Oh, for the days when road rage meant refusing to doff your hat at a passing pedestrian. Road manners may not have survived, but a lot of the vehicles have. And as part of the annual Vienna Classic Days event, catch a cavalcade of old timers as they drive around Vienna’s historical Ringstrassen.
- Delightful parade of dozens of classic cars and other vehicles
- Route follows the Ring boulevard
- 2021 date: provisionally Aug 21
- See also: Events in Vienna
Vienna Classic Days
The classic car community in Vienna and elsewhere comes together once a year for a weekend of community activities. The highlight, especially for those of us (cough) driving a rather-boring 2012 Opel Astra, is the annual old timer parade.
The authorities close down the Ringstrassen roads, which make up three sides of the old town, plus Franz-Josef’s-Kai, which makes up the fourth side. This frees up a circular route for the parade to drive around.
Tourists and locals gather to spot everything from Minis, Morris Minors and Maseratis to Ferraris, Cadillacs and Pontiacs. Not forgetting the obligatory early Rolls Royce.
The drivers and passengers join in with the old timer spirit, often dressing up in period clothes and waving merrily to the assembled crowds.
Even those with a singular disinterest in cars (i.e. me) can’t help but marvel at the range of shapes, sizes, colours, and conditions of the vehicles, and the all-round high spirits of the participants.
2021 dates and tickets
The event for owners of classic cars is the weekend of August 21st and 22nd. The old timer parade is usually planned for late afternoon (from around 6.30pm) on the Saturday. You don’t need a ticket to watch. Just line up along the route (see below).
How to get to the parade
This might be the easiest event to “visit”, since the vehicles drive all the way around a route that encircles the city’s old town. Start anywhere in the very centre and walk in a straight line…you’ll reach some part of the route within a few minutes.
We stood outside the parliament building and got lovely views of all the vehicles as they passed by.