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Travel from Vienna Airport on the S7 to the Vienna Central Station

Have only the afternoon and a little of the evening to explore Vienna. Will take the S7 in from the airport, then what is the best way to get to the St Stephens area, via U Bahn? Will the S7 ticket allow you to board the U Bahn? Then what about returning later that day, should you first just buy a RT at the Vienna Airport?

And, if you were to do a walk around near St Stephens, which direction would be best to explore? Towards the Hofburg or north towards the Danube? And, finally, if you could pick one or two cafes to indulge in that would be near St Stephens? Thanks!

Posted by
2599 posts

When I visited this April I took the S bahn to my hotel right across from St Stephensdom, you're just a stop away on the U3 line direction of Ottakring from the Wien Mitte station. The S ticket covers that ride, same for when you return, so you may as well buy your return at the same time for convenience. The Innere stadt of Vienna is quite compact so you may find yourself exploring more than you think, but if you want a direction I'd choose towards the Hofburg. The streets are fun to explore, each leads to another even more intriguing--I love Vienna! A restaurant I particularly enjoyed was Frauenhuber at Himmelpfortgasse 6, just a block or so away from St Stephensdom. It's got an old world charm and is filled with Austrians, not at all a tourist place. I recommend the tafelspitz.

Posted by
5362 posts

A few clarifications - the S7 does not go to the Vienna Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) nor does it go to St. Stephan's (Stephansplatz).

The best way to get from the airport to Stephanzplatz is by using a pre-paid taxi which will cost 32 Euro each way. The taxi ride will take about 20-30 minutes. As you only have a few hours, I think that this would be a good investment as taking the train and then subway will easily be an hour. I use red-cab.

That said, if you want to take the S7, then you should get off the S7 at Landstrasse/Wien Mitte. From Landstrasse/Wien Mitte you will take the U3 subway line to Stephansplatz. You can use the S7 ticket also for the subway. It should also be clarified that there is no such thing as a roundtrip ticket in this situation. You could, however, buy a second ticket at the airport but have it unvalidated. You would then validate the ticket when you return to the airport. Again, I would recommend taking a taxi back to the airport to reduce stress and increase your time in the city.

As for what to do during these few hours in the center, as noted above, the central area is very compact. You can easily walk towards the Hofburg and then down to the canal (not actually the Danube). I really like this self-guided walking tour created by a popular English language website here in Vienna - http://www.viennawurstelstand.com/article/the-ultimate-self-guided-tour-of-viennas-old-city-cobblestones-and-secret-alleyways/. Just do it backwards.

Posted by
1875 posts

The duration of a taxi ride depends on the traffic situation.

There are two ways from the airport to St. Stephen's cathedral:

S7 train to Wien Mitte and U3 subway to Stephansplatz.
RJ train to Wien Hauptbahnhof and U1 subway to Stephansplatz.

The S7 and RJ trains run alternating every 15 minutes, take the next one you can get. The fare is the same (€ 3.90) and includes the subway ride.