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Free Vienna Walking Tours

With Local Guides

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Vienna's immense beauty of architecture, lavish palaces, and modern and vibrant culture make it an interesting city to explore and keep coming back to.

It is a very walkable city and the best way to get to know Vienna is to explore it on foot.

And, this post lists and compares the different free walking tours available in Vienna, including Old Town, World War 2, street art, and alternative tours.

All tours are led by local guides who will share their inside knowledge and the history of Vienna and Austria.

And, in the video below, Francis takes you on a virtual tour around Vienna's Ring.

So, without further ado, here is our schedule of tours.


OVERVIEW + SCHEDULE

What has become known as free guided tours are tours that operate on a pay-what-you-wish or tips-based model.

There is no cost to take a tour and you are not obligated to pay your tour guide anything, though most people do.

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More Tour Options? More tours are available here or you can read the individual tour sections below.

The free tours of Austria's capital tend to be welcome or orientation tours and focus on the historic city center and cover architecture and history and just about every company offers paid walking tours as well.

Tours operate in English as well as German, Spanish, and sometimes French.

Depending on which free walking tour of Vienna you take, you can expect to see some of the following sites:

  • Danube River
  • Vienna State Opera House
  • Albertinaplatz
  • Hofburg Palace
  • Karlsplatz
  • Monuments
  • And more!

Most tours will also include information about the Habsburg Dynasty, as this family was instrumental to the history of Vienna.

Because these tours fit into every budget, they are very popular. Some companies allow up to 40 people per tour guide.

With that in mind, if you want to avoid large groups or would like to go off the beaten path, then we recommend exploring small group tours.

Some popular walking tours that are not free include:


FREE TOURS INCLUDED IN BUS TICKETS AND TOURIST PASSES

If you are considering using a hop-on-hop-off bus to visit Vienna attractions, then keep in mind that Big Bus Tours offers walking tours when you purchase a hop-on-hop-off ticket.

Likewise, if you are considering purchasing the Vienna Pass, a tourist attraction discount pass, then note that it already includes a free walking tour (not pay-what-you-wish).

The Vienna Pass can save you over 50% of the retail price of participating tours and attractions and lets you skip most ticket lines.


Old Town Tours

Several companies are offering pay-what-you-like city tours in Vienna.

All are well-reviewed and offer several daily departures as well as tours in multiple languages.

In Vienna, local companies are the main free tour providers, with companies such as Sandemans absent from the market.

As we mentioned in the previous section, if you are considering a tourist discount pass or a hop-on-hop-off bus ticket, you probably already have a free walking tour included.


GOOD VIENNA TOURS

Good Vienna Tours provides English, German, and Spanish tours around the historic center of Vienna every day at 10:00 a.m. and 14:00 (2:00 pm).

A maximum of 40 people is taken per tour to have a focused and informative walk that lasts 2.5 hours.

The meeting point of the tours is Albertinapl. 1.

Reservations are required. Book this tour in the calendar above.

They also offer excellent paid tours, such as Hitler’s Vienna and Schönbrunn Palace are also available.


Prime Tours

This company offers a variety of tours in Vienna which cover multiple different subjects.

One of their most popular offerings is an old town tour which provides details about the historic centre of the city.

Their old town tour is available daily in English at 9:30 am, 11:00 am, 3:00 pm, and at 19:00 pm, making this one of the only free night tours on our list.

Meeting point of the tour is Helmut zilk platz.

Your guide will be waiting for you holding the yellow Prime Tours umbrella!

They also offer this tour in Spanish and German multiple times per day. This tour clocks in at 2 hours in length.

Book this tour or learn more.


TIP: You could also do it on your own with 3 excellent and free self-guided audio tours co-written and narrated by Rick Steves.

  • Vienna City Walk
  • St. Stephen Cathedral
  • Ringstrasse Tram Tour

World War 2 Tours

Vienna played an important role in World War 2, so it makes perfect sense that there are at least one or two pay-what-you-wish walking tours focused on this historical aspect of the city.

These tours tend to cover what the city looked like when it was occupied, including information about certain architectural details from the era that remain to this day.

Some of these outings are free, but others will require you to purchase a ticket.


Prime Tours

In addition to their old town tours, they also offer a tour covering the history of Adolf Hitler in Vienna in English from Thursday to Sunday at 15:00 (3 pm).

This same tour is also available in Spanish on Wednesday at 14:00 (2 pm).

The tour duration is 2 hours and the meeting point of the tour is Helmut zilk platz.

Your guide will be waiting for you at the square holding the yellow Prime Tours umbrella.

Check our calendar to find all the free walking tours currently offered by Prime Tours.


Good Vienna Tours

Much like its competitors, this company also offers a tour covering the history of WW2 in Vienna.

This is a paid tour, and tickets start at €25 for adults or €19 for children.

You can enjoy this outing every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday at 14:30 (2:30 pm).

The meeting point of the tour is Albertinaplatz S.

The tour is approximately 2 and a half hours in length. Check our calendar for more details!


Alternative and Street Art Tours

If you're looking for a tour of Vienna that covers some of the more niche subjects of the city, there are a few companies offering outings that you might want to consider.

In addition to tours that provide details about the unique street art culture of Vienna, there are also pub crawls where you can learn all about the best places to grab a drink!

Most of these alternative tours require you to purchase a ticket, but there is at least one pay-what-you-wish option available.


Prime Tours | Street Art Tours

This tour is offered on weekends only and the company does have a pay-what-you-want street art tour of Vienna!

The tour is 2 hours in length and it is only provided in English at 15:00 (3 pm).

The meeting point of the tour is Spittelau U4/U6.

Being that it is so infrequent, we recommend booking well in advance to make sure you secure a spot on this tour.

Book this tour or learn more.

If you can't take their pay-what-you-wish tour, they also offer a paid option every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 14:00 (2 pm).

Tickets start at just €34.99 for adults and €15.99 for children.

The tour lasts 2 hours..

Purchase tickets or learn more.


Prime Tours | Pub Crawl

Looking for the best bars and pubs in Vienna? This company offers a pub crawl that covers some of the most notable venues in the city.

You can expect free entrance to 4 different pubs and free drinks at each location!

This pub crawl is offered every Wednesday - Saturday at 21:00 (9 pm) and it lasts for approximately 5 hours. Tickets are only €19 per person.

The crawl starts from Marc-Aurel-Straße 7.

Book this outing.


Self-Guided Exploration Game

This is an interesting alternative to all the other services on our list.

Rather than have a guide show you around town, this scavenger hunt game gives you clues to solve and sends you out to explore the city on your own!

Although this exploration game is not free, at only €32-€40 for up to 4 players, it costs about as much as you might tip a tour guide for any of the pay-what-you-wish tours listed above.

The tour lasts around 2 hours.

The following games are available in Vienna:

And much, much more

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