Various cards and passes can save you time and money on a trip to Vienna. But which ones make sense for your needs?
I’ve looked at four common choices to help you decide if any are worth purchasing.
- All allow you to buy in advance without knowing when you’ll visit (but the duration of validity varies between passes and cards)
- See also:
Jump to:
- Vienna City Card (good for travel and discounts)
- Vienna All-inclusive Pass from Go City (good for tours and activities)
- Vienna Pass (good for intensive sightseeing)
- Flexi PASS (good for selective sightseeing)
Which pass should I buy for Vienna?
Or should you even buy a pass?
Here’s an overview of four choices with my opinion on whether and when they make sense.
The Vienna City Card
(As well as discounts, the Vienna City Card also works like a travel pass)
Main benefit
A network travel card for Vienna’s excellent public transport system for a fixed time period (24hrs, 48hrs or 78hrs), plus entitlement to seven days of around 200 discounts for a wide range of locations and activities (including tourist attractions, tours, stores and restaurants).
Prices start from €17 (24hr basic card) at the time of writing.
Who is it for?
This is the city’s municipal tourist pass, suited to those doing a little bit of everything (shop, eat, drink, sightsee) and planning to make use of the reliable and frequent trams, buses and subways to visit such attractions as Schönbrunn Palace, the zoo, Belvedere and other locations outside the old town.
One kid under 15 also qualifies for free travel with each card bought, so definitely an option for families.
Convenient paid upgrades (when available) include airport transfer and a hop on hop off bus tour.
The premium you pay on top of the price of an ordinary network travel pass is relatively low, given the variety of discounts you get.
Who is it not for?
The discounts are mostly quite small, so this is not a direct alternative to those passes that get you free entry, for example, if you’re visiting a lot of museums or similar.
The bulk of the cost of the Vienna City Card is the travel part. So (obviously) you have to look closely at your discounts if you’re not planning to use public transport at all.
More information: see my detailed review of the Vienna City Card.
Vienna All-inclusive Pass from Go City
(The Time Travel Tour is one option in the Vienna All-inclusive Pass list of activities)
Main benefit
Free one-time access to 50+ tours, experiences and attractions for between one and six days.
Prices start from €104 for an adult (an all-inclusive pass for one day) at the time of writing, though you may find it discounted.
Who is it for?
Notably strong on tours and activities. Opportunity to make significant savings if you can match the choice to your needs.
Includes lots of family-friendly options (think VR experiences, Madame Tussauds and similar).
Who is it not for?
Those sticking to art museums and palaces (though a guided tour of Schönbrunn Palace is included in the pool of options, for example) or entertaining themselves.
More information: See my detailed review of the all-inclusive pass from Go City.
The Vienna Pass
(The zoo is one of the many attractions covered by the Vienna Pass)
Main benefit
Free one-time entry to all of the 70 or so locations included in the pass during a fixed time period (one, two, three or six days).
Prices start from €87 for adults (one day) at the time of writing, though online purchase options often have a discount.
Who is it for?
If you’re planning to visit various paid sights, particularly Vienna’s many museums and similar institutions, then you have the potential to save a fair amount of money.
Extremely useful if you want to just pop into places to see the highlights (like The Kiss at Belvedere), but worry about the cost of individual tickets for quick visits. Lets you skip ticket counter queues in many popular places, too.
Also a sound choice if you just want to forget about having to buy tickets, since the Vienna Pass really does include all the main tourist sights.
Who is it not for?
Kind of obvious, but the pass makes little sense if you’re not going to actually make use of it as it’s quite an upfront investment.
If you’re only planning one or two paid attractions and more general sightseeing on foot, then consider one of the other options on this page or skipping a pass altogether. Doesn’t include too many activities (concerts, tours and similar).
More information: see my detailed review of the Vienna Pass.
Flexi Pass
(A Hop on Hop off 24-hour bus ticket is one choice among the Flexi Pass options)
Main benefit
Free one-time access to two, three, four or five attractions from a pool of around 40 locations and activities.
Prices start from €47 for an adult two-attraction card at the time of writing. Again, online purchase options often come with discounts. Valid for 60 days from the first time you use it.
Who is it for?
A little like a mini Vienna Pass, as largely for museums and similar attractions.
Not as wide a choice as with the Vienna Pass, for example. But a cheaper alternative if you only want to visit a small number of places and have a fixed idea of what you wish to see.
Who is it not for?
More intense sightseers looking for a wider variety of options or activities.
More information: See here*, for example.
A final tip
Obviously, do the calculations.
Some of the attractions included in the sightseeing passes are already relatively inexpensive and might not justify using a pass for them. Others are really quite expensive and you stand to save a decent amount.
If you’re visiting: choose your sights and activities, then see if you can find a pass to match. All common sense, really.
The four options each address different needs, but you can still enjoy Vienna without any of them, of course, particularly if you’re just taking in the sights and sounds on a walk around town with only one or two paid attractions.