sylviam

We will be in Vienna late March for 4 nights including Easter. I have heard and read that Vienna is expensive. What does that mean and in comparison to what? Is the price of dinner, theater tickets, museum tickets much more than NYC for example or London? Will prices be lower in March? Any advice on keeping the cost down while still experiencing the wonderful city?

BTilke

I don't find Vienna all that expensive compared to, for example, London or New York. We've eaten at most of the better restaurants in (Steirereck, Meinl Am Graben, etc.) and spent somewhere between 70 and 100 euros per person, including wine (a few glasses of house wine). The bill can rise exponentially if you go for the more expensive wines on the list. I've also attended several theatre/dance productions...again, prices weren't that bad. The most I've spend for a ticket was 60 euros for Tango Pasion. We got half price tickets to see the musical Elisabeth (highly recommended) for about 15 euros each.
Museum prices are comparable to other capital city museums.
Be aware that there is a large medical convention taking place in March, which will take many hotel rooms.

soleil

My husband and I returned from Vienna last week. It was fabulous, gorgeous, and the cleanest city I have ever visited. To answer your question of expense - it was no more expensive than most American cities. We got our four star hotel on priceline for $115 per night. I bought a huge, scrumptious pastery from Demels, the oldest and finest pastery/cafe in Vienna for 3.50E. Now it was a take out, so factor that in. We paid 11.50E to watch a training session of the Royal Lipizzan Stallions which is held in a posh arena (chandeliers, fireplaces) of the Hofburg Palace. Theater tickets should be competitive as they are sold all over the streets. They ranged from E20 - maybe 130. Those are just a few examples. It may be less expensive in March than in Sept. Also, take the CAT (city airport transportation) to and from the airport. The cost is E16.50 round trip. It lets you off in a central location of which you can walk or take the undergound to your hotel. Hope this helps.

sylviam

BTilke: thank you for the information. Do you know if this convention be at Easter?

gradyghost

What does that mean and in comparison to what? There is no comparison; just enjoy it.

bettyk

Some of the restaurants in Vienna have websites with menus and prices. Do a search on google.com and that may give you some idea of pricing. We had a nice dinner at the Griechenbeisl for about 20 or so Euros per person which is very reasonable. You can also find info online for entrance fees for Schoenbrunn Palace and other sights.

BTilke

No, the convention is March 4-8 (many people arrive a day or two earlier, though). OPEC also hosts a meeting in March, usually mid March--however, the impact from the OPEC crowd is felt only at a few hotels (the Intercontinental, the [ANA] Grand, the Bristol, etc.) and the top restaurants.

MaureenB

We are a family of four who went to Vienna this past June for 5 nights. We thought its meals were comparable in price to what we would pay at home in Denver, actually. You can easily find moderately priced restaurants in Vienna, or exorbitantly priced ones, just like in any city.
We walked around and looked at menus posted by the doors to select places to dine, and we were never disappointed. The only dining mistake was mine, when I thought I should order a local meal called 'taffelspritz' (sp?) and I didn't like it at all. I had just wanted to see what the locals considered a local dish.
Another dinner we had was surprisingly good, in a tiny restaurant on a side street, where we sat at a table with windows opening to the cobblestone street. Sure wish I could tell you the name of that place, it was really charming.
My point, though, is that Vienna is so chockful of charm, you'll have no problem finding your own special places.
We loved our hotel, the Kaiserin Elisabeth. Right in the center of things, a block or so from Stephansdom and a U-Bahn stop. It was 280 Euro for a large family apartment in June, including a wonderful buffet breakfast.
Enjoy Vienna.

sylviam

soleil: Do you remember the name of the hotel? Also, did your purchase tickets for the Lipizzan show on-line or when you arrived in Vienna? My 15 year old niece loves horses and I thought she would enjoy the show.

Btilke and Maureen B. Thank you for the information. It appears that Vienna is like any major city. I guess I was getting jittery after reading so many posts talking about how expensive Vienna was compared to other cities in Europe. We are also going to Budapest and Prague and I have found that hotels are not that inexpensive, perhaps the local food and the activities are less but lodging seems to run the same in any big city.

Christina

I've noticed that about hotels, also -- they are about the same for a certain level even in some cities where other things, like food, are much cheaper (eg, Prague).

I had read the same things about Vienna before I went a couple years ago and really expected it to be like London or something -- that's what it sounded like. It wasn't particularly expensive at all in any way that affected me. I got a 4* pension near the museums for around 100 euro, and coffee and meals were cheaper than in Paris, for example (and Paris is cheaper than London or NY). I don't know why you read those things about Vienna being so expensive, I couldn't figure it out. I didn't go to the theater, but museums were nothing particularly expensive, I don't even remember what they were, so they couldn't have been shocking. Transportation was nothing unusual, either.

MaureenB

We also saw the Lipizzaners "morning exercise with music" and toured their stables. If you go to the exercises, get there early for a good seat, and before tickets sell out. I don't know how people did it, but a group was sitting right on the arena floor, in front of the fireplace. That would have been fantastic.
But we had ordinary walk-up tickets. (They did give my 18-year old daughter a discounted student rate.) We found it's much better to get seats on the second level, because the third level makes for an awkward viewing angle down on the horses. I'd stand on the second level, over sitting on the third. Some people do leave before it's over, as it's 3 hours long.
It's definitely worthwhile.

warobison

We were in Vienna last March for three nights, and we actually found Vienna to be slightly cheaper than we had expected. At that time, we got a double at the Mercure Zenturm (about three blocks from the Stephansdom) for 80 DOLLARS-- not euros-- per night including a huge, full buffet breakfast. That was through Rail Europe. Now, I realize that's really unusual, but I just checked on their website for next March, and the price is $380 for three nights... still very good for that location. Food was no more expensive than most places we visit-- usually less than 50 euros total for the two of us. The museums are probably a little bit more expensive than some of the other capitals, but they are well worth it. After Prague, we found the music to be much more expensive, but Prague has such great values in music that its hard to comapre.

WillTravel

People have gotten the Mercure Zentrum for $44 USD/night + taxes and fees on Priceline lately. However, with the buffet breakfast, it sounds like the Rail Europe deals are almost equivalent.