Celebrating New Year’s in Vienna, Austria

As if you need more inspiration to see Vienna, its New Year’s Eve celebration is one more reason to visit. Take Vienna’s grand boulevards and ornate Habsburg buildings and then sprinkle in impressive yet graceful decorations and a pervasive cheerful mood for an idea of what to expect on a trip over New Year’s.

If you ever wanted to waltz to Strauss’s Blue Danube Waltz at midnight under luminescent chandeliers with thousands of other merrymakers, then this guide is for you. And if you haven’t thought about it before, trust me – you want to do that!

Keep reading to find out more about what Vienna is like over the New Year’s holiday.

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Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Vienna

The #1 thing to do in Vienna on New Year’s Eve is the New Year’s Eve Trail. (Note, this is interchangeably referred to in German as the Silvesterpfad.) And that is exactly what we did!

We took things easy that morning knowing we had a full night of events ahead. If you’re looking for a couple things to do, we took a guided tour of the Vienna State Opera followed up with a visit to the Kunsthistoriches Museum. The state opera tour takes just around 45 minutes and needs reservations while our time in the art museum hovered around two hours.

After our little bit of sightseeing and a mid-afternoon nap, we headed back to the city center to begin the party. Even at 5 p.m., I was surprised by how many people already seemed to be in the full swing of things. Roadblocks had been set up to keep cars out, and everywhere you looked people were dancing in the streets. The once empty concert stages now teemed with energy from performers and digital screens showing fanciful animations.

We plainly needed to get our act in gear! So, we each grabbed a drink from a nearby concession stand, took a look at one of the many posted New Year’s Eve Trail maps, and got to partying.

We were in Kärntner Straße where a DJ was playing dance music from the 2000s and 2010s. Meanwhile, people young and old were dancing without a care in the world.

Before coming to Vienna, we stopped for an overnight in Hallstatt. Find out if it was worth it here!

At Stephansplatz

From here, we gradually made our way along the trail till we reached Stephansplatz where many revelers were already gathered. At this square, a small philharmonic was on stage performing classical music. We arrived just in time to see an adorable Ukrainian girl perform a traditional number.

This was exactly what I imagined the Silvesterpfad to look like: an orchestra in sharp black-tie attire performing with the backdrop of a historical building while everyone was swaying to the music.

We stayed for about 30 minutes, listening to several different pieces before moving on. There were still a couple other stops on the trail we wanted to see. We figured we’d have plenty of time to come back before midnight to listen to St Stephen’s Pummerin, its 44,000-pound bell, ring in the new year at midnight.

Things Go Slightly Astray

With that, we kept moving along and eventually ended up at Am Hof where a cover band was performing funk music. We lingered here for a bit with neither of us really feeling the band and eventually moved on again.

After getting a bit lost, we made it to the Graben. At this point in the night, it was obvious that the crowds were starting to swell. Still, we had a decent spot for people-watching with a couple different drink stands nearby. We decided to stay here till closer to midnight before walking back to Stephansplatz.

That’s when disaster struck. Around 10:45, an announcement was made telling everyone that Stephansplatz was at capacity and no one could enter.

Disappointment washed over me!

To make matters worse, the Graben was soon bursting at the seams now that Stephansplatz was full. It was becoming difficult to even purchase a drink because lines were getting so long. The night was in danger of going off the rails, but then…

Magic Happened on the Graben

With anticipation in the air, couples grasping each other around the waist with sparkling wine in hand, midnight struck. Suddenly, the huge glittering chandeliers overhead took on a new meaning. The Graben transformed from an elegant Christmas scene to an outdoor ballroom with thousands of people waltzing to and fro along with Michelle and me.

The moment only lasted a handful of minutes, yet the evening was encapsulated by that brief time. It was one of those magical events that surpass the moment itself to become something more profound.

Time froze for that instant, with everyone just happy to be alive and in each other’s company.

Then, it ended.

