Vienna Pass Review 2020 (Is It Worth It)

Vienna (Wien) is a truly gorgeous city. Unfortunately, it’s pretty expensive, too. The entrance fees are costly and you’ll end up throwing a small fortune only to see the most popular attractions.

That’s exactly what happened to me during my first visit to Wien. I paid about €150 only for sightseeing for 3 days. It was more expensive than Paris or Rome! 

At that time only the Vienna City Card was available. It offers unlimited access to public transportation plus over 210 discounts at attractions and shops. It’s a great deal if you plan to use public transport a lot. However, it wasn’t useful to me, as I stayed right in the city centre.

Luckily for my next trip, the Vienna Pass was already available. Although I didn’t use the hop-on hop-off buses, I saved about €70 only from entrance fees. It’s a really great deal especially if this is your first time in the city.

In this Vienna Pass review, I do the math to show you how much you can save by using it.

Although 2 days is a short time to see Vienna, you can tour the most popular attractions. Keep in mind that you need to plan your time ahead. Also using the hop-on hop-off tour included in the card will save you a lot of time.

Here is an example of a 2-day itinerary, that covers the must-see sites. All attractions are included in the card, except the entrance to St. Charles’s Church.

Day 1

• St. Stephen’s Cathedral Treasury – €5.5
• Guided walking tour – €15
• Imperial Palace – €13.90
• Imperial Treasury – €12
• Rathaus – free
• Boat cruise along the Danube Canal – €23
• Viennese Giant Ferris Wheel – €10

Day 2

• Schönbrunn Palace – €17.50
• Imperial Carriage Museum – €9.50
• Apple Strudel Show – €6
• St. Charles’s Church – €8 (not included in the card)
• Belvedere Palace – €22

Attractions included in the card – €96
Walking tour, boat cruise and hop-on hop-off buses – €66
Total without the card – €162, with it – €95
Total savings €67

3 days is the perfect amount of time to explore the city. Here is a brief example of a 3-day itinerary. As you can see even if you use the pass only for its primary feature, the free entrances, you’ll save money.

Day 1

• St. Stephen’s Cathedral Treasury – €5.5
• Guided walking tour – €15
• St. Peter’s Church – free
• Imperial Palace – €13.90
• Imperial Treasury – €12
• Austrian Parliament Building – free
• Rathaus – free
• Viennese Giant Ferris Wheel – €10

Day 2

• Natural History Museum or Kunsthistorisches Museum (€10 or €15)
• Burggarten and Mozart Statue – free
• St. Charles’s Church – €8 (not included in the card)
• Schwarzenbergplatz and Soviet War Memorial
• Belvedere Palace – €22
• Boat cruise along the Danube Canal – €23

Day 3

• Schönbrunn Palace – €17.50
• Imperial Carriage Museum – €9.50
• Apple Strudel Show – €6
• Wien Zoo or Danube Tower (€20 or €14.50)

Attractions included in the card – €131
Walking tour, boat cruise and hop-on hop-off buses – €66
Total without the card – €197, with it – €125
Total savings €72

You can always switch any of the sites with another attraction that interests you more. For example, the Spanish Riding School, Imperial Burial Vault and Mozarthaus are also covered by the pass.

The card is available for 1, 2, 3 and 6 days.

• 1-Day card – €70
• 2-Day card – €95
• 3-Day card – €125
• 6-Day card – €155

It’s easiest to buy the pass online (and this is what I did – I bought it online from GetYourGuide). Then you just have to collect it from the service office near the Opera State House.

The pass will be activated at its first use at an attraction. This counts as the first day. Thus to make the most of it, activate it in the morning.

What’s included in Vienna Pass

• free admission to over 60 attractions
• fast-track entry at many sites
• unlimited rides on the hop-on-hop-off buses
• boat cruise along the Danube Canal
• guided walking tour
• guidebook

Free admission to over 60 attractions

This is the primary benefit. You get a free entrance not only to the most popular attractions but also to numerous museums. Plus, you’ll save time skipping a lot of the queues with the fast track entry. All you need to do is to show the card at the entrance. And using an all-in-one ticket makes everything so easy!

Unlimited rides on the hop-on-hop-off buses

Wien has a compact city centre, that you can tour by foot. However, few of the must-see attractions are located far away and you need to use public transport. The included bus tour has 5 different routes and takes you in no time to Schönbrunn Palace, Danube Tower, the Prater and many other popular attractions.

Boat cruise and guided walking tour

The included boat cruise and walking tour are nice bonuses. The 1h walking tour shows you the most famous attractions in the city centre. And the boat cruise along the Danube canal is a great way to see this beautiful city from another angle. If you have to pay additionally for these tours, it’ll cost you 38 EUR.

Guidebook

The 100+ page digital guidebook is packed with useful information about the city and its top attractions. It’s an easy way to learn something more about this imperial city and its history.

Yes, it’s totally worth it, no matter how many days you are in the city. The pass covers everything that most of the visitors are interested in. If you plan to see a lot and want to get most of the city, this is the way to do it.

Even if this is not your first time in Vienna, the pass can save a lot of money if you plan ahead your time.

Looking for accommodation? Check out these hotels and apartments (they have the best rating on Booking.com).

A 4-star elegant hotel 70m away from St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

A boutique hotel located as close as possible to St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

Beautiful modern apartments close to Stephansplatz.

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About the author

	Milena Yordanova
	I'm a travel blogger based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Travelling has always been my passion and I love to discover new places and cultures. I want to show you how easy it is to organize your vacation all by yourself.

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