holiday season and spring, February has few major annual events of note, but you might consider, for example:

• January’s Ice World, which continues through the month. And there’s the famous Opernball, of course

• The end of the month brings the International Orchid Show

March

(March may see seasonal Easter markets arrive)

See the full March 2023 guide for all details and more thoughts on what you might do in the month. Some highlights:

• The Easter markets might start up in March, depending on when Easter actually falls. See, for example, the one at Schönbrunn Palace

• The Vinyl & Music festival drops into the city’s main brewery and the Blues Spring Festival typically starts up at the end of March

• The Foto Wien photography festival makes this a happy month for photographers and those who appreciate their work, while the Edelstoff design market will please art and crafts fans

April

(The Freyung Easter market)

For more tips, exhibition suggestions and outdoor activities, try the full April 2023 guide.

• The Easter markets may continue (or start) in April, and the Vienna Blues Spring music festival still fills its venues during the month

• April also has one of the early food festivals: the Styrian Spring festival. For nourishment of the more visual kind, try the Jewish Film Festival or the Festival du Film Francophone (French-language movie festival)

• If you want to work off the calories after all those Styrian delights, then the Vienna marathon is usually in the same month, as is the Argus Bike Festival

May

(The food festival season begins)

For dates, more information, and even more suggested things to do, see the complete May 2023 guide.

This is the month when music and food lovers come into their own.

• On the music front, you have the Fest der Freude, a free concert on Heldenplatz to celebrate the anniversary of the liberation of the city in WWII

• Music also appears at many of the food and drink festivals (and similar):
  • The open day at the city-owned Cobenzl winery
  • The Genuss Festival that stretches across the Stadtpark
  • The spring edition of the Craft Beer Festival
  • The Burgenland Kultinarium on Am Hof square
  • The Waldviertelpur festival on the Rathausplatz
  • The Steffl Kirtag around Stephansdom cathedral
  • The Südwind Straßenfest NGO festival
  • The Wiener Zitrustage in the Schönbrunn palace orangery
  • And the European Street Food festival outside the Stadthalle

• Art and design festivals might include:
  • The Edelstoff design market
  • The Art Austria art fair

The events of May give you a big hint as to what Vienna is really all about: food, drink & music.

For more culture, however, try the Jewish and French film festivals or possibly the Donaukanaltreiben riverside urban festival.

June

(Enjoy the Long Night of the Churches)

Find out about more June events, including dates, using the broader June 2023 guide.

• The month usually starts with the military old-timer meet at On Wheels and Tracks

• Two notable international music festivals pop up in June – the Vienna Jazz Festival and the Donauinselfest. The latter is Europe’s largest free open-air festival.

• Two world-class orchestras perform for free:
  • The famous Summer Night classical concert in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace with the Wiener Philharmoniker
  • The Wiener Symphoniker traditionally appear at the MQ open-air concert

• The spring/summer edition of Fesch’Markt Vienna lets you sample the creative output of independent designers and artists

• The Long Night of the Churches invites you into Christian institutions for all sorts of activities, tours, entertainments, and more

• The Vienna Shorts film festival focuses on short-form movies

July

For other activity tips and more detailed suggestions, try the comprehensive July 2023 guide.

• The big July event is the Rathaus Film Festival, with daily public viewings of concerts and performances from various genres of music on the square in front of the Rathaus

• Talking music, June’s Jazz Festival usually continues through the early part of the month, too. And there’s more music in July:
  • Enjoy the live kind at the end of the month with Popfest Wien
  • Enjoy the DJ kind at the Lichterfest festival of light on the Old Danube
  • Enjoy the live festival kind at the Afrika Tage African festival, where food, music, and art comes together for almost 3 weeks

• More on the food and drink front with…
  • The Ottakringer Beer Festival, if you like a beer or three
  • And if mead’s more your thing, there’s always the Montur & Pulverdampf medieval festival

• July typically also sees the start of the Frameout open-air cinema season at the MuseumsQuartier and the start of the dotdotdot film festival at the folk museum

August

Discover a whole slew of ideas for what to do this month in the full August 2022 guide.

• Many of July’s film and other festivals carry on through August. And another international open-air cinema usually starts up at Belvedere Palace, too, with their Kino im Kammergarten programme

• Jump from classic to contemporary: numerous classic cars drive around the Ring at the Vienna Old Timer Parade, while the month also hosts the Calle Libre street art festival. For (live) modern music, try the Gürtel Nightwalk

September

For more suggestions, details, and dates, browse the main September 2022 guide.

• The food, drink, film, and music theme common to Vienna dominates the month with, for example:
  • The Vienna Harvest Festival (Erntedankfest)
  • The Wiener Wiesn Fest (like Munich’s Oktoberfest)
  • The Liquid Market cocktail festival, if you like a cocktail or three
  • The Vienna Beer Festival
  • The international Buskers Festival
  • The family-friendly Streetlife Festival
  • The Vienna Coffee Festival
  • The fantastical SLASH film festival
  • …and the city celebrates a different type of music to the usual classics with Hollywood in Vienna

• The last Sunday in September is European Heritage Day, when various historical buildings open their doors to the public (for free). The same concept applies at Open House Wien, but with a focus on newer constructions

• And the modern flavour continues at the…
  • Viennacontemporary art fair
  • The Art Vienna fair
  • MQ Vienna Fashion Week
  • Waves Vienna music festival
  • Vienna Design Week
  • Pots und Blitz design market

• If you’re in need of a drink after all that, try the Rum and Gin festivals

October

Take a peek at the October 2022 guide for more details and further tips and suggestions.

• The Wiesen Fest from September continues into October, when you can also sample the best of Vienna’s museal treasures at the Long Night of Museums

• Lovers of good photography and design should find their way to…
  • The Vienna Design Week (covering numerous events and locations)
  • The Blickfang fair
  • The Photo+Adventure fair

• If you prefer your design in interactive pixel form, then visit Game City on the Rathausplatz. Indulge your geekier side further and enjoy the world of science fiction, fantasy and comics at Vienna Comic Con

• For a bit of autumnal flair, try the Herbsttage (a small fair and botanical exhibition)

• As in many months, film features strongly in October, too, with the start of the prestigious international film festival, the Viennale

• For both ends of the modern music spectrum, consider:
  • The classical music festival, Wien Modern, begins at the very end of October
  • Contemporary music of a different type at the Indie Label Week

• Or just get some fresh air: late October typically sees the start of the open-air ice skating season

November

Call up the November 2022 guide for more information on the below, as well as tips on other activities and art exhibitions, etc.

• Both the Viennale and Wien Modern normally carry through into November

• The month’s main claim to fame is the start of the Christmas season, notably the wonderful Advent markets, the lights, outdoor ice skating, and early signs of gift-buying panic

• To pick up some gifts of a particularly artistic nature, try:
  • The ART&ANTIQUE fair at the Hofburg
  • The Fesch’Markt autumn/winter edition design market
  • The Weihnachtsquartier design exhibition and market

• Or forget the season and immerse yourself…in a glass of beer at the autumn edition of the Craft Beer Festival

December

For all the details and a few more tips, check out the December 2022 guide.

You’ll be surprised to learn that seasonal themes tend to dominate in December, notably…

• The Christmas markets, which continue through until December 23rd, and often beyond

• Many people also celebrate New Year’s Eve in Vienna along the Silvesterpfad. The final two days of the year feature the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year concert previews

THE END (of the year and article).