So, June in Vienna, the month where the weather sheds its capricious nature to bring us sun and frolics. A time for wandering through the historical centre without the burden of jackets and umbrellas (hopefully), all while the Viennese are still at work.
- See also: Events by month | How to save money on your trip
Top activities in June 2022
Aside from the usual palaces, museums, and other such hotspots, just what can you do in this merry month?
(This assumes all is back to normal in terms of public health, but check with official sites nearer the time.)
Enjoy the June exhibitions
(The Albertina offers a last chance to see Munch)
Full 2022 exhibition schedules have yet to emerge. Having said that we have some planned highlights already:
- Catch the final days of some top-class spring exhibitions, notably:
- The MAK’s Josef Hoffmann exhibition (until June 19th)
- The Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien’s David Hockney exhibition (also until June 19th)
- The Albertina’s Munch exhibition (also, coincidentally, until June 19th)
- Lower Belvedere celebrates Venice in art, exploring how 19th-century Austrian and Venetian artists captured its history, the city’s impact on Vienna’s art and architecture, and Venice as myth and metaphor
- The Wien Museum MUSA has an exhibition showcasing street photography in Vienna from the 1860s to current times
- See the exhibition listings for more options
June may also host the spring/summer edition of Fesch’Markt Vienna (dates TBA), which showcases the delights produced by numerous independent artists and designers.
Enjoy the music
(Vienna’s churches often host concerts and events)
Vienna is, of course, a city of music, with more orchestras and concerts than Emperor Franz Joseph had titles (and he had a lot of titles). Even so, June offers up a few particularly excellent opportunities…
- The Donauinselfest (which shifted to September in 2021) is a three-day festival held on the Danube that – in normal years – features around 13 stages and 600 hours of music, from rock to rap and all things in-between. And it’s free, too (2022 dates TBA)
- If jazz is more your thing, then the Vienna Jazz Festival attracts some of the very best performers from around the world. The list of alumni reads like a who’s who of jazz history (June 23rd to July 17th)
- Music also features strongly at the Südwind Straßenfest (which also shifted to September in 2021 so 2022 dates TBA), which celebrates the work of NGOs, with food stands, a fair-trade market, and the chance to learn about the work done by dozens of charities
- The renowned Wiener Symphoniker Orchestra gives a free open-air concert at the Museumsquartier (June 4th)
- Another free open-air concert is the world-famous summer night concert (June 16th) from the Wiener Philharmoniker in the glorious landscaped grounds of Schönbrunn Palace
- Music also features strongly during the Long Night of the Churches (June 10th). Numerous Christian institutions open their doors to visitors with an evening of events ranging from organ recitals to rooftop tours
- International concert tours should hopefully be back in full by summer 2022. For example, at the time of writing, the Stadthalle venue has Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper, and KISS scheduled for a visit
Enjoy the rides and fairs
(One of the Prater rides)
Although the Prater outdoor entertainment complex opens all year round, many of the rides close for winter. But the summer season sees the roller coasters and other funfair attractions start up in earnest again.
The Prater area also has the giant Ferris wheel, Madame Tussauds, the Planetarium, and much more to offer. Not to mention a feast of restaurants.
The annual Steffl Kirtag fair outside the main cathedral also opens up in early summer (May 26th to June 6th). Think of it as a hybrid market and funfair, with the emphasis on the former.
Enjoy the flowers
I talk about this for May, but June is another good month to take in the displays of flowering shrubs and other delights that grace Vienna’s parks and gardens (and roadsides).
Can I particularly recommend the Volksgarten park in the city centre, to one side of the Hofburg complex? Imagine walking into a living French impressionist painting…full of points of different colours thanks to the hundreds of rose varieties within.
And a more secretive option is the Hirschstetten Botanical Gardens (much loved by locals and rarely discovered by visitors).
Enjoy the films
The French Film Festival lit up screens with its fabulous Francophone showings in June 2021. 2022 dates have yet to be clarified.
Enjoy the parade(s)
Perhaps the most colourful street parade of the year takes place this month. The Rainbow Parade (June 11th) forms the climax of the two-week Vienna Pride festival (June 1st to 12th).
Since we’re talking parades (this is a bit of a leap, but I didn’t know where to fit in this event): the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum hosts a 3-day festival showcasing military old timers. Auf Rädern und Ketten (next dates TBA) has trucks, tanks, and more.
Enjoy the streets and river banks
By June, many of the cafés, famous coffee houses, bars and similar establishments have put out their chairs, tables and sunshades so you can enjoy coffee and cake (or beer and Schnitzel) in the June sun.
You have three top options here:
- Enjoy continental street-side coffee culture, debating Proust and Kafka (or the coming football season) among the bustle of city life. Or…
- Take the D tram out to Nussdorf or the 38 tram to Grinzing (both leave from, for example, Schottentor station in the centre). Then walk up to the Heuriger (wine taverns) in the leafy suburbs and rolling hills, with their in-house wines and buffets bursting with local fare
- Drop down to the Danube canal with its open-air bars and restaurants and Summerstage (ditto but along with a programme of events like live music, outdoor art exhibition, boules etc.)