Vienna with Kids: What We Did, 2026 Prices & Where to Stay

Our April 2018 trip was a press trip organised and paid for by the Vienna Tourist Board. Opinions are our own, and all prices below were checked in October 2026.

Our trip to Vienna started in Munich. A Vueling strike cancelled our flight from Barcelona, so the whole group (23 of us, with kids) flew to Munich and finished the journey by train. We arrived tired, a day’s plans had gone, and our two boys, Damian (4) and Marc (still a toddler), were overexcited. Vienna won them over within a day anyway.

It wasn’t our first time in Vienna, technically. Years earlier, when Damian was under two, we spent a four-hour layover at Vienna airport on the way to Moldova, back when there were no direct flights from Barcelona. This time we had a few days, and the city turned out to be one of the easiest places in Europe to travel with small children. Here’s what we did, what we missed, and what it costs in 2026.

The short version

• Best day for small kids: Schönbrunn. Zoo, Children’s Museum, gardens and a family restaurant with a play area, all in one place.
• Public transport: free for children until the end of the school year in which they turn 6. Under-15s ride free on Sundays, public holidays and Vienna school holidays.
• Stroller-friendly? Yes. The U-Bahn is almost fully step-free, and the Schönbrunn park train has a lift.
• Book ahead: the Children’s Museum (fixed entry times) and Fiaker carriage rides. We missed the Fiaker because we hadn’t booked.
• How long: we had 2–3 nights. Three full days is right for a first visit with kids.

Is Vienna good for a trip with kids?

Yes. Vienna is one of the easiest European capitals to visit with small children. Transport is step-free and free for young kids, the big sights have children’s versions, and there’s always a park within a few minutes’ walk. What surprised me most was how seriously the city takes children. At Schönbrunn there’s a whole museum where they’re the main visitors, not an afterthought.

What I’d warn you about: Vienna likes reservations. Restaurants, the Children’s Museum and carriage rides all fill up, and turning up on the day doesn’t always work.

Schönbrunn with kids: the best part of our trip

If you only have one day in Vienna with children, spend it at Schönbrunn. The palace, the zoo, the Children’s Museum and the gardens are all inside one huge park, and you can easily fill a whole day there. We didn’t fit it all into one visit, which is the main thing I’d change.

Schönbrunn Palace

We started with the palace itself. With a 4-year-old and a toddler, the grand rooms were more for us than for them, so if your kids are small, choose the shorter ticket.

Ticket (2026)	Adult	Child 6–18	What you see
State Apartments	€30	€20	Selected rooms, about 40 minutes
Palace Ticket	€42	€30	The whole state floor, about 75 minutes
Classic Pass	€49	€36	Palace plus Maze, Privy Garden, Orangery Garden and Gloriette

Book on the official Schönbrunn website. With small children, the State Apartments ticket is plenty.

Lunch at Landtmann’s Jausen Station

Lunch was at Landtmann’s Jausen Station, an outdoor café-restaurant inside the palace gardens, in the area where the imperial children once played. It was the most family-friendly restaurant of the whole trip. There’s a big play area where the boys ran while we finished eating, eco toilets and an outdoor baby-changing station, and a small maze garden behind it. It was relaxed, the food was good, and the staff were lovely with the kids.

Schönbrunn Zoo: the oldest zoo in the world

Tiergarten Schönbrunn opened in 1752, which makes it the oldest zoo in the world still running. Many of its original baroque buildings are still standing. For our boys, though, it was all about the giant pandas. Barcelona Zoo doesn’t have them, and they stood and stared for so long we had to drag them away. Then it was the giraffes, then the elephants.

The pandas we saw in 2018 have since gone back to China. A new pair, Lan Yun and He Feng, arrived in April 2025 and went on show in May 2025, so pandas are back.

• Tickets (2026): adults €29, children and teens €17, under 6 free.
• Hours: open every day from 9am. Closing time changes with the season: 6:30pm from April to September, 4:30pm in winter. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
• Getting there: U4 to Hietzing, which is the closest stop to the zoo entrance.

