{"id":3960,"date":"2018-09-23T08:46:39","date_gmt":"2018-09-23T07:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=3960"},"modified":"2026-02-23T13:00:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:00:37","slug":"vienna-pass-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/vienna-pass-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vienna Pass &#8211; should you buy one?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/khm_small.jpg\" alt=\"Front of Kunsthistorisches Museum\" class=\"wp-image-9016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/khm_small.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/khm_small-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">[German: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/der-vienna-pass\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"27595\">Der Vienna Pass \u2013 zahlt er sich aus?<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Vienna Pass is an all-in ticket that gets you free one-time entry into numerous attractions for a fixed period of days, plus other benefits. But is it worth the cost in 2026? Here&#8217;s my review&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Main advantages: save money and jump queues <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The 2 and 3-day passes are great for visiting attractions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The 1-day pass only makes sense for high-intensity sightseers (or where convenience is critical)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Includes free use of a hop on hop off bus service<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Purchase a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.viennapass.de\/en\/shop?utm_source=markbrownlow&amp;utm_medium=affiliate&amp;utm_campaign=markbrownlow_visitingvienna\" rel=\"sponsored\">Vienna Pass<\/a>* (often has an online discount)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/city-passes\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"30352\">Reviews of other city passes<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What you get<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/schoenbrunnforecourt.jpg\" alt=\"Sch\u00f6nbrunn forecourt\" class=\"wp-image-44660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/schoenbrunnforecourt.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/schoenbrunnforecourt-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace: the basic self-guided tour is included in the Vienna Pass)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Vienna Pass comes in one, two, three and six-day versions and has three main benefits for visitors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Free one-time entry to the major tourist attractions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fast-track entry into some attractions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Free use of the Vienna Sightseeing hop on, hop off bus<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Vienna Pass benefit 1: Free entry<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/khmnight.jpg\" alt=\"The Kunsthistorisches Museum at night\" class=\"wp-image-42468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/khmnight.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/khmnight-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Browse centuries of art at the Kunsthistorisches Museum)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the primary benefit: free one-time entry to dozens of city attractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You probably won&#8217;t have to pay for any other entrance tickets during your stay, since all the main attractions and museums are included: for example, the self-guided basic tour of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/palace-of-schonbrunn\/\">Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace<\/a> and entrance to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/hofburg-visitor-information\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2711\">Sisi Museum<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/albertina\/\">Albertina<\/a> art museum, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/palace-of-schonbrunn\/vienna-zoo\/\">zoo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All the ticketed places on my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/my-top-10-places\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"17645\">top 10<\/a> list for Vienna are covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means significant potential savings over buying individual tickets, but the other underrated bonus is flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can just drop into a sight or museum to grab a quick look without feeling you have to stay longer to justify the entrance fee. Or you can change plans without worrying about money spent on advanced tickets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, for example, you might nip into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/vienna-museums\/belvedere\/\">Belvedere<\/a> just to see Klimt&#8217;s <em>The Kiss<\/em> or pop into the zoo just to catch the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/zoo\/giantpandas\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"183\">Giant Pandas<\/a> (they&#8217;re close to the main entrance, if you were wondering).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-slug-ids=\"exp206741,exp238032\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_ConcTour\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re in the city long enough, use the Vienna Pass to visit some of the less prominent attractions, such as one of Beethoven&#8217;s residences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pass covers around 86 attractions at the time of writing, though a handful are outside Vienna. See the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.viennapass.de\/en\/shop?utm_source=markbrownlow&amp;utm_medium=affiliate&amp;utm_campaign=markbrownlow_visitingvienna\" rel=\"sponsored\">Vienna Pass website<\/a>* for a full list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Vienna Pass benefit 2: Fast-track entry<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/elephantandbaby.jpg\" alt=\"An elephant and calf\" class=\"wp-image-43068\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/elephantandbaby.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/elephantandbaby-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Skip the queues for Vienna&#8217;s world-famous zoo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not every attraction lets you jump the counter queue with a Vienna Pass, but some of the more popular sights do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Kunsthistorisches Museum, Belvedere, the Albertina and Sch\u00f6nbrunn Zoo are all on the list and I&#8217;ve spent (un)happy hours queuing for tickets for all of those.