{"id":5302,"date":"2018-08-19T12:14:16","date_gmt":"2018-08-19T11:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=5302"},"modified":"2025-01-21T12:15:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T11:15:12","slug":"how-to-behave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/visitorinfo\/how-to-behave\/","title":{"rendered":"How to behave in Vienna"},"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\/08\/onewaythumb.jpg\" alt=\"No entry sign\" class=\"wp-image-5324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/onewaythumb.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/onewaythumb-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Every country and city has its little (or big) idiosyncrasies. Vienna is no different. So, before you inadvertently find yourself offending a local, here are some basic tips for navigating the jagged reefs of Viennese etiquette and behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expect plenty of flexibility for tourists, of course<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/coffee-house-experience\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1947\">Coffee house culture<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 1: Service is at the table<\/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\/04\/outdoorrestauranttable.jpg\" alt=\"Restaurant table outdoors\" class=\"wp-image-45031\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/outdoorrestauranttable.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/outdoorrestauranttable-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\">(Wait to be served)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless a restaurant, bar, or similar explicitly states &#8220;Selbstbedienung&#8221; (self-service), then assume service is at your seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s <s>rather<\/s> horribly impolite to go up and order at the counter in such circumstances. And you might require a tick more patience than you&#8217;re used to, particularly after your initial order. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/cafespubsbars\/coffee-houses\/\">coffee houses<\/a>, for example, minutes and hours are in no rush to pass (and that&#8217;s a good thing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/orderingpaying\/\">ordering and paying for food<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 2: Tip, too!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Equally, this table service is typically&nbsp;<strong>not<\/strong>&nbsp;included in your bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you walk away from a bar or restaurant without tipping, then you&#8217;re basically saying you were upset about the service. So tip as a matter of course (unless you genuinely had a terrible experience).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/tipping\/\">tipping in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 3: Keep right on escalators<\/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\/04\/keepright.jpg\" alt=\"Man on an escalator\" class=\"wp-image-45029\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/keepright.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/keepright-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 correct way to tackle the escalator)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not sure an explanation is needed. Essentially, keep the left side free for people in a rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a little bonus, be aware that very, very occasionally you find a single, standalone escalator next to a set of steps and the escalator actually moves down, not up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I haven&#8217;t figured out when or why that rare and somewhat illogical event occurs. Perhaps it&#8217;s a social experiment run by city scientists. Or perhaps the universe merely chooses to remind us there are no certainties in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 4: Queue pragmatically<\/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\/2025\/01\/queueingetiquette.jpg\" alt=\"A queue in front of a coffee shop\" class=\"wp-image-79527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/queueingetiquette.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/queueingetiquette-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\">(A polite queue at the ever-popular <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/cafespubsbars\/cafe-central\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"10683\">Caf\u00e9 Central<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They do queue in Austria. Just not always as readily or orderly as you might expect from places like the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where there&#8217;s a counter (like at the supermarket bakery), people are naturally quite social in terms of queueing and giving way to those who were there first. Where there is no counter, they&#8217;re not always so diligent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This applies particularly at bus, train and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/tramstop\/\">tram\u00a0stops<\/a>, where whoever&#8217;s nearest to the doors gets on first. Since you buy tickets in advance and don&#8217;t need to show them to a driver, there is no requirement to enter a vehicle at the front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I first arrived here, my wife used to wonder where on earth I&#8217;d got to because I invariably formed a queue to get on the tram. Which meant I was basically always last to board. (And last to exit.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, and let people get off before you enter a vehicle. People can become quite stroppy with folk who don&#8217;t follow that simple, logical rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/transport\/public\/\">how public transport works<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 5: Avoid littering<\/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\/04\/litterbin.jpg\" alt=\"A litter bin\" class=\"wp-image-45030\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/litterbin.