The Panorama Train and the Gloriette

The palace park covers 160 hectares, which is far too much for toddler legs. The Schönbrunn Panorama Train loops around it in about 45 minutes, with 9 stops, and you can hop on and off all day. It’s stroller- and wheelchair-friendly, with a lift on the rear carriage.

The stop I’d never skip is the Gloriette. We were only there five minutes, but the view back over the palace and the whole city is the photo you’ll keep. Prices and the train’s season change, so check the zoo’s or Vienna Sightseeing’s site before you go.

The Children’s Museum at Schönbrunn Palace

Our train ride ended at the Kindermuseum Schönbrunn, and this is where Vienna won me over. Children dress up as little princes and princesses, sit on a throne, decorate powdered wigs and set the table for an imperial banquet. Every room is about how the imperial children actually lived, and it never feels like a lesson.

The hardest part was getting our boys to leave.

• Tickets (2026): €12 for adults and for children aged 3–18. Under 3s go free.
• Book online: entry is at fixed times, so don’t just turn up.
• Combined ticket: Children’s Museum + Maze is €16 per person (adults and ages 6–18), valid during the summer season. There’s also a combined ticket that adds the zoo.
• Hours: daily, 10am–5pm.

The Riesenrad: Vienna’s giant Ferris wheel

After lunch at Schönbrunn we went across the city to the Prater for the Wiener Riesenrad, the 65-metre Ferris wheel that has been turning since 1897. It’s slow (about 15 minutes for one rotation) and calm, which made it perfect for tired kids at the end of a long day, with views over the whole city.

It sits at the entrance to the Wurstelprater amusement park, and the queue can be long, so buy tickets online in advance. Entry is included in the Vienna Pass (see below).

Dinner at a Heuriger: Mayer am Pfarrplatz

That evening, after a full day, we had dinner at Mayer am Pfarrplatz, a traditional Viennese wine tavern (Heuriger) in Heiligenstadt, at the edge of the vineyards. It has been a winery since 1683, and Beethoven lived in the building in 1817 while he worked on his Ninth Symphony.

Wine tavern doesn’t sound like a place for kids. It works anyway: you eat at long tables in a garden under the vines, the food is simple and hearty, and there’s a free playground (Mayer’s play garden) open whenever the Heuriger is. It’s open daily from noon, at Pfarrplatz 2, in the 19th district. If you only do one “grown-up” evening in Vienna, make it this one.

A slow day: tram 49 and Stephansdom

The next day we had no fixed plans, which with small kids is a plan in itself. We took tram 49 to the end of the line just to see the city from the window, then wandered back into the centre.

We ended up at St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom), the Gothic heart of the old town, with its patterned tiled roof and 136-metre South Tower. Even the boys looked up. The square around it is busy but pedestrian, so it’s an easy place to let children walk.

Two things we missed, and why you should book them

Losing a day to the strike meant a couple of things on our list didn’t happen.

• A Fiaker ride. These are the horse-drawn carriages that wait around Stephansplatz and the Hofburg. Tours run from about 20 minutes through the old town to longer routes around the Ringstrasse, priced per carriage rather than per person. We wanted one, but they needed a booking and we hadn’t made one. If your kids love horses, book ahead.
• ZOOM Kindermuseum. This hands-on children’s museum in the MuseumsQuartier has exhibitions, art studios and play areas for different age groups. We didn’t make it, but it’s the first place I’d go on a rainy day. Programmes are bookable by time slot on its website.

Getting around Vienna with kids: transport and the City Card

Children travel free on Vienna’s public transport until the end of the school year in which they turn 6. Children under 15 also ride free on Sundays, public holidays and during Vienna’s school holidays. So on many family trips, the kids won’t need a ticket at all.

The Vienna City Card combines unlimited public transport with discounts at museums, shops and restaurants. One child under 15 travels free with each card.