We took a few last looks over everyone, many of whom looked like they’d be partying well into the night, and we headed back towards our hotel with midnight in Vienna forever etched in our minds.

While this didn’t make the cutoff for when I wrote my 2022 review, it certainly was one of my favorite travel experiences that year. Read about the rest here!

Lessons to Remember for Your New Year’s Eve in Vienna

If you find a square with the right atmosphere or a stage playing music you like, stay there.

Don’t worry that you might be missing out on something somewhere else. Each stop along the New Year’s Eve Trail is essentially the same with the exception of the style of music being played.

While the buildings change, you won’t notice much else different. Once you find music you enjoy, stay there at least till it starts getting closer to midnight.

If you want to be in Stephansplatz for midnight, get there by 10.

This tip goes a bit against the grain of the last one but for good reason. While I loved our midnight experience under the Graben’s chandeliers, I didn’t get to hear the Pummerin ring at midnight. If that’s important to you, don’t wait too long to get into Stephansplatz in case it reaches capacity.

Bear in mind, though, that you may miss out on the ballroom scene at the Graben I described above. They do play the waltz in Stephansplatz after the bell rings, but you won’t have the added atmosphere with the chandeliers hanging overhead.

Stephansplatz and the Graben are right next to each other, so you could try to run over there after the bell. However, you likely would be better off picking one experience or the other. Rushing around in the excitement and chaos of midnight doesn’t sound like a great way to spend that time.

We also visited several Bavarian Christmas markets during our trip to the region. Don’t forget to give that a read to help with your holiday trip planning!

Practical Info for the New Year’s Eve Trail

The New Year’s Eve Trail officially goes from 2:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. and is free to enter. Once you enter, drinks, food or souvenirs can be purchased from any number of stands. We didn’t attempt to use credit cards, but from what we could tell, all the food and beverage stands were cash only. Free portable toilets are also available at regular intervals.

In 2022, 800,000 people celebrated along the trail with six stages featuring different styles of music. Past Silvesterpfads included more stages, but they reduced things a bit in 2022. There are also programs for children and ballroom dancing lessons earlier in the day at some of the stops.

Despite the slightly reduced scale in 2022, there are three things you can always count on from the New Year’s Eve Trail: traditional and classical music at Stephansplatz, the Pummerin ringing at midnight and the Graben being turned into an outdoors ballroom at midnight.

Fireworks used to be a standard occurrence at midnight, but these were not allowed during the 2022 celebration. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop people from setting them off outside the city center. Don’t be alarmed when walking back after midnight if Vienna looks and sounds like a small war zone.

Money-saving tip: If you know you’ll be drinking, purchase your own alcohol beforehand to carry with you. Technically, this isn’t allowed, but we saw plenty of people doing it. There were even some shops along the trail open selling liquor, wine, champagne and beer.

New Year’s Day in Vienna

After a long and somewhat painful morning in bed, we ventured back out for a relaxed day of exploring Vienna’s city center. Despite New Year’s Day being a public holiday, many restaurants and cafes still seemed to be open and operating as usual.

I found New Year’s Day to be a great time to wander around Vienna’s boulevards and smaller side streets. The city center was much less crowded than it was leading up to New Year’s Eve making it easier to take in our surroundings. In some ways, it felt like a completely different, more robust city compared to the three days earlier.

There were numerous roads branching off the main streets that I hadn’t had the time to notice before. And on these roads were many cute cafes and restaurants tucked away in spots we hadn’t seen just days before.

If wandering around somewhat aimlessly isn’t your thing, there are some tourist attractions open. Do some research ahead of time to confirm opening hours, but during our trip in 2022/23, the Hofburg Imperial Apartments and the Weltmuseum Wien were both open New Year’s Day.

Vienna’s Philharmonic New Year’s Concert

We would have liked to attend Vienna’s New Year’s Concert had we been able to. However, since we didn’t start planning this trip till late summer, we missed the boat on tickets by a few months.

