What to do in the evening

Well, I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting dinner. Instead, here a few alternatives in Vienna to restaurants, bars and clubs.

• Options include late-night museums, concerts, English theatre & cinema, wine cellars, the spa, the ferris wheel, stadium football, seasonal markets and evening bus tours
• Book an evening concert* in a historical venue
• See also:
  • What to do in a day
  • Events in Vienna

Evening entertainment

Before we start, note that opening hours can obviously change at relatively short notice or for holidays, so do check locally. But let us begin with…

Museums

(The Kunsthistorisches Museum opens late on Thursdays)

Vienna’s museums close in the late afternoon. But…several have one or more days a week when they stay open later. At the time of writing, for example:

Tuesdays

• The Weltmuseum (until 9pm): Vienna’s main museum of ethnology
• The MAK museum (until 9pm): applied arts, contemporary art and design

Wednesdays

• The Albertina (until 9pm): one of our best art museums
• Naturhistorisches Museum (until 8pm): the natural history museum

Thursdays

• The Kunsthistorisches Museum (until 9pm): another top art museum with a special dinner option on Thursday evening, too
• The Wien Museum (until 9pm): the history of Vienna
• Heidi Horten Collection (until 9pm): prestigious collection of modern and contemporary art

Fridays

• The Albertina (until 9pm)

Every day

• The Haus der Musik (museum of sound and music, which stays open until 10pm each day)

In my experience, the late night openings tend to be less busy than at other times and make for a more relaxed viewing ambience.

Tip: the museums often offer in-house guided tours in the evening on late-opening days, too

Classical concerts

(The Peterskirche church has regular evening concerts)

As you might imagine, Vienna puts on a lot of evening concerts. But the city specialises in classical concerts for visitors, offering lighter and better-known pieces by Mozart, Strauss and other “Viennese” composers.

These concerts typically occupy venues with a long history: everything from Gothic cathedrals to palace orangeries and Baroque churches. So you can add ambience and historical authenticity to the performances.

Tip: the concerts in the central Kursalon include a dinner option.

Theater, cinema & opera

(The Staatsoper state opera house)

Another obvious candidate is to take in a play, watch a movie, or witness a tale told in music and song. If only it weren’t for the fact that we find ourselves in a German-speaking country.

Ah, but all is not lost.

• The major theatres and opera houses typically have solutions for those wishing to follow along in English. The State Opera House, for example, has small screens at your seat providing translations in a choice of languages

• Vienna has a large number of cinemas specialising in showing films in the original English

• We also have a couple of English-language theatres

Tip: tickets for the state opera house are far cheaper than you think, especially if you’re prepared to stand. And the stanchions also have small screens with the English libretto displayed.

Schlumberger

(Artfully lit cellars within make for a nice evening tour)

I did the tour of the Schlumberger sparkling wine cellars recently and gave it a thumbs up: an informative wander through an intriguing historical setting followed by a glass or more of the end product.

On opening days, the cellars close at 8pm. You need to go in at least an hour beforehand, though.

Tip: I’d suggest getting there before 7pm, so you have no rush when enjoying your sparkling wine after the tour.

Take to the waters

(To the Therme Wien spa)

Vienna’s large thermal spa facilities out at the Oberlaa end of the U1 subway line let you immerse yourself in warm waters and other spa treats until 10pm each day. Some areas or activities (like the massages) may close earlier, though.

Tip: For something closer to the centre, the Schwerelos Floating Centre usually has a 7pm evening time slot during the week.

The Riesenrad

(The iconic ferris wheel)

Thanks to films like The Third Man, Vienna’s Riesenrad giant ferris wheel has a special place in the cityscape, the hearts of the locals, and the guidebooks of visitors.

This is one of the few attractions to stay open into the evening. Times vary, but can be as late as 11.45pm on summer weekends. So you can combine one of the iconic Viennese experiences with nighttime views of Vienna.

Tip: during the high season for tourists, Madame Tussauds opens until 8pm and sits opposite the Riesenrad.

Stadium football

(Rapid Wien are Vienna’s biggest club)

You won’t find too many skiing night races in Vienna. Or day races. Even at around 1,200 km long, the Alps are just a few kilometres too short to make it all the way to us.

So, for evening professional sports, your best bet is live stadium football.

During the season, Austria’s top two leagues often have games starting between 5pm and 8.30pm (look for home games for FK Austria Wien, SK Rapid Wien, FAC Wien or First Vienna FC 1894).

Tip: if you prefer watching football on a screen, then I have some pub recommendations for you.

Seasonal markets

(Enjoy the nighttime atmosphere, as here at the Belvedere Christmas market)

One of the main attractions during the weeks leading up to Easter or Christmas are the seasonal markets. I never rarely tire of their delights. Especially the Christmas markets with their steaming punch, sweet victuals, arts & crafts and general joi de vivre.

Opening hours vary, but most markets stay open until between 8pm and 10pm or later. Check on a case by case basis. They also look particularly good in the evening light (although everyone knows that, so they can get busy).

Tip: the Am Hof Christmas market is a strong option for food and drink, with those booths staying open an hour longer than the arts & crafts stalls.

Evening tours

(View the city at night)

Finally, browsing the numerous tours offered in the city will likely turn up ones available later in the day. The Big Bus evening tour* has a live English-language guide on board, for example.

Tip: tram lines 1 and 2 travel around much of the giant Ring boulevard, where many historical buildings are lit up at night.

Enjoy your evening!