Vienna City Card (2026)	Price
24 hours	€19
48 hours	€31
72 hours	€37
7 days	€39

If you’re planning lots of paid sights instead, the Vienna Pass includes free entry to many of them, the Riesenrad included. Our readers get a discount with the code travelfamilyblog through Megapass. Work out the maths first, though: with free entry for under-6s at most places, a pass doesn’t always pay off for a family with small children.

With a stroller: the U-Bahn is almost completely step-free, with lifts at the stations, and trams and buses have ramps.

Where to stay in Vienna with kids

We stayed at Boutiquehotel Stadthalle, which is now called Cocoon Wien Westbahnhof. Back then it was marketed as the first city hotel with a zero-energy balance, and it was a lovely green place to come back to: a garden courtyard, lavender on the roof, and an organic breakfast buffet we ate outside when the weather allowed. The boys looked forward to breakfast every morning. The rooms were spotless and the staff were friendly.

The location works well for families: about an 8-minute walk from Westbahnhof station and close to the Mariahilfer Straße shopping street, with good tram and U-Bahn connections. Today the hotel has family rooms of 32–37 m² for up to 4 people, with separate sleeping areas for parents and children. Breakfast is now an add-on rather than included, so check when you book.

Check prices for Cocoon Wien Westbahnhof →

Vienna’s sweets: what to try with kids

Vienna is a pastry city, and children are allowed to take that seriously:

• Sachertorte: chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam, invented in 1832. Hotel Sacher and Demel both claim the original, and they once went to court over it.
• Apfelstrudel: warm apple strudel with vanilla sauce, available in almost every café.
• Manner wafers: hazelnut wafers in the pink packet, made in Vienna since 1898. They’re an easy souvenir for kids.
• Zanoni & Zanoni: an Italian gelato shop a few steps from Stephansdom.

When is the best time to visit Vienna with kids?

We went in April, and I’d recommend spring: the gardens are green, the outdoor cafés are open and the Schönbrunn park train is running. Autumn (September–October) is just as good. December brings the Christmas markets and ice rinks, but shorter days and earlier closing times at the zoo.

Would we go back?

Yes, and next time with older boys. The city that worked for a 4-year-old and a toddler would work just as well for kids of 10 and 13: the zoo, the Prater and the Children’s Museum (up to 18) still fit. What I’d do differently: book the Fiaker and the Children’s Museum before we leave home, and give Schönbrunn a whole day instead of rushing it.

Planning Vienna with kids? Start here:

• Schönbrunn with kids: zoo, Children’s Museum and which ticket to buy
• Vienna in 3 days with kids
• Where to stay in Vienna with kids
• Boutiquehotel Stadthalle review
• Vienna Pass vs Vienna City Card for families
• Best cakes in Vienna with kids

More family city breaks in Europe: 4-day family winter itinerary in Switzerland · 1 day in Geneva · Turin with kids: 15 things to do · Montpellier with kids

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Vienna a good city to visit with kids?

Yes, Vienna is one of the easiest European capitals for families. Public transport is step-free and free for young children, and Schönbrunn alone has a zoo, a children’s museum, gardens and a family restaurant with a play area.

Do kids travel free on public transport in Vienna?

Yes. Children travel free on Wiener Linien until the end of the school year in which they turn 6. Children under 15 also travel free on Sundays, public holidays and during Vienna school holidays.

How much is Schönbrunn Zoo for children?

In 2026 a day ticket costs €29 for adults and €17 for children and teens, and children under 6 go free. The zoo opens daily at 9am, and closing time varies by season.

Are there pandas at Schönbrunn Zoo?

Yes. A new pair of giant pandas, Lan Yun and He Feng, arrived from China in April 2025 and went on display in May 2025.

Is Vienna stroller-friendly?

Yes. The U-Bahn is almost completely step-free with lifts at the stations, trams and buses have ramps, and the Schönbrunn Panorama Train has a lift for strollers and wheelchairs.

Is the Vienna City Card worth it for families?

It’s worth it if you’ll use public transport a lot, because one child under 15 travels free with each card. Prices in 2026 are €19 for 24 hours, €31 for 48 hours and €37 for 72 hours. Young children already travel free, so check whether you need it.