Wren’s Wien: The Transport Of Vienna Written by Alison Wren on April 5, 2015 | 3 Comments

In our new website section to get ua all excited for Vienna we thought we would take time to investigate what our host city has to offer us. We’ve asked the Insight’s Team travel companion Alison Wren to run through what you need to know before you arrive in Vienna in our weekly Wren’s Wien section, where we will look at the best food, drink and tourist sites in one easy-to-find place before you set foot on the ground to enjoy the shows.

Week one is about making sure you are able to get from A to B and is all about transport around Austria’s capital city.

Getting In As Soon As You Touchdown

Most people will be flying into Vienna by the relatively convienient Vienna International Airport just 11 miles outside of town. The easiest way to get into the city is by train. You can take the high-speed City Airport Train (CAT), taking just 16 minutes to Wien Mitte, leaving the airport at 06 and 36 past the hour. With ‘first class seats’ throughout this is the luxury option at €16 each way.

The slightly slower suburban trains run the same route as the CAT, but take 25 minutes. Take a train towards Floridsdorf departing at 17 and 47 minutes past the hour, again getting off at Wien Mitte. The main difference is that this will cost just €4 each way. You can buy a ticket from a machine located on the platform.

Airport buses will take you to different locations around Vienna, for €8 each way with information available here. There is no set cab fare, so it is suggested to agree a price before getting in. Typical prices are from €25-€30 to central Vienna.

This year the different Eurovision locations are all easily accessible across central Vienna connected by an excellent public transport system. Use the underground system (called the U-Bahn, and signed with a U) or one of the 29 tram lines which run throughout the city. The trams should be easy enough to spot, they are all glitzed up in the Eurovision logo and Conchita’s voice will be booming out for the entire Eurovision period announcing each stop.

Look out for the wavy logo for one of Vienna’s trams

The U-Bahn runs all night Fridays and Saturdays, otherwise most public transport stops at 00:30. However there is a network of nightbuses through the city which run all night with no additional charge. Normal service resumes at 5am, so maybe use this as an excuse to party all night!

You can download the official public transport app Qando for iPhone and Android, or search online for journeys using the Vienna route planner. The Mytaxi App is useful for calling a cab in Vienna again available for iPhone and Android.

How To Buy The Tickets

All transport in the city comprises a single zone, the only decision is how long to buy your ticket for. Whichever ticket you buy, you must validate it before you get on the U-bahn, bus or tram, otherwise you could be up for a 100 Euro fine.

All tickets can be bought at ticket machines as shown in the below demonstration video or from a newsagents labelled “Tobak”. You can pre-buy tickets online as well.

You can buy a single ticket for €2.20 before you board, or €2.30 from a tram or bus driver. You can change transport as many times as you like with a single ticket, but must not stop off en-route.

A 24 hour pass will cost €7.60, 48hrs for €13.30 or 72hrs for €16.50. These run from the time you first validate the ticket. The most flexible option is a card valid for 8 days travel called the “8-Tage-Klimakarte”. This can be used by any number of people – for example 2 people for 4 days, 1 person for 8 days, 8 people for 1 day. Just make sure you validate it once for every person every day. This costs €38.40.

If you are arriving on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and leaving on Sunday after the show, you might want to think about the Wochenkarte, which runs from the start of Monday until 9.00 am on the following Monday and costs €16.20.

If you are planning to slot in some sightseeing, the Vienna Card includes free public transport, and discounted entry to a number of top sights. A 48hr card costs €18.90, and you can get 72hrs for €21.90.

Going To The Shows Or The Parties

Vienna Stadhalle – Roland Raiser Platz 1.

This is no Eurovision Island isolated from the city, frequent public transport brings to almost to the door of the Vienna Stadthalle. Your most likely route will be U-bahn line 6 to Burggasse Stadthalle, which is only a 200m walk away. Or you can take a 6,18,49 or 9 tram to Urban-Loritz-Platz, again just a short walk from the venue.

The closest taxi rank is 100m from the main entrance, on Hütteldorfer Straße.

Euroclub in Ottakringer Brewery : Ottakringer Platz 1

The Euroclub is open every day from the 17th to the 23rd May. It is around a 20 minute walk NW of the Stadhalle, or a 5 minute drive. You can also take tram 9 from Beingasse (just South of the Stadthalle, 6 stops to J.N.Berger Platz, right next to the Brewery, taking 10 minutes.

EuroClub this year will remind us fans of the industrial premises of recent Contests

Euro Fan Cafe – Dietrichgasse 25

The Fan Cafe is open from the 17th to the 23rd May. From Stadhalle take the U6 line on the U-bahn or trams 6,9 or 18, or a 10 minute walk South to Westbahnhof station. Change onto the U3 line, travelling towards the city centre (direction Simmering) It is 9 stops to Kardinal-Nagl-Platz, where you can walk 200m up Rudengasse to the EMS lounge (approx. 30 minute journey time).

Eurovillage/Fan-Mile – Rathausplatz/Heldenplatz

The full details of the Eurovillage and 60th anniversary fan-mile haven’t been released, but you can expect concerts from the artists and special guests as well as activities for Eurofans and the Viennese people. The activities will be centred around Rathausplatz and Heldenplatz, to the West of the city centre. Take the U-bahn line 2 to Rathus and head North for both locations. The squares are 2.5km, or a 30 minute walk from the Stadthalle, or you can take tram 49 from Dr Karl Renner Ring (200m South of Rathus), direct to Beingasse – only a 200m walk from the Stadthalle. This will take around 12 minutes.

This concludes the first of our weekly sections for Wren’s Wien. Next week we will look at the best food in Vienna from the best cheap eats and market stalls to the fanciest fine-dining that you need to book weeks in advance.