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/litterbin-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\">(A common sight in Vienna)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s obvious, but even more obvious in Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the many delightful aspects of the city is that the streets remain astonishingly litter-free. A small army of orange-clad staff and vehicles keep everything clean and bins empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You rarely go more than a few steps without finding these bins, even specific ones for particular kinds of waste (e.g. Papier&nbsp;&#8211; paper, Verpackung &#8211; plastic packaging, Glas &#8211; glass, Restm\u00fcll &#8211; other waste), and pipes for cigarette butts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 6: Carry some cash<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Electronic payments, particularly via debit systems, are commonplace, but traditional credit card payments, for example, are by no means universally accepted in restaurants and stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Payment digitalization is well advanced in places catering to foreign tourists and progressing more generally in the wake of the COVID pandemic, which made cashless hands-free payments more attractive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nevertheless, be aware that the Viennese still like to use cash, particularly in caf\u00e9s, and occasional locations may not take cards at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The seasonal markets (at Christmas, Easter and New Year) remain relatively cash-oriented, too. And you may need coins for public toilet facilities (usually 20c or 50c) and lockers in museums (usually \u20ac1 or \u20ac2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/visitorinfo\/creditcards\/\">credit cards and Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 7: Say cheers<\/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\/04\/rowofbeers.jpg\" alt=\"A row of beers\" class=\"wp-image-45032\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/rowofbeers.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/rowofbeers-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\">(A beer sampler at a summer festival)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re out with locals, don&#8217;t start drinking anything alcoholic until you&#8217;ve acknowledged the other drinkers with a raised glass and a resounding &#8220;Prost&#8221; (cheers). And don&#8217;t start drinking until everyone has their beverage, unless they tell you to go ahead without them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/cheers-prost\/\">drinking etiquette in Austria<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 8: Offer a cheery greeting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Viennese are way less into greeting than people out in the country. However, when you enter a store or restaurant, you might get a &#8220;Gr\u00fc\u00df Gott&#8221; (a formal kind of &#8220;hello&#8221;) from employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;re kinda supposed to say &#8220;Gr\u00fc\u00df Gott&#8221; back. If German&#8217;s not your thing, say &#8220;hello&#8221; with a clear non-German accent and you should be fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until recently, if you were meeting locals, you expected to have your hand shaken. When someone arrived to join a group, even a relatively large one like the parents at a school meeting, they usually went around <strong>everyone<\/strong> to shake their hand in greeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This handshake habit died out almost completely during COVID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People have since reverted back to handshakes to some extent, but nothing like before. Many of my friends have stayed with fist bumps, for example, or only a verbal greeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Time will tell if the handshake makes a complete recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ll write about the intricacies of Austrian greetings another day, when I have a spare month for the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 9: Don&#8217;t be offended by smokers<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/ashtray.jpg\" alt=\"An ashtray\" class=\"wp-image-35204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/ashtray.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/ashtray-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\">(Mostly only found outdoors nowadays)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Attitudes toward smoking are not as negative in Vienna as in countries like the US or UK. Smoking&nbsp;is banned in the&nbsp;usual places (and people keep to those rules), but more folk smoke than you might expect in a modern western society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you may find smokers standing outside the bar, for example. You won&#8217;t, however, find them inside: Austria has a blanket ban on smoking in restaurants, pubs, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having said that, I can&#8217;t recall the last time I had any significant encounter with someone smoking in public. So perhaps this is another habit on the wane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/visitorinfo\/smoking\/\">Vienna and smoking<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 10: Stay hungry on public transport<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s generally not the done thing to eat anything when travelling by public transport, but particularly if it has an aroma. Save your schnitzel sandwich for later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eating food is actually forbidden on all subway trains. Oh, and consumption of alcohol is forbidden on any public transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bonus tip<\/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\/02\/sigmundfreudmuseumbuilding.jpg\" alt=\"Sigmund Freud Museum building\" class=\"wp-image-42772\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sigmundfreudmuseumbuilding.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sigmundfreudmuseumbuilding-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 entrance to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/sigmund-freud\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"986\">Sigmund Freud Museum<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you really want to fit in, then adopt a facial expression that suggests fate has dealt you plenty of rough cards already, you&#8217;re still expecting things to get worse, and having little to objectively complain about right this minute certainly won&#8217;t stop you from doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vienna is, after all, the birthplace of psychoanalysis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every country and city has its little (or big) idiosyncrasies. Vienna is no different. So, before you inadvertently find yourself offending a local, here are some basic tips for navigating the jagged reefs of Viennese etiquette and behaviour. Tip 1: Service is at the table (Wait to be served) Unless a restaurant, bar, or similar [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","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":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5302","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-visitorinfo","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5302","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=5302"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79529,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5302\/revisions\/79529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}