[German: Der Vienna Pass – zahlt er sich aus?]
The Vienna Pass is an all-in ticket that gets you free one-time entry into numerous attractions for a fixed period of days, plus other benefits. But is it worth the cost in 2025? Here’s my review…
- Main advantages: save money and jump queues
- The 2 and 3-day passes are great for visiting attractions
- The 1-day pass only makes sense for high-intensity sightseers (or where convenience is critical)
- Includes free use of a hop on hop off bus service
- Purchase a Vienna Pass online*
- See also:
What you get
(Schönbrunn Palace: the basic self-guided tour is included in the Vienna Pass)
The Vienna Pass comes in one, two, three and six-day versions and has three main benefits for visitors:
- Free one-time entry to the major tourist attractions
- Fast-track entry into some attractions
- Free use of the Vienna Sightseeing hop on, hop off bus
You also have the option of adding a 24 hour, 36 hour or 72 hour network travel card for Vienna’s public transport system to your pass if you order a physical pass* (i.e. delivery by post or for pick up in Vienna).
Vienna Pass benefit 1: Free entry
(Browse centuries of art at the Kunsthistorisches Museum)
This is the primary benefit: free one-time entry to dozens of city attractions.
You probably won’t have to pay for any other entrance tickets during your stay, since all the main attractions and museums are included: for example, the self-guided basic tour of Schönbrunn Palace and entrance to the Sisi Museum, the Albertina art museum, and the zoo.
All the ticketed places on my top 10 list for Vienna are covered.
This means significant potential savings over buying individual tickets, but the other underappreciated bonus is flexibility.
You can just drop into a sight or museum to grab a quick look without feeling you have to stay longer to justify the entrance fee. Or you can change plans without worrying about money spent on advanced tickets.
So, for example, you might nip into Belvedere just to see Klimt’s The Kiss or pop into the zoo just to catch the Giant Pandas (they’re close to the main entrance, if you were wondering. Though Schönbrunn is between pairs at the time of writing; the new pandas are in town but only viewable from mid-May 2025.)
If you’re in the city long enough, use the Vienna Pass to visit some of the less prominent attractions, such as one of Beethoven’s residences.
The pass covers around 86 attractions in 2025, though a handful are outside Vienna. See the Vienna Pass website* for a full list.
Vienna Pass benefit 2: Fast-track entry
(Skip the queues for Vienna’s world-famous zoo)
Not every attraction lets you jump the counter queue with a Vienna Pass, but some of the more popular sights do.
The Kunsthistorisches Museum, Belvedere, the Albertina and Schönbrunn Zoo are all on the list and I’ve spent (un)happy hours queuing for tickets for all of those.
At Belvedere, you don’t need to worry about booking a time slot for the Upper Belvedere galleries (where Klimt’s The Kiss is), as a Vienna Pass lets you go in at a time of your own choosing.
It’s not a huge benefit outside peak season, to be honest, but you’ll save time on summer and Christmas weekends or when, say, a particularly popular exhibition is on.
So in spring/summer 2025, for example, you can skip any possibly ticket queues for the Arcimboldo – Bassano – Bruegel exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum or the Leonardo – Dürer exhibition at the Albertina.
Vienna Pass benefit 3: Free tours
(Take a boat ride along the Donaukanal)
The Vienna Sightseeing hop on hop off bus service runs along the main sightseeing routes (surprise!) and will take you to most of the main sights that the city has to offer. Unlike with the one-time-only entrance tickets, you can use the bus as often as you like while your pass is still valid.
The Vienna Pass also usually includes some one-time tours, like a short cruise along the Danube canal or a guided tour of the opera house.
Review: is it worth it?
Consider the Vienna Pass if you want to avoid paying entrance tickets, since that’s the main focus and where you save most.
If you’re a more general visitor browsing the sights, then you might prefer the cheaper Vienna City Card or (even cheaper) Vienna Welcome Card: both are network travel cards with discounts for selected entrance tickets, attractions etc.
Or, if you only want to go into one or two places, then individual tickets* make more financial sense.
Two and three-day passes
(The famous Riesenrad takes the Vienna Pass)
If you’re on an intensive sightseeing city break, these Vienna Pass products are ideal. A 2-day itinerary might take in:
- One trip on the hop on, hop off, guided bus tour out to Schönbrunn Palace for a tour and the zoo, plus an early-evening twirl on the Giant Ferris wheel
- A trip around the Hofburg Palace after watching a training at the Spanish Riding School, plus a visit to the Albertina art gallery
That’s over €163 in ticket costs alone last time I checked (April, 2025). So you’re saving already with a 2-day pass, plus there’s the convenience.
If, however, you’re likely to spend more of your time at an easier pace or admiring the sights from the outside, then this is probably not for you.
(The Albertina art museum)
Six-day pass
A no-brainer, if you’re here for longer. You’d have to work hard not to get your money’s worth and more out of it.
One-day pass
Only a choice if you pick your activities very carefully. You can make it worthwhile buying one, but you would probably need to use the hop on, hop off buses and pack in several major attractions through the day.
A one-day pass might make sense if you value convenience highly, or if you’re going to do a whistle stop tour of the city’s highlights without spending any time in any one place.
How to get a Vienna Pass
Buy your pass online* or get it in person when you reach Vienna (the pass has a customer centre opposite the state opera house).
The 1, 2, 3 or 6 day period begins when you first use the pass, but Day 1 counts as the day of activation. So don’t use it for the first time late at night: you’ll waste a day. Activate it in the morning, so you can make the most of the whole first day.
Enjoy!