What to do in Vienna in July 2024 (2024)

Vienna in July sees the locals waving bye bye as you enter the city. The school holidays have started and the weather is warm and sunny (usually), so many Viennese disappear on holiday or out to weekend homes in the country.

• Book a concert experience* for July
• See also:
  • This week’s event tips
  • June & August
  • Find July accommodation

Top activities in July 2024

So what seasonal festivals and activities might you enjoy in July 2024, in addition to the usual palaces, museums, concerts, tours, and other attractions?

My quick tip

The top classical concert venues and opera houses tend to take a summer break from their usual schedule. Which allows special visitor-friendly concerts to offer an alternative.

The Vienna Mozart Orchestra, for example, uses the renowned and historical concert halls of the world-famous Musikverein for a performance of light classical music in period costume.

July art exhibitions

(Lower Belvedere always has something interesting on)

Top tip

Until July 14th…

Insider tip

Highlights

A few enjoyable exhibitions should keep you out of the sun for a few hours. The summer 2024 highlights include, for example:

• Catch the final days of the big retrospective for none other than Roy Lichtenstein at the Albertina (until July 14th) and solo exhibitions for Eva Beresin, Franz Grabmayr and Gregory Crewdson

• The Albertina Modern frowns at our biases in art appreciation and opens our eyes to underrepresented artists in the The Beauty of Diversity. July is also the last chance to see the joint exhibition for Bruno Gironcoli and Toni Schmale (until July 28th)

• Enjoy a selection of highlights from the prestigious Heidi Horten Collection in the excellent We❤ exhibition (lots of big names in modern art appear)

• View the works of Broncia Koller-Pinell and other representatives of the Wiener Moderne at Lower Belvedere, but also gain insights into her role as a sponsor of the arts. And explore a retrospective for Hannah Höch

• Meanwhile, Upper Belvedere offers an in-depth look at the paintings of Baroque artist Franz Anton Maulbertsch

• Back to the Wiener Moderne at the Wien Museum with an exhibition on the secessionist art movements that emerged in the cities of Vienna, Munich and Berlin. Klimt features!

• The Leopold Museum has some top art for us. One exhibition with highlights from six collections built by the Vienna Insurance Group. And another showcasing New Objectivity in post-WWI Germany

• Discover the iconic designs of the Auböck workshop at the MAK museum

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• The Kunst Haus Wien returns post-renovation with the contemporary art group exhibition around woodland ecosystems: Into the Woods

• The Jewish Museum explores the the practice and concept of caring among the Jewish community through Vienna’s history, tackles Nazi theft and subsequent restitution (in cooperation with the Wien Museum), and also introduces a touch of Viennese nostalgia through the etchings of Emil Singer

• Dive into the life and works of some famous Austrians:
  • Composer Anton Bruckner in the state hall of the Austrian National Library
  • Photographer Elfriede Mejchar in the Wien Museum MUSA
  • Writer Friederike Mayröcker at the Literature Museum

• Bruckner is not the only composer with an exhibition. The Mozarthaus uses Mozart’s dining habits and experiences to reveal more about his life, work and the times he lived in

• Beat the heat in the cool interior of the Naturhistorisches Museum, who (ironically, given my opening) explore the changes affecting the Arctic in a major exhibition

• Staying with the natural world, cast an eye over camels and other domesticated camelids at the Weltmuseum and learn about their important role in human development and culture

• The Weltmuseum also brings us indigenous art from the Amazon region and uses items from their collections to illustrate a museal glossary of materials

• The Technisches Museum gives us insight into the issues around an energy transition, but also takes varying perspectives on the topic of cash

The Klima Biennale Wien also reaches its end, running until July 14th with a range of activities that include many art exhibitions in the context of the climate emergency.

Watch this space or check the main exhibition listings for more suggestions.

Films on the Rathausplatz

(The space in front of city hall turns into an open-air movie theatre)

The Rathaus Film Festival starts in late June in 2024, so continues daily through July and across summer until a planned end date on September 1st.

Each evening, sit back and enjoy a free open-air viewing of opera, ballet, classical music or a more popular musical genre on the giant screen. And all on the Rathausplatz square in front of the giant Neogothic city hall.

But there’s much more to this event than a bit of balmy audiovisual entertainment. Numerous gastro booths line the square, selling food, drinks, and snacks from all over the world.

So you might watch Lady Gaga duet with Tony Bennet, then go for paella afterwards. As one does.

