Vienna events and festivals (2024)

Current highlights plus top annual events listed by month; find something to add that little extra to your trip…

• Book a concert experience* for the coming days in Vienna
• See also:
  • Film festivals
  • Classical concert venues

Events on now(ish)

(The Rathausplatz square turns into an open-air film venue with a giant gastronomy section)

For detailed suggestions, try the What to do in August article, explore current exhibitions, or review major classical concert options.

2024 highlights: Aug 19-25

Three big summer events continue this week…

• The open-air film festival on the central Rathausplatz square (with international gastronomy): watch classical concerts, opera, gigs and more for free on a giant screen

• The Ottakringer Bierfest: open-air beer festival and more at the city’s main brewery

• The Afrika Tage African festival, which features concerts with national and international performers but also food, a marketplace, info stands and kids entertainments

This weekend you might spot a large number of old timer vehicles in Vienna. Look out, particularly, for the early evening drive around the giant Ringstrassen boulevard that encircles the city centre.

Other highlight events include:

• TheNeustifter Kirtag: huge wine and street festival in an outlying district (August 22nd to 25th)

• Veganmania: another large open-air festival with vegan street food, shopping and more on the Danube island (August 23rd to 25th)

My current bonus tips

Events by month

These festivals and other events usually take place each year but check the monthly articles (since dates may shift).

I also fill those articles with many more events, exhibition highlights, suggested activities, and seasonal tips.

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January

(The Musikverein concert venue hosts the New Year’s Concert)

For dates, details and many more activities and ideas, see the full guide to January 2025.

• The 1st of January is, of course, the date of the world-famous New Year’s Concert

• At the beginning of the month, you catch the final days of any New Year markets and the year-end highlight exhibitions at the art museums

• Slap on your skates for the Vienna Ice World on split-level open-air rinks in front of the neogothic Rathaus. The event usually runs from the middle of the month to early March

February

(Open-air ice skating)

For more tips on seasonal activities, try the February 2025 guide.

Sandwiched innocently between the holiday season and spring, February has fewer queues to contend with, but also fewer major annual events:

• January’s Ice World continues through the month

• The highlight of the ball season is, of course, the famous Opernball

• Romantics have February 14th to enjoy. Try a few suggestions for Valentine’s Day in Vienna

• And admirers of artistic and natural creativity can attend:
  • The International Orchid Show at Hirschstetten gardens
  • The Art at the Park high-end art fair in the Park Hyatt hotel
  • The Edelstoff design market in the Marx halle

March

(Decorative Easter egg for sale)

See the full March 2025 guide for all details and more thoughts on what you might do in the month. Some highlights:

• The Easter markets might start up in March, depending on when Easter actually falls. And the WAMP international design market could hold the first of its markets this month

• Classical music typically get some competition at two festivals:
  • drops into the city’s main brewery
  • The Blues Spring Festival usually begins toward the end of March

April

(The Easter market on the Freyung)

For more event tips, exhibition suggestions and outdoor activities, try the full April 2025 guide.

• The Easter markets may continue (or start) in April depending on Easter dates, and the Vienna Blues Spring music festival still fills its venues during the month

• April also has early food & drink events:
  • The Styrian Spring festival brings the best of Styrian cuisine and culture to town
  • The spring edition of the Super Bier Fest is an international beer festival
  • The city-owned Cobenzl winery may have its annual open day around this time

• If you want to work off the calories after all those delights, then the Vienna marathon is usually in the same month

• For nourishment of the more visual kind, try:
  • The WeFair sustainability fair for guilt-free shopping
  • Fantasy Con, one of Vienna’s fan events
  • The Art Austria art fair

• And for enjoyment of the two-wheeled kind, take a look at the open-air Argus Bike Festival

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May

(A month of culinary delights)

For dates, more information, and even more suggested things to do, see the complete May 2025 guide.

As a special treat, the international 4GAMECHANGERS public festival brings together a wide range of speakers and panels to address numerous topics affecting our future: from finance to female empowerment.

This is also the month when music and food lovers come into their own.

• On the music front, you have…
  • The Fest der Freude, a free concert on Heldenplatz to celebrate the anniversary of the liberation of the city in WWII
  • The Blues Festival also typically continues through much of May

• Music appears at many of the festivals that focus on food and drink (and similar):
  • The #wienliebe festival on the Rathausplatz celebrates all things Viennese
  • The Genuss Festival fills the Stadtpark with the best of regional and small-scale food production in Austria
  • Two regional cuisine and tourism festivals turn up on Am Hof square:
    • The Burgenland Kultinarium
    • The Weinviertel festival
  • Think of the Steffl Kirtag around Stephansdom cathedral as a Christmas market without the Christmas bit
  • The Wiener Zitrustage brings all things citrus to the Schönbrunn palace orangery
  • Veganmania has vegan food and shopping in front of the MuseumsQuartier around this time of year
  • And the European Street Food festival gathers together international food trucks outside the Stadthalle

• Art and design events pop up this month, too:
  • The WAMP and Edelstoff design markets typically have May editions
  • The Fanzineist art book & zine fair

The events of May give you a big hint as to what Vienna is really all about: food, drink & music.

For more culture of the popular kind, however, also consider the Vienna COMIX expo: all things comics but with plenty of anime, scifi, gaming and fantasy, too.