Dating back to 1939, the New Year’s Concert by the Vienna Philharmonic is Vienna’s most popular New Year’s Day event. It’s so popular that to even purchase tickets, you need to enter a drawing well ahead of time.

In addition to the New Year’s Concert and the New Year’s Eve Concert I mentioned earlier, there is a third show you can attend on December 30. This concert is considered the philharmonic’s practice show, but it still requires you to enter the drawing to purchase a ticket.

If you don’t get tickets, don’t worry! The New Year’s Concert is broadcast live at 11:15 a.m. on Austrian television for everyone to watch.

Planning for New Year’s in Vienna

Planning a trip to Vienna around New Year’s can be a little challenging, especially if it’s your first time visiting the Austrian capital. Vienna has many world-class museums, historic churches, live music experiences and other tourist attractions that an itinerary can quickly fill up even without the additional stress of planning around holiday events.

Besides that, Vienna will be more crowded than usual as people fill the capital to celebrate. Further, some of those famous sights you want to visit may have abbreviated hours or be closed altogether for the holiday.

If all that weren’t enough, you have to consider you may not be up for walking around museums on New Year’s Day after a long night of partying.

Nevertheless, it is doable with enough time. Give yourself at least four days in Vienna to see some of the city’s top sights and don’t plan anything too big the morning after New Year’s Eve if you know you’ll be out late. You should also book tickets well in advance to guarantee you don’t miss anything.

One drawback of visiting Vienna over New Year’s is many of the notable roads and plazas will have stages being set up prior to the big day. While necessary for the Silvesterpfad’s concert lineup, it does detract some from the glamour of the city. It’s not a dealbreaker considering the end result, but it is something to be aware of if you’re a photographer.

Frequently Asked Questions About New Year’s in Vienna

What the Heck is a Silvesterpfad?!

Since 1990, Vienna’s official New Year’s Eve celebration has been known in German as the Silvesterpfad, which translates to New Year’s Eve Trail. In a nutshell, it’s a designated route through the city center with several stops featuring different musical genres. Along the way are stands selling various foods, drinks, souvenirs and party favors.

But what is a Silvesterpfad? Without getting too bogged down in Christian history, New Year’s Eve coincides with the celebration of the Feast of St Sylvester. Sylvester was the pope who, according to legend, converted Constantine to Christianity in the 4th century. His feast day is held in honor of the day he died, December 31, 335. These celebrations eventually became the festivities we commonly associate with New Year’s Eve today.

So that’s the Silvester part, but what about the pfad? That’s easy. Pfad translates to path or the trail that New Year’s Eve revelers make through Vienna.

With that, remember to give a little toast to St Sylvester for helping to create this unique New Years’ experience when you’re celebrating in Vienna!

What Food and Drinks are Available on the New Year’s Eve Trail?

Beverages stands consisted of beer, wine, sparkling wine, glühwein and shots of different liquors. You can also get water and soda if you need a break from the booze. Bars along the trail will be open, too, selling different drinks for a bit more money. The bars’ advantage is you can get indoors or under a heated canopy for a break from the weather.

Food options range from a wide variety of sausages, various hors d’oeuvres, pastries, crepes, pizza and most any other type of concession food you can think of.

What is the Weather Like in Vienna this Time of Year?

While average temperatures have generally been rising in December and January, you should still plan on it being cold for New Year’s festivities. The average temperature in Vienna throughout the month of January is 38° Fahrenheit. Add to that the fact that you will likely be out late into the night to ring in the new year and you can expect to be cold.

Does Vienna’s Public Transportation Run During Festivities?

Public transit runs as it normally does on New Year’s Eve. The subway actually runs more frequently after midnight to help partiers get back home.

You can find transit schedules here.

Resources to Book Your Trip to Vienna

Whether you’re looking for tours, hotels or flights, here are some tools to help get you started planning your trip to Vienna!

Look for activities and tours offered through GetYourGuide or Viator!

Still can’t find what you’re looking for? Check out my travel essentials pages for more of my recommendations.

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