Other film festivals

Various other open-air cinematic festivals and events commonly run in July as well, should the Rathaus version get too busy for you. For example:

• The Frameout open-air cinema in the MuseumsQuartier (2024 dates TBA)
• The Kaleidoskop festival on Karlsplatz square (returns in 2025)
• The Kino am Dach cinema on the roof of Vienna’s main library (all month)

Get your music groove on

The July music does not stop at the Rathausplatz. For example:

• The Vienna Jazz Festival, Jazzfest Wien, is no local gathering of performers but a significant event on the international jazz calendar (next dates TBA after a couple of years of hiatus)

• Jazz gives way to pop, rock, hip hop and more at Popfest Wien (July 25th to 28th) on and around Karlsplatz. This music festival has dozens of live performances on various stages and showcases regional and national talents…from established musicians to relative newcomers

• And pop gives way to classic at the Summa Cum Laude international youth music festival (July 5th to 10th)

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Go for food or drink

(Home to the Ottakringer Bierfest)

All that music might make you thirsty. As it happens, Vienna rolls out extra drinking water stations in summer, as well as misting stations for cooling off.

But if you fancy something with a little more pep…

• The Ottakringer brewery’s Beer Festival is a mainstay of July. “Beer culture” here mainly involves drinking the stuff, whether Ottakringer’s own fine wares or those of any guest breweries that may appear. But they put on music, too. And street food. And offer other bonuses (like beer yoga and brewery tours).

• The MuseumsQuartier also becomes a summer hotspot in July, thanks to the unique courtyard furniture (in bright orange this year), open-air bars, and other entertainments.

Take in international sport

(The Heumarkt location for beach volleyball; press photo © ACTS/Gecko4K)

Witness the competitions at EuroGames 2024 (July 17th to 20th): the continent’s largest LGBTIQ+ sport event, featuring an expected 3000 participants in over 20 different sports.

…and beach volleyball returns to Vienna with A1 Beach Pro Vienna 2024 (July 9th to 14th): an Elite16 tournament on the official Beach Pro Tour.

Enjoy the water

(The Old Danube lake)

If it gets hot in July (and it usually does), then Vienna has plenty of water to offer relief. Cough…the Danube…cough.

• The city runs numerous public swimming facilities, including well over a dozen which are outdoor pools or recreational water areas

• The Danube and associated waterways have riverside walks, cafés and restaurants dotted along their banks. Even beaches, watersports and swimming areas in some places.

• Various boat services offer short trips or day excursions up and down bits of the Danube

Look particularly for the Old Danube (Alte Donau) recreational lake, the Danube Island (Donauinsel) and the Donaukanal arm of the Danube.

The Old Danube holds a Lichterfest at the end of July, where lighted boats spread across the water beneath a professional firework display. The 2024 date is the 20th (if the weather proves unhelpful, the date shifts back a week).

The Donaukanal commonly hosts the annual Summerstage event across all of summer: open-air bars, concerts and readings, outdoor art exhibitions, and more.

And for something watery but a little different…escape any summer crowds and holiday stress in the centre of Vienna by floating in saltwater in a private tub for an hour.

Enjoy the streets

(Entrance to a Heuriger)

As I mentioned for June, the summer sees all the outdoor seating pop up around Vienna’s bars, cafés and coffee houses.

Don’t assume it’s only the obvious street cafés with their pavement seating. Many places have little gardens tucked around the back or in courtyards.

July is also high season for Vienna’s many wine taverns (Heuriger). The D and 38 trams take you out to the main Heuriger territories in the low hills of Nussdorf and Grinzing, where spritzers made with homegrown wine are the order of the day.

Enjoy a sword fight

Finally, for something a little different…the Montur und Pulverdampf festival (July 6th and 7th) is a weekend of medieval and military reenactments. Sword fights, cannon fire, historical music, fire shows, craft markets, and more. Traditionally, you get in for free if you wear a bit of medieval costume.

Seasonal tip

Enjoy the cool

(Take a tour of the Schlumberger wine cellars; press photo courtesy of Schlumberger and © Bildagentur Zolles/Robert Zolles)

If it all gets a little too hot, there’s always the option of escaping into wine cellars or enjoying the leafy shade in Vienna’s wooded areas. For example:

• Visit the Schlumberger wine cellars for a tour and tasting. The historical cellars maintain a 13-15°C temperature, so keep you cool while you discover the traditions of sparkling wine production

• The Vienna Woods (Wienerwald) rolls across the northwest of the city, crisscrossed by hiking paths and forest roads. Consider routes 1 to 4A on the city’s walking route suggestions

• Once you emerge from its famous entertainments, the Prater park actually offers an 11km hiking route through meadows, pastures and open woodland

• The Lainzer Tiergarten (Lainz Game Reserve) has deer, wild boar and more, but also the Hermesvilla, a 19th-century summerhouse for Empress Elisabeth

• Schönbrunn Palace has a surrounding park and gardens which includes a decent amount of woodland and tree-lined avenues for those seeking shade