Finally, the Long Night of the Churches invites you into Christian institutions for all sorts of activities, tours, entertainments, and more.

June

(Vienna goes Pride)

Find out about more June events, including dates, using the broader June 2025 guide.

This is Vienna Pride time, which typically runs across 2+ weeks of June. And notable international music events pop up this month. For example:

• The Donauinselfest (Europe’s largest free open-air music festival)

• The famous Summer Night classical concert in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace where the Wiener Philharmoniker performs for free

• The AMADEUS Festival Vienna with classical music out in the 18th district

Other events:

• The Südwind Straßenfest festival arrives with NGOs, music and more

• We may get an edition of the WAMP design market this month

• Enjoy another regional cuisine and tourism festival at Waldviertelpur (look for poppy-seed pastries)

• And the Vienna Beer Festival focuses on, well, I’ll let you guess

July

(Open-air film and food fun)

For other event & activity tips and more seasonal suggestions, try the comprehensive July 2025 guide.

• The big July event is the Rathausplatz Film Festival, with free daily public viewings of concerts and performances from various genres of music on the square in front of the Rathaus alongside international gastronomy and street food

• Talking music:
  • Enjoy the live kind at the end of the month with Popfest Wien
  • Enjoy the DJ kind at the Lichterfest festival of light on the Old Danube

• More on the food and drink front with…
  • The Ottakringer Beer Festival, if you like a beer or three
  • And if mead’s more your thing, there’s always the medieval festival

August

(Old timers on parade)

Discover a whole slew of ideas for what to do this month in the full August 2024 guide.

July’s Rathausplatz film festival and Ottakringer Bierfest carry on through August.

For (live) modern music, try:

• The Gürtel Nightwalk in and around the bars and clubs of the mighty Gürtel road
• The Afrika Tage African festival, where food, music, and art comes together for over 2 weeks

Other notable additions to the calendar include:

• The AniNite anime and manga fan convention: a mammoth event attracting thousands of visitors

• The Neustifter Kirtag wine growers festival, which includes a street market

• The Veganmania summer festival with its street food and a market

• The Vienna Old Timer Parade, where numerous classic cars drive (twice) around the long Ring boulevard that encircles Vienna’s old town

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September

(Brewery and event venue in one)

For more suggestions, details, and dates, browse the main September 2024 guide.

• The food, drink, and music theme common to Vienna dominates the month with, for example:
  • The Liquid Market co*cktail festival, if you like a co*cktail or three
  • The Buskers Festival with international street performers
  • at the same location on the same weekend
  • The Vienna Coffee Festival celebrates Vienna’s favourite drink

(We also have the welcome return of an open-air harvest festival.)

• The last Sunday in September is European Heritage Day, when various historical buildings open their doors to the public (for free). The same concept applies at Open House Wien, but with a focus on newer constructions

And contemporary creativity continues with…

• Art and design events like:
  • The Viennacontemporary, Art at the Park and Art Vienna art fairs
  • The Calle Libre street art festival, whose results you can see all over the city
  • Vienna Design Week, covering numerous events and locations
  • and perhaps another edition of the WAMP design market

• Music and fashion events like:
  • The Waves Vienna international music festival
  • The MQ Vienna Fashion Week

October

(Game City gets you inside city hall)

Take a peek at the October 2024 guide for more details and further event tips and activity suggestions.

• You can sample the best of Vienna’s museal treasures at the Long Night of Museums

• Lovers of good design get another chance to browse the Edelstoff and WAMP design markets

• If you prefer your design in interactive pixel form, then visit Game City on the Rathausplatz

• The Foto Wien photography festival makes this a happy month for photographers and those who appreciate their work

• For a bit of autumnal flair, try the Herbsttage (a small fair and botanical exhibition)

November

(Vienna Comic Con attracts top guests)

Call up the November 2024 guide for more information on the below, as well as tips on other activities and art exhibitions, etc.

• The month’s main claim to fame is the start of the Christmas season, notably the wonderful markets, the lights, outdoor ice skating, and early signs of gift-buying panic
  • Enjoy the gorgeousSo Schmeckt NÖ Adventmarkt and the Weihnachtsquartier as shorter bonus markets

• To pick up some gifts of a particularly artistic or guilt-free nature, try:
  • The at the Hofburg
  • The Blickfang design fair or Vegan Planet, both held at the MAK museum

• Wien Modern fills most of November with contemporary classical music

• Indulge your geekier side and enjoy the world of science fiction, fantasy and comics at Vienna Comic Con

• Or forget the season and immerse yourself in a glass of beer at the autumn edition of the Super Bier Fest or visions of faraway lands at the Photo+Adventure fair

December

(The time of the Christmas markets)

For all the details and a few more tips, check out the December 2024 guide.

You’ll be surprised to learn that seasonal themes tend to dominate in December, notably…

• The Christmas markets continue through until at least December 23rd, and the month typically brings a couple of bonus markets, too. Like:
  • Christmas editions of the Edelstoff and WAMP design markets
  • The hugely-popular Medieval Advent market

• Many people also celebrate New Year’s Eve in Vienna along the Silvesterpfad. The final two days of the year also feature the Wiener Philharmoniker’s New Year concert previews

Don’t forget to check the monthly overview articles for a lot more event tips and seasonal advice.