Most major cities have city cards offering discounts to travels to attractions in the city. In Vienna, Austria there is the Vienna Pass which comes in a 1, 2, 3 or 6 day pass for popular attractions and hop-on-hop-off buses in the city.
Visiting Vienna for the first time, I decided to test out of the 2 day Vienna Pass hoping it would help me save money. The card grants you free admission to 60 of the top attractions in Vienna with fast track entry to several of the major attractions, and unlimited Hop On Hop Off Vienna Sightseeing tour bus.
Is The Vienna Pass Worth It?
The Vienna pass is €70.00 for the one day pass, but as the two-day pass is only slightly more (€95.00) and the better deal.
I used the Vienna Pass for two days, and at that time I was able to visit Schönbrunn Palace, Schönbrunn Zoo, Hofburg Imperial Palace, Belvedere, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Museum of Natural History, and the Albertina. Both days I took the Hop On Hop Off Bus from my hotel to the attractions, and it worked out well.
What I did in 2 days using the Vienna Pass
- HOP ON HOP OFF Bus Tour Day 1 € 29,00
- HOP ON HOP OFF Bus Tour Day 2 € 29,00
- Schönbrunn Palace Grand Tour € 20,00
- Schönbrunn Zoo € 20,00
- Apple Strudel Show € 6,50
- Hofburg Imperial Palace € 19,00
- Belvedere € 22,00
- Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna € 16,00
- Museum of Natural History € 12,00
- Albertina € 16,00
- Total €189, 50 (without Vienna Pass)
Total Savings of €94,50!
To visit everything I went to see, and taking the tourist bus both days it would have cost me €189, 50! Thanks to the €95.00 Vienna Pass, I paid 1/2 the cost-saving $94,50! That is a massive saving!
Without question, the Vienna Pass is a must-have when visiting Vienna as it will save you tons of money. In addition to saving money, one of the other major perks was the fact the card allows you to get fast track entry some of the attractions. For example, at Schönbrunn Palace there was a colossal winding line, but for the Vienna Pass you could skip it, and I waited less than a minute, instead of what looked like over an hour wait if I didn’t have the pass.
Vienna Pass App
When you have the Vienna Pass, you can also take advantage of the useful Vienna Sightseeing App that is made for the pass. Conveniently you can download all information in the app before you depart on your trip, so it will work offline too.
I found the app very handy as it contains a list of local attractions that you can use your Vienna Pass for, along with all the timetables for the various Hop On Hop Off buses. Using the map function you can easily see each attraction, along with other nearby attractions and the bus stop to get off at. So you can plan your travel route without any work. It is a huge time saver when planning your trip, so make sure you download it before you head to Vienna.
Final Thoughts
If you have more time in Vienna, I’d suggest the 3 or 6-day pass, which will allow you to get all the major of the sights in. I missed out on seeing tons of things like the Museum of Modern Art, Schlumberger Cellars, Otto Wagner Pavillion, Liechtenstein Castle, Forchtenstein Castle, the Giant Ferris Wheel, Esterhazy Palace, and Spanish Riding School!
Are you interested in learning more about the Vienna Pass? Visit their website.