What to do in August

If you drift through Vienna’s centre in August, you may wonder why you rarely hear a Viennese accent.

It’s because we’re all on holiday. The city is yours, now.

P.S. Be sure to water the houseplants and feed the parrot.

• Book a classical concert experience* for August
• See also:
  • This week’s event tips
  • July & September
  • Find August accommodation

Top activities in August 2025

The cool interiors of cafés, museums, concert halls, and historical buildings are a strong option in August, but what else might you do in one of the hottest months of the year?

Incidentally, if you’re worried about keeping cool, I have a whole article on attractions and activities that help you avoid the heat.

My quick tip

The summer normally has orchestras replacing batons and bows with sandals and snorkels. However, some classical venues use the mid-year break to offer special concerts designed for incoming visitors.

The rather prestigious surrounds of the legendary Musikverein concert house, for example, host evenings of light classical music* that include performers in period attire.

August exhibitions

(The Albertina always has top exhibitions)

The museum summer typically offers many distractions for visitors to the city:

Top tip

Insider tip

My highlights

• Enjoy the last full month of the Klimt exhibition at Lower Belvedere: Pigment & Pixel reveals insights into the great artist’s painting processes and brings the lost Faculty Paintings to astonishing life

• Lower Belvedere also highlights the influence of women artists on Modernism: Radical! presents works by over 70 artists from more than 20 countries

• Upper Belvedere, home to Klimt’s The Kiss, takes an in-depth look at his unfinished painting The Bride, featuring preliminary sketches, historical context and more

• The Albertina has plenty of summer offerings. Enjoy solo exhibitions for photographer Jitka Hanzlová and light artist Brigitte Kowanz, as well as works by artists in the Hagen Society and the final days of travel-inspired art from the 1700s & 1800s (until August 24th)

• Drop into the Albertina Modern for drawings by Damien Hirst as well as contemporary and avant-garde art from the Viehof Collection

• Delve into the intricacies of still life painting at the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s special exhibition around baroque artist Pieter Claesz

• Expressionism takes centre stage at the Heidi Horten Collection, particularly the German and Austrian variety and a dip into the medium of silent film. And they have images of Vienna as created by three artists separated by the decades: Balthasar Wigand, Rudolf von Alt and Stefan Oláh

• Over at Belvedere 21, an exhibition examines the international presence and influence of one of Austria’s most important sculptors: Fritz Wotruba

• Take a trip back to one of the modern era’s most vibrant decades. Mapping the 60s at mumok presents the art of the time in the context of important (art) events and publications. They also have their own in-house retrospective around the 80s, for example

• More post-WWII art at Wien Museum MUSA, which presents Viennese Realism from 1950 (until August 17th)

• Staying thematically with a world recovering from WWII, the Wien Museum main site explores post-war Vienna and examines how international influences brought in with allied occupation helped coalesce the domestic Austrian cultural identity

• The Wien Museum also shows us how the invention of reinforced concrete changed the face (literally) of Vienna around 1900

• The Qur’an in Europe exhibition at the Weltmuseum runs until August 24th and looks at the influence and understanding of Islamic scripture across European history. The museum also traces the intriguing socioculture of the innocent (or not) trousers through time

• The MAK’s Water Pressure exhibition combines design, art, and more in its fascinating treatment of the life-giving resource that is water

• Vienna’s famous for Strauss & Mozart: a special exhibition (until August 17th) at the Theatermuseum celebrates the former’s life and music, and another one at the Mozarthaus explores the connection between the latter’s dining habits and his music

• The history of radio in Austria (technological evolution and socioculture) is a focus in the Technisches Museum

• Enjoy the last century of Austrian history as seen through the medium of photography in the State Hall of the National Library

• And we finish with a little deeper meaning and the Jewish Museum’s exploration of perspectives on a/the deity. The also have an exhibition of photos by Roger Cremers that reveal the scars and legacy of WWII and the Shoah in images from today.

Check the main exhibition listings for fuller details as locations continue to expand their schedules.

Stay on the Rathausplatz

(Come for the film, stay for the gastronomy; view of the festival square from the Burgtheater roof; press photo © stadtwienmarketing))

As mentioned for July, much fun may be had on the main Rathausplatz square.

The free open-air film festival continues throughout August, with evening showings of (mainly) music performances on a huge screen.

We like to get there in the early evening for something interesting to eat and drink from the food court, which features cuisine from around the world (and Austria). Then find a seat to catch a bit of Sheeran or Tchaikovsky.

A fair few open-air cinemas usually fire up the popcorn machine come August. For example (all 2025 dates TBA at the time of writing, though, unless otherwise mentioned):

• The dotdotdot film festival has its showings of short films (July 27th to August 26th)

• Frameout open-air cinema carries on in the courtyards of the city’s main contemporary art quarter, the MQ

• The Architektur.­Film.­Sommer architecture-flavoured film festival occupies the courtyard in front of the Architekturzentrum for one day a week (July 30th to August 20th)

• Kino am Dach has screenings on top of the main city library throughout the month (a personal favourite), while the sister Kino im Schloss event arrived in Schloss Neugebäude last August, and I hope that repeats in 2025

Be sure to look for the abbreviations OV (shown in the original language), OmU (ditto with subtitles…most likely German ones), OmeU (ditto, but subtitles are in English).

Dive into Anime and Manga

(Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece)

Good news for fans of Japanese pop culture…AniNite (August 8th to 10th) is a huge event attracting thousands of fans of manga, anime and similar.

Expect cosplay, entertainments, panels, special guests, street food, oodles of merchandise, a giant artist alley for both fan art and original art, and more.

I went for the first time last year.

Watch the old timers

(Get a glimpse of the motorised past)

Classic car enthusiasts gather in the city in August for the Vienna Classic Days old timer festival.

The highlights for visitors is the Old Timer Parade (on the 23rd), when vehicles of all shapes, sizes and eras do a turn of the Ring, waving cheerily as we all remember the days of flapping scarfs and picnic hampers tied to the boot.

Enjoy the urban flair

(Calle Libre brings colour and commentary to the urban landscape)

Vienna may have a reputation for imperial elegance and genteel coffee house culture. But it’s also a modern, diverse city with quite a few areas that weren’t actually built by a Habsburg monarch.

• The Calle Libre festival (August 16th to 23rd), for example, celebrates street art as a true art form, with the chance to watch those at the top of their profession creating giant murals and similar

• The Gürtel Nightwalk (2025 dates TBA but usually the last Saturday in August) highlights an urban regeneration success story: a stretch of the Gürtel road has become a popular nightspot for clubs, bars and venues. Several throw open their doors for an evening of (free) live performances

Of course, if it’s quiet elegance or leafy suburbs you seek, then see July’s suggestions for enjoying the street cafés and wine taverns.

A taste of Vienna (and the world)

(Dumplings and Sauerkraut for the discerning palate)

A few diverse food, drink, and music (or all three) events appear in August. For example:

• Music forms the centrepiece of the Afrika Tage African festival (August 8th to 18th), with national and international performers. Enjoy plenty of African cuisine, too, as well as a bazaar and various info stands from NGOs working in and with the continent

• The Neustifter Kirtag (August 21st to 24th) brings traditional Austrian garb, copious quantities of wine, live music and a street market to Vienna

• Vienna’s established open-air markets offer extended opening hours and bonus entertainments on the Long Night of Viennese Markets (2025 dates TBA)

• The Ottakringer beer festival (June 26th to August 29th), with Ottakringer’s own traditional and craft beers, as well as food that goes well with a pint (or half a liter) on a balmy evening. Look out for the two-day Summer Nights mini-edition (with free entry) of the Vinyl & Music festival on the 8th and 9th

(Late-night ambience at the Long Night of Viennese Markets; press photo © PID/Christian Fürthner)

• Shifting beverages, the three-day Liquid Market Cocktail Festival (August 28th to 30th) is the place for drinking green tea and organic coffee. OK, perhaps it’s more a place for drinking cocktails. Whatever the word is for a collection of cocktail bars (an umbrella?), this is one of them

• Summer in the MQ is not a formal event as such, but the expression of seasonal flair in Vienna at the MuseumsQuartier, where open-air bars and the famous summer furniture invite you to imbibe something cold, relax, and watch the occasional cloud meandering through the blue skies above (hopefully)

• Talking open-air bars, Summerstage on the Donaukanal has a fair few, with accompanying live music, outdoor art and other waterfront delights

Seasonal tip(s)

Cool wine cellars

(This way to cool down)

The Schlumberger sparkling wine cellars offer refuge from summer heat. These are working cellars, so you can’t just wander in happily waving your ice cream. Fortunately, they offer self-guided tours with a tasting afterwards, which I enjoyed.

Take to the water

(The Hochstrahlbrunnen fountain on Schwarzenbergplatz)

And, finally, all of July’s advice on waterways obviously applies to August, too.

If you want to make more of a trip of it, there’s always the option of a short cruise along the Danube. Ships leave from moorings on the Donaukanal, for example, at the edge of the city centre.

Plenty of tour operators will happily show you other options. I can recommend a trip up the Danube through the beautiful Wachau wine-growing area or one across the border into Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital.