Autumn in Vienna: Best Art, Music and Film Events of Fall 2024

Aeriel via of theRathaus on a sunny autumn day, with trees of orange, yellow and green in front

Vienna in the fall takes on a plethora of hues as the lush summer foliage of its abundant parks and gardens transitions towards a more sombre autumnal feel. The pace is slower and the Viennese prepare for the coming winter, moving many of their famed cultural activities indoors. Summer beer gardens give way to the city’s world-class museums, top notch exhibitions, and the buzzy return of Vienna’s unparalled opera and ball