Cultural Activities
Vienna is internationally known for its cultural and historical diversity.
To find out what is going on in Vienna’s theatres, concert halls and cinemas, you can check the weekly programme of the magazine “Falter”
falter.at (German)
Classical Music / Opera
Vienna is the city of classical music, the worldfamous “Musikverein”, the Opera House and several theatres. More than 10 big stages, music halls and theatres perform different shows every single night.
The Wiener Musikverein...
... (Viennese Music Association), is a concert hall in the Innere Stadt borough of Vienna, Austria. It is home to the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.The “Great Hall” (Großer Saal) due to its highly regarded acoustics is considered
one of the finest concert halls in the world. You can enjoy mainly classical music concerts in the Musikverein.
musikverein.at
The Konzerthaus...
... emphasises both tradition and innovative musical styles. The idea is to be more interesting to the broader public than the traditional Musikverein. The Konzerthaus has the Vienna Symphony in residence. Besides many classical
music events you will find jazz and world music concerts in the Konzerthaus.
konzerthaus.at
The Vienna State Opera ...
... (Wiener Staatsoper) is one of the top opera houses in the world – where you can enjoy the very best in first-class productions. This famous stage offers a different programme every day, with over 50 operas and ballet works on over around 300 days per season. Cheap standing tickets can be bought for €3/€4 80 minutes before the start of the show, though queues will start to form around 2 hours in advance.
wiener-staatsoper.at/en
Theatre
A list of Vienna’s theatres can be found at: wien.info/en/music-stage-shows/theater
The current theatre programme is published in daily newspapers or in the monthly programme of the Tourmismusverband (tourism board).
Vienna’s English Theatre and Open House Theatre produce performances in English.
englishtheatre.at
openhousetheatre.at
CHEAPER TICKETS FOR STUDENTS:
Remaining theatre tickets for students (“Restkarten”) can be purchased for around €5, 15 to 30 minutes before the
start, on showing the student I.D. Furthermore, there is a good chance of getting standing room tickets for €3.50 an hour before the beginning of the performance.
Cinema
For cinema fanatics, Vienna offers many beautiful movie theatres with a decent programme beyond the Hollywood mainstream. There are quite a few cinemas which show films in the original language with German subtitles. There are also a number of cinemas that feature films in their original language, mostly with German subtitles. In most cinemas at the beginning of the week, tickets are a bit cheaper. At the “Votivkino” in cooperation with the “De France” there is a so-called “Votivcard” – ten shows for €67. The carnet for ten shows at the “Stadtkino” is €75.
The complete programme for all cinemas in Vienna can be found at skip.at & film.at.
Festivals
There are plenty of festivals which take place in Vienna, most of them during summer. To name a few of them, here is a short overview:
The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) ...
... is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five or six weeks in May and June. The Vienna Festival offers theater-, opera-, and dance productions from all over the world.
festwochen.at
The Jazz Fest Wien ...
... (Vienna Jazz Fest) is a modern, urbane festival with an international reputation which places it as one of three most important Jazz festivals in the world, a factor which has only boosted Vienna´s position as an attractive travel destination.
viennajazz.org
The ImPulsTanz - Vienna International Dance Festival
... is one of the largest festivals of contemporary dance and performance worldwide. Each summer, thousands of dancers, choreographers and artists from all over the world come together in Vienna, work together for five weeks and celebrate contemporary dance.
impulstanz.com
“Donauinselfest” (Danube Island Festival)
At the end of June the Danube Island Festival takes place. Over a length of several kilometres big stars and not so
big stars perform a diverse selection of (musical) acts on different stages. You’ll have to squeeze in as half of Vienna will be there (free entry).
donauinselfest.at
“Popfest” at Karlsplatz
At the end of July, Karlsplatz turns into a pop music scene with many international and local musicians (free entry).
popfest.at
“Afrikatage” (African days)
At the end of July/ beginning of August, there will be a big open-air venue alongside the Danube with live music, stands with handcrafted goods and political information, delicious food and much more, all about African culture.
wien.afrika-tage.de
Museums
Vienna has a vast variety of museums. The offer is so big that you would need to stay for a whole course of studies to thoroughly visit all of them. The “Museumsquartier” is an outstanding location with the “Leopold-Museum”, the “MUMOK”, the “Kunsthalle Wien”, the “ZOOM Kindermuseum” and the “Architektur Zentrum
Wien”.
mqw.at
Cultural Institutes
Some countries (e.g. Italy, Hungary, Poland, Great Britain) maintain cultural institutes in Vienna, which offer special events (film evenings, exhibitions, concerts …).
The addresses of these institutes can be found on the pages of the Austrian Foreign Ministry:
bmeia.gv.at/en
ÖH Office for Arts and Culture
Peter Jordan Straße 76 | 1190 Wien
+43 147654/19132
kultur(at)oehboku.at
ÖH BOKU Office for Culture