After the quiet days of Christmas, the city of Vienna awakens to life with full force for the grand celebration of the New Year. The streets are decorated, the drink and food stalls are ready, and the fireworks operators are just waiting for the midnight chime of the bell of St. Stephen’s Cathedral to illuminate the city sky with a variety of colors and shapes.
Local’s Tip: It’s best to go to the Hofburg Palace square to watch the fireworks launched into the sky from the roof of the City Hall. Don’t be tempted to go into the heart of the old city. The crowds are very large, and it’s not pleasant.
It’s worth knowing that public transportation will operate continuously throughout the celebrations, so you can travel by subway and night lines without any problem. There is no need to get around by taxi from place to place. You can find comprehensive information about public transport in Vienna here.
If you haven’t found a place to stay for the New Year’s days yet (very spontaneous of you ;)), you can read here about the recommended places in Vienna that we have compiled from travelers’ recommendations.
How to Celebrate the New Year Like the Viennese?
In 5 simple steps, you can tell everyone that you celebrated the New Year just like the locals!
1. Start the day with a Russian breakfast
Interestingly, the Viennese start the last day of the year with a Russian-style breakfast. This breakfast includes eggs stuffed with smoked salmon, beet salad, and vodka! (If vodka in the morning doesn’t appeal to you, you can also settle for sparkling wine).
The café Café Ansari is known for its Russian breakfast on December 31st. Be prepared for the place to be extremely crowded.
- Café Address: Praterstraße 15, 1020 Wien, Austria
- Café Website
2. Celebrate along the New Year’s Eve Trail
In the city center, there is a route called the “New Year’s Eve Trail” (Silvesterpfad) that turns the entire old city into one big party complex. From 2:00 PM on December 31st until 2:00 AM on January 1st, a variety of activities take place, such as music and dance performances, and of course, plenty of mulled wine and food.
The main activity is concentrated in the area of the City Hall square, Prater park, and Graben street near St. Stephen’s Cathedral. On Graben street, for example, there are crash courses in waltz dancing in the afternoon, and the place turns into a grand ball in the heart of the city. Many luxury hotels hold festive banquets with music and the finest food, and the city’s clubs are packed with revelers.
This is how the fireworks at midnight looks like
More information about the “New Year’s Eve Trail”.
3. Taste the good luck fish cookies for the New Year
Another tradition among the Viennese is to eat fish-shaped cookies on the evening of December 31st. These are not just any cookies, but cookies from the famous confectionery company, Manner. To follow the Viennese tradition, you must first eat the fish cookie from the fin part, so that good luck cannot escape (genius, right?).
The main Manner store is located right next to St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
Address: Stephansplatz 7, 1010 Wien, Austria
4. Listen to the sounds of the New Year
The great bell of St. Stephen’s Cathedral rings only a few times a year on special occasions. One of these events is the beginning of the New Year. Exactly at midnight on December 31st, the bell rings 12 times, announcing the start of the new year. The bell can be heard all over Vienna (because its sound is broadcast on all radio and television stations). While the bell rings, you can listen to the melody of “The Blue Danube” on the radio and you can even try dancing a waltz.
5. Finish the celebrations at a sausage stand
Like the midnight kiss, a visit to a Viennese sausage stand (Würstelstand) at the end of the celebrations is the “cherry on top” for the Viennese. At the end of the shows and the hustle and bustle, many of the revelers go to the sausage stands throughout the city center to start the year with the beloved taste of the various sausages.
The Bitzinger sausage stand, located near the Albertina Museum, is one of the most famous and beloved by the Viennese. It is in an ideal location, not far from the cathedral, and offers a variety of sausages as well as wine or beer if you haven’t had enough to drink yet.
Sausage Stand Address: Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Wien
The Day After…
On the first day of the year, the annual concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will be broadcast on a large screen in the City Hall square. The first screening is at 11:00 AM and the second at 2:00 PM. It is worth remembering that January 1st is a public holiday, and the shops will be closed.
We wish you that the New Year’s celebrations in Vienna will leave a positive impression on you and that you will enjoy the elaborate festivities in this wonderful city.
If you are staying in Vienna for a few more days, you can enjoy the variety of attractions the city has to offer. You can find all the recommended attractions in Vienna, according to their location in the different city districts, in the article we have prepared.
