Should the thought of another soft-lit wooden hut selling Christmas baubles have you reaching for the vodka, consider an alternative to the traditional Christmas market. Try the Winter im MQ event at the MuseumsQuartier while clutching an organic cocktail and wearing an Egon Schiele t-shirt.
- Open-air cafés, restaurants, and artistic ambience
- Music, curling, remote-controlled cars & more
- Entry is free
- 2025 dates: TBA (was Nov 14 – Dec 23 in 2024)
- Free entry
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What’s Winter im MQ?
(The event occupies much of the main courtyard; press photo courtesy of the MQ)
The Museumsquartier (MQ) forms the heartland of contemporary culture in Vienna, with its modern art, innovative architecture and never-ending catalogue of performances, exhibitions, workshops, and the like.
And the MQ has its own “Christmas” event, primarily on the main courtyard sandwiched between the Leopold and MUMOK museums.
I put “Christmas” in quotation marks deliberately, and not just because the proper title is Winter im MQ. Consider the event a more paganistic alternative to tinsel and santa hats.
(Musical entertainment normally includes weekly live performances; press photo courtesy of the MQ)
Yes, you can buy punch and snacks. And yes, it has strings of lights. But that’s where the similarities to a traditional Christmas market end.
The various MQ cafés and restaurants open up outdoor areas and/or booths selling food and drink. But you only find crafts and souvenirs in the MQ shop with all its interesting items.
And this being the MuseumsQuartier, a contemporary vibe runs like a red thread through the event.
Music and more
For example, live gigs, DJ sets and daily “winter sounds” courtesy of local radio typically enhance the dare-I-say youthful atmosphere.
And sport usually plays a role each year, too, which might sound incongruous until you learn more.
Last time out, curling lanes fit the winter theme nicely. Oh, and car racing: in the afternoons on weekends and public holidays you could try your hand on a “winter” course with remote-controlled cars.
(Try a bit of curling; press photo courtesy of the MQ)
All-in-all, the mix of artistic ambience, music and wintry refreshment offers a spirited alternative to the more usual yuletide charms of the rest of Vienna.
This is where the younger elves might come to wind down once Santa’s left the toy factory.
(If you want a more traditional Christmas market, then simply walk out of the main MQ entrance and cross the road to the large market on Maria-Theresien-Platz.)
2025 dates
I don’t have 2025 dates yet, but the 2024 winter event began on November 14th and ran through to December 23rd. Formal opening hours were:
- Monday to Friday: 4pm to 11pm
- Weekends and public holidays: 2pm to 11pm
How to get to the event
The MQ is at the bottom of Vienna’s main shopping street (Mariahilfer Straße), so well located for some relief from credit card stress and just off the edge of the old town.
Subway: take the U2 or U3 lines to Volkstheater or the U2 to Museumsquartier. The two stations are at either end of the MQ complex
Tram: line 49 stops at Volkstheater. You can also catch lines 1, 2, D, 71, 46 and 49 to Ring/Volkstheater and walk up to the MQ
Bus: take the 48A to Volkstheater or the 57A to Museumsquartier
Address: Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna | Website