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Belvedere, you don&#8217;t need to worry about booking a time slot for the Upper Belvedere galleries (where Klimt&#8217;s <em>The Kiss<\/em> is), as a Vienna Pass lets you go in at a time of your own choosing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s not a huge benefit outside peak season, to be honest, but you&#8217;ll save time on summer and Christmas weekends or when, say, a particularly popular exhibition is on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So in early 2026, for example, you can skip any possible ticket counter queues for the Albertina&#8217;s <em>Fascination Paper<\/em> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/honore-daumier-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"88628\">Honor\u00e9 Daumier<\/a> exhibitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Vienna Pass benefit 3: Free tours<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/donaukanalfrombridge.jpg\" alt=\"The Donaukanal seen from a bridge\" class=\"wp-image-45583\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/donaukanalfrombridge.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/donaukanalfrombridge-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Take a boat ride along the Donaukanal)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>Vienna Sightseeing<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/sightseeing-bus\/\">hop on hop off bus service<\/a> runs along the main sightseeing routes (surprise!) and will take you to most of the main sights that the city has to offer. Unlike with the one-time-only entrance tickets, you can use the bus as often as you like while your pass is still valid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Vienna Pass also usually includes some one-time tours, like a short cruise along the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/donaukanal\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"34106\">Danube canal<\/a> or a guided tour of the opera house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Review: is it worth it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider the Vienna Pass if you want to avoid paying entrance tickets, since that&#8217;s the main focus and where you save most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re a more general visitor browsing the sights, then you might prefer the cheaper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/vienna-card\/\">Vienna City Card<\/a> or (even cheaper) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/vienna-welcome-card\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"77567\">Vienna Welcome Card<\/a>: both are network travel cards with discounts for selected entrance tickets, attractions etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or, if you only want to go into one or two places, then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-attractions-c60335\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_Vienna\" rel=\"sponsored\">individual tickets<\/a>* make more financial sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Two and three-day passes<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/riesenradwinter.jpg\" alt=\"The Riesenrad in the snow seen through the trees\" class=\"wp-image-66105\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/riesenradwinter.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/riesenradwinter-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The famous Riesenrad takes the Vienna Pass)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re on an intensive sightseeing city break, these Vienna Pass products are ideal. A 2-day itinerary might take in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One trip on the hop on, hop off, guided bus tour out to Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace for a tour and the zoo, plus an early-evening twirl on the Giant Ferris wheel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A trip around the Hofburg Palace after watching a training at the Spanish Riding School, plus a visit to the Albertina art gallery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s over \u20ac163 in ticket costs alone last time I checked (early February, 2026). So you&#8217;re saving already with a 2-day pass, plus there&#8217;s the convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If, however, you&#8217;re likely to spend more of your time at an easier pace or admiring the sights from the outside, then this is probably not for you.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/walkingtouralbertina.jpg\" alt=\"The Albertina and statue\" class=\"wp-image-50330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/walkingtouralbertina.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/walkingtouralbertina-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Albertina art museum)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Six-day pass<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A no-brainer, if you&#8217;re here for longer. You&#8217;d have to work hard not to get your money&#8217;s worth and more out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One-day pass<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Only a choice if you pick your activities <strong>very <\/strong>carefully. You can make it worthwhile buying one, but you would probably need to use the hop on, hop off buses and pack in several major attractions through the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A one-day pass might make sense if you value convenience highly, or if you&#8217;re going to do a whistle stop tour of the city&#8217;s highlights without spending any time in any one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get a Vienna Pass<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.viennapass.de\/en\/shop?utm_source=markbrownlow&amp;utm_medium=affiliate&amp;utm_campaign=markbrownlow_visitingvienna\">Buy your pass online<\/a>* or get it in person when you reach Vienna (the pass has a customer centre opposite the state opera house).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 1, 2, 3 or 6 day period begins when you first use the pass, but Day 1 counts as the day of activation. So don&#8217;t use it for the first time late at night: you&#8217;ll waste a day. Activate it in the morning, so you can make the most of the whole first day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[German: Der Vienna Pass \u2013 zahlt er sich aus?] The Vienna Pass is an all-in ticket that gets you free one-time entry into numerous attractions for a fixed period of days, plus other benefits. But is it worth the cost in 2026? Here&#8217;s my review&#8230; What you get (Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace: the basic self-guided tour is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3960","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sights","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3960"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88815,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3960\/revisions\/88815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}