Hop on hop off bus tours

One of Vienna’s sightseeing buses is a good option if you don’t want to get to grips with the (albeit excellent) public transport system, or if you want a guided hop on hop off tour.

• Two main hop on hop off options:
  • The Vienna Sightseeing bus
  • The Big Bus Tour
• Both take you around the main sites
• Both offer audio guides, free wifi etc.
• Book a hop on hop off ticket* for Vienna
• See also:
  • Sightseeing tips
  • Review of a Future Bus VR tour
  • Public transport & tours in Vienna

Hop on / hop off bus tours

Vienna Sightseeing Bus

(Unmistakably yellow and green)

The Vienna Sightseeing Bus takes up to four different routes inside the city (at the time of writing):

• Red: this encircles the old town, taking you to, from and past key sites like the Hofburg, natural and art history museums, opera house etc.

This should be your first-choice route, as it gives you a broad flavor of the best of Vienna. The different stops offer easy walking access to top sights, including those in the pedestrianised center.

• Yellow: this covers a small part of the Ring boulevard, including the opera house, but also takes you out to the main tourist attractions away from the very center: Schönbrunn and Belvedere.

A good second choice. No trip to Vienna is probably complete without seeing the Habsburg summer palace at Schönbrunn, for example. You also get a peek at the modern architecture around Vienna’s Hauptbahnhof railway station.

(Schönbrunn palace)

• Blue: this one takes you out to the architectural joy that is the Hundertwasser-designed Kunst Haus Wien as well as the Prater park and entertainment area (home to the Riesenrad giant Ferris wheel), the Danube, Danube Tower, UN HQ, and more

Particularly good for kids, if you want to let them loose on the rollercoasters and similar at the Prater and then take an iconic spin on the Riesenrad.

• Green: a bit of the city, including the rather colourful public incinerator at Spittelau, but mostly out into the wine-growing areas with their Heuriger wine taverns

Usually a seasonal option only that lets you sample the Viennese wine culture and get a glimpse of how outlying villages might have looked before Vienna took over.

Ticket options

A hop on hop off ticket includes, for example, on-board WIFI and an audioguide. You choose between 24, 48, and 72 hour tickets: all include the red, yellow, and blue routes. The 48 and 72 hour ticket typically also cover the green route when it’s available.

The Big Bus Tour

(Distinctively red)

The buses of the Big Bus Tour follow two routes (at the time of writing) and has bonus options:

• Red: this takes you around the Ring boulevard, but also, for example, out to the Belvedere palaces and the Danube area

This is a great option if you’re stuck for time, since you see many landmark sights in one go.

• Blue: this is the noble route, bordering the Hofburg, then bringing you out to the Schönbrunn and Belvedere palaces (but also to Hundertwasserhaus)

Ticket options

All tickets cover both routes, and you choose between Discover (24hr), Essential (48hr + bonuses), and Explore (48hr + more bonuses) options. The additional bonuses available include, for example, a guided walking tour or short river cruise.

The Big Bus folk also offer their one-hour evening tour as a separate product* (not a hop on hop off ride but a tour with a live guide). Vienna looks lovely at night with the illuminated old buildings, especially when the Christmas lights are up.

Other bus tours

Vienna has a few other sightseeing bus tour options that I will add as I get to them. For example:

The Future Bus tour

(The stop on Albertinaplatz)

A recent addition to the tour landscape is the hybrid physical and virtual reality Future Bus tour. The one-hour route with audioguide takes you around the west edge of the old town, where many of the city’s major sights live.

You put on VR goggles at several stops to experience, for example, 360 degree reenactments of important historical events. For full details, see my tour review.