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:
Top activities in June 2023
Aside from the usual tours, museums, concerts, and sightseeing hotspots, just what can you do in this merry month?
Hot tip
The Vienna Mozart Orchestra performs in the prestigious Musikverein most days in June. The concert offers a kind of “best of” Mozart (with a dash of Strauss) for visitors to Vienna, and the musicians wear period costume (you don’t have to).
Enjoy the June exhibitions
(The Albertina counts as a top address for special exhibitions)
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Highlights
Exhibitions scheduled for June include:
- If you’d like to witness great moments in the worlds of mythology, scripture and similar as expressed in works from around 1800, then the Albertina has you covered
- The Albertina also offers up a smorgasbord of solo exhibitions: Valie Export (from June 23rd), Georg Baselitz (from June 7th) and Ofer Lellouche (from June 29th). Oh, and Picasso in the first half of the month
- Picasso also pops up along the likes of Munch, Sisley, Magritte, Richter and Lassnig in the excecllent exhibition at the Leopold Museum: Amazing: the Würth collection
- Peruse the final days of the Kiki Kogelnik exhibition at the Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien (until June 25th)
- And the last days of the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s major event placing works by Georg Baselitz in dialogue with those of old masters (until June 25th). The Around the World in 80 coins exhibition continues, for example
- The Albertina Modern highlights the world of printed graphics from the late 1940s onwards. Think Warhol, Lichtenstein, and similar. And they have a solo exhibition for Yoshitomo Nara (look for the “angry girls”)
- An intriguing and eye-opening exploration of biomimetics (technology inspired by nature) awaits at the Technisches Museum
- The MAK highlights, for example, the metal art and design of the Hagenauer workshops (established 1898) and introduces us to the sculptures of Birke Gorm (until June 25th). Discover the Glitz and Glamour of glassware by J. & L. Lobmeyr too (from June 7th)
- The Theatermuseum’s celebration of popular music (in its widest historical sense) in Austria continues with the Austropop exhibition, but the musuem also presents costume design drawings by Monika von Zallinger
- The Literature Museum presents a homage to the great Ingeborg Bachmann, one of Austria’s greatest poets, dramatists, librettists, essayists,… (a very talented lady)
- A few intriguing exhibitions at the Weltmuseum, such as a dive into modern Japanese calligraphy, a different perspective on science fiction(s), and works by Maximilian Prüfer
- Lower Belvedere offers a deep dive into the history of the Belvedere palaces and art institution as well as an exhibition (from June 22nd) featuring large-format paintings that normally don’t get the display space
- This month is your last chance to catch the 100 Misunderstandings exhibition at the Jewish Museum (until June 4th), but the same institution also examines the concept of Guilt in another exhibition and (from June 21st) presents the works of Maria Austria
- The National Library invites us to browse through garden and park landscape design across the centuries
- Explore Vienna in the form of postcards past and present at a special exhibition at the Wien Museum MUSA
- And for something a little further afield, the Naturhistorisches Museum has its special exhibition on Brazil
- See the exhibition listings for more options as I hear of them
Related events
(The administrative home of this major festival)
The giant Wiener Festwochen multidisciplinary art festival continues until June 21st with visual art, dance, music and much more.
June also hosts the spring/summer edition of Fesch’Markt Vienna (June 2nd to 4th in 2023), which showcases the delights produced by numerous independent artists and designers. And a WAMP design market (with a similar scope) takes place June 17th.
We have Foto Wien (June 1st to 30th), too, which celebrates the medium of photography for the whole month with a huge number of events, exhibitions, and activities.
Vienna Pride & parade
Perhaps the most colourful street parade of the year traditionally takes place this month. The huge Rainbow Parade (June 17th with over 250,000 participants expected) forms the climax of the long Vienna Pride festival (June 1st to 18th).
The festival has numerous events, but also look out for special LGBTQIA+ activities at many Viennese attractions, particularly the art museums.
Enjoy music, films & festivals
(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 (June 23rd to 25th) is a three-day festival held on the Danube that features multiple stages and hundreds of hours of music from rock to rap and all things in-between. And it’s free, too
- If jazz is more your thing, then the Vienna Jazz Festival (skipping summer 2023, though) attracts some of the very best performers from around the world. The list of alumni reads like a who’s who of jazz history
- A notable free open-air concert is the world-famous summer night concert (June 8th in 2023) from the Wiener Philharmoniker in the glorious landscaped grounds of Schönbrunn Palace. I’ve written about my experience at the last one.
- The Wiener Symphoniker also give a free open-air concert out in a meadow of the Prater park area (June 29th and 30th)
- The Konzerthaus concert hall celebrates its 40th International Music Festival (May 28th to June 25th)
- Music also features strongly during the Long Night of the Churches (June 2nd). Numerous Christian institutions open their doors to visitors with an evening of events ranging from organ recitals to rooftop tours
- Another event with plenty of music is the Südwind Straßenfest (June 3rd and 4th), 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
- On the film front, Kino am Dach takes place across June with open-air movie showings on the roof of Vienna’s main city library. Expect many days to feature an English-language movie with German subtitles
- And the prestigious Vienna Shorts Festival (June 1st to 6th) tackles the short form version of movie-making, covering numerous genres and featuring some high-quality competitions, too
Enjoy sport, fun, food & drink
(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.
A couple of food and street festivals or markets should make an appearance this month. For example:
- The Jewish Street Festival (June 18th) celebrates the diversity of Jewish life with live music, various stalls and kosher food
- The Veganmania spring event pitches up in front of the MuseumsQuartier (June 2nd to 4th)
- …and on the beer front, we have the start of the summer-long Ottakringer Bierfest (from June 29th) and the four-day open-air Vienna Beer Festival (June 1st to 4th), where brewers big and small come together in the very centre of Vienna
If you want to run off the accumulated calories, the ASICS Austrian Women’s Run is set for June 4th. And if you want to watch others run off the calories for you, enjoy the final stages of the FIBA 3×3 basketball World Cup 2023 (May 30th to June 4th).
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).
(A good time to visit the rose garden)
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 streets and river banks
(The Bootshaus, one of many restaurants, bars etc. with open-air areas)
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.
Top options here:
- Enjoy continental street-side coffee culture, debating Proust and Kafka (or the coming football season) among the bustle of city life
- 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
- Another option for a Heuriger visit is Neustift am Walde, reachable on the 35A bus
- 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.)
- Visit the huge Alte Donau lake, which has various lakeside cafés and restaurants, such as the popular Bootshaus pictured above