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Visiting Vienna

What to do in April

Wine glasses

Now, April is quite a decent time to visit Vienna.

Why?

Well, spring should have sprung. So you have a fair chance of avoiding the cold. Equally, it’s not high summer, and nobody has hung up Christmas lights. So the city’s busy, but not peak busy. Except around Easter (as in 2026).

All of which makes April as good as March, but with a higher probability of sun.

Top April activities in 2026

So what might you do beyond the usual year-round tours, museums, concerts, and other delights that Vienna has to offer the enthusiastic visitor?

My quick tip

Church dome

I’ve been visiting a few of the light classical concerts put on primarily for visitors to Vienna. A nice way to spend the evening, perhaps with something fine to eat before or after.

I enjoyed two concerts in baroque churches, for example: the Classic Ensemble Vienna in the Peterskirche and Orchester 1756 in the Karlskirche.

Easter markets

Craft stalls at the Freyung

(Easter market on the Freyung)

Easter in Vienna does not have the same impact on the city as the Advent period, but it has its traditions.

Most importantly, the season brings the Easter markets. These usually begin opening around two to three weeks before the holiday weekend.

So with Easter Sunday on April 5th in 2026, stalls should already start appearing in mid-March. They tend to close more or less at the end of the Easter holiday break.

The markets offer a colourful mix of arts, crafts, food, and drink. This includes more decorative eggs than you can lay in a century and enough Austrian delicacies to keep your cholesterol and sugar levels high throughout your stay.

The main venues are Schönbrunn, the Freyung and Am Hof. All three are lovely, but Schönbrunn has perhaps the most glorious setting in the courtyard of the huge Habsburg palace.

Exhibitions in April 2026

The Albertina Art Museum from below

(The Albertina is always a good address for top exhibitions)

The last four Aprils had some astonishing exhibitions, so let’s keep our fingers crosses for 2026. It’s a little early for schedules, but so far we have a couple of expected highlights:

Selected Highlights

  • The MAK showcases the design talent and creativity of the iconic Helmut Lang
  • Enjoy an exhibition around US artist KAWS at the Albertina Modern (from April 3rd)
  • The Albertina draws its solo exhibition for Leiko Ikemura to a close (until April 6th)
  • …and the More than Character Heads at Lower Belvedere ends this month (also until April 6th). Is focuses on the remarkable baroque portrait sculptures by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt
  • April is also your last chance to catch the Jewish Museum‘s look at skin colour and Jewish identity. Black Jews, White Jews? On Skin Color and Prejudice runs until April 26th
  • mumok takes us back in time for a look at the art of the 60s and some of the events that drove art’s (r)evolution, but also gets introspective about the 1980s (until April 12th)
  • The Technisches Museum continues to explore issues around lifestyle, consumer choices, and resource sustainability

For full exhibition options, consult the broader exhibition listings.

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Bonus art events

  • The Klima Biennale took place for the first time in 2024 with its events and exhibitions around climate change and a strong contemporary art element flowing through proceedings. As the name suggests, the next one is in 2026 (April 9th to May 10th)
  • The Edelstoff design market features lots of independent designers (April 25th and 26th)
  • And the WAMP design market typically has a spring edition in the MuseumsQuartier (2026 dates TBA)

Enjoy some food & drink

Styrian wine

(Wine from the Steiermark)

As nature pushes layers of green over the country, so the food and drink festivals start up in earnest.

One of the country’s more Alpine provinces, for example, is the Steiermark. Each year, the region’s tourist folk, farmers, wine growers, and musicians turn up in Vienna for the Styrian Spring festival (April 8th to 12th).

As well as offering a taste of the traditions of that beautiful part of the country, the festival offers a taste of the tastes, too. Like all Austrian provinces, the Steiermark has a proud culinary heritage. Look, particularly, for their wine, beer, and pumpkin products.

April also brings:

  • The spring edition of the Super Bier Fest might also drop into that same brewery (2026 dates and name TBA)
  • And the brewery started its own short Tankbiertage beer festival last April (2026 dates TBA)
  • Finally, the city-owned Cobenzl winery has an open day (2026 dates TBA), which is free. Though you do have to pay if you want to try some of the prize-winning wines. The winery sits on a hill with lovely views of the city
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Fandoms, photos, music & film

On the fandom front:

  • The Fantasy Con (2026 dates TBA) is a small event with an artist alley, readings, music and similar

On the photos front:

  • The Vienna Vintage Photo Fair (2026 dates TBA) has free entry and features local and international specialist vendors, collectors and related institutions with an array of historical photographs to view (and buy)
The Reigen venue sign

(The Reigen hosts most of the Vienna Blues Spring gigs)

On the music front:

The Vienna concert season is in full swing in April, of course, but if you fancy something a little different (all 2026 dates TBA at the time of writing unless otherwise noted)…

  • The Vienna Blues Spring typically continues throughout April and features performances from both local and international musicians…with a focus on (guess?) blues

On the movie front:

Enjoy the running

April hosts the weekend of the Vienna marathon (April 19th), an international event with added kudos: part of the course for the race is the same stretch of road where Eliud Kipchoge became the first human to run the marathon distance in under two hours (at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge).

Seasonal tip(s)

Enjoy the April sun

Stadtpark pond view

(The Stadtpark)

Unlike in March, you’re more likely to find flowers peeping up from Vienna’s numerous parks and gardens in April (and enough sun to enjoy them).

If you want to enjoy the spring verdure on the trees and/or fruit tree blossom, then head for places like:

  • The Lainzer Tiergarten: an extensive nature protection area with wild boar and more (the lovely Hermesvilla is here, once a summerhouse for Empress Elisabeth)
  • The Vienna Woods: lots of cycle paths and hiking trails through the hills and forests that surround Vienna’s west
  • The Stadtpark park: in the centre and featuring famous musician memorials (look for Strauss, in particular)
  • The Prater park: an 11km hiking trail that starts and ends in an area rich with restaurants and entertainments
  • Of course, don’t forget the sculpted gardens attached to the various palaces, too, such as at Schönbrunn, Belvedere or the Volksgarten next to the Hofburg. You’ll see these as you pass through the usual sightseeing areas, anyway

Several protected or private areas usually open up in full to the public end of March. For example:

  • The Cobenzl city farm: just as it says on the label. Kids can get up close to farm animals
  • Hirschstetten: part of the city’s horticultural nursery complex. They’ve turned it into a landscaped botanical gardens, with a palm house and a fair few birds and animals in there, too. It’s a bit of a secret and off the usual tourist trails. Oh, and it’s free

Go for an ice cream

Ice cream parlour sign with a historical building behind it

(One of the more popular parlours is Zanoni & Zanoni on Lugeck square close to Stephansdom cathedral)

If that sounds banal, it’s not meant to. The local ice cream season actually begins sometime in March, and we’re not talking about lollipops in the freezer aisle of the supermarket.

Vienna hosts many remarkably high-quality ice cream parlours, so fill a cone or cup with your choice of flavours. Or take a seat and enjoy something off an extensive ice cream menu that might set your diet back a few weeks. Oh, and vegan options are usually available.

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