As the capital city of one of the world’s richest nations, you might expect Vienna to be expensive. But it’s not when compared to the likes of London and usually slots into the EU at just above average, price-wise.
For guidance, here are some *rough* prices as of late February, 2023. Changes possible, of course, especially in the current times (don’t get me started on my supermarket shopping bill).
- See also:
Food & drink
(Coffee: the national drink)
Warning: these are “normal” Viennese prices – expect to pay more in tourist or city centre areas. In the very central traditional coffee houses, for example, a cappuccino can easily exceed your average yearly mortgage repayment (not really, but €5+ is not unusual).
- Coffee:
- A single espresso (German: kleiner Schwarzer): €2.903
- A cappuccino: €3.90 (a De Longhi report back in 2021 puts the average at around €3.40)
Tip: breakfast deals in almost all coffee houses often include a hot beverage and can work out really quite cheap compared to buying everything separately.
- Beer and wine:
- A beer (half litre) in a bar: €4.70
- A 500ml tin of beer in a supermarket: €0.99 to €1.45 (for popular Austrian brands)
- You can get perfectly drinkable wine in a supermarket for under €5 a bottle and very decent wine for €5-€7 a bottle
- Other drinks:
- 1.5 ltr bottle of mineral water in a supermarket: €0.35 to €0.89 for standard brands
- 330ml can of coke in a supermarket: €1.19
Note that the tap water is rather good in Vienna.
- Food:
A couple of tips:
- Food and drink is quite inexpensive in supermarkets, especially the discounters like Hofer (the Austrian version of Aldi)
- Many tourist places sell marzipan balls (Mozartkugeln) and Mozart-themed marzipan chocolate as souvenirs. You can get more or less the exact same thing much (much) cheaper in the conventional supermarkets
- Schnitzel is a useful menu item for comparing prices between restaurants, since nearly every place offers them. Just be sure you’re comparing like with like, since veal schnitzel (the original) costs significantly more than pork schnitzel or turkey schnitzel (the more common dishes)
- A lot of restaurants offer inexpensive (and tasty) fixed-menu options, particularly at lunchtimes
Travel
- Road:
- Taxi transfer from airport to city: from around €38
- Petrol/gasoline: at the time of writing, petrol prices at the cheapest locations are around €1.55/ltr for Super 95 (standard lead-free), but expect significant fluctuations, of course
- Compare car hire prices here*
- Public transport:
- 24-hour travel card for Vienna: €8
- 7-day travel pass for Vienna: €17.10
- Return ticket to/from the airport on a dedicated non-stop train: €24.90
- Return trip to/from the airport on a standard S-Bahn train: €8.60
- Sightseeing bus:
- Basic 24-hour ticket: from around €32
The city transport system is fantastic, by the way: fast, frequent, and inexpensive…especially if you get one of the network passes. Another alternative is the Vienna City Card: a tourist pass with numerous discounts and a built-in public transport network pass.
Entertainment
- Adult entrance ticket to the…
- Zoo: €26
- Kunsthistorisches Museum: €21
- Albertina art museum and staterooms: €18.90
- Grand tour of Schönbrunn Palace: €26
- Ride on the Giant Ferris Wheel: €13.50
(If you intend to visit a lot of tourist attractions, then consider a sightseeing pass.)
- Movie theater tickets at an English-language cinema: start at €7 to €10 (with surcharges for 3D etc.)
- Theater/opera tickets: Prices begin as low as the cost of a cup of coffee if you’ll stand, even in the most prestigious locations like the State Opera House. The best seats can cost anything from €50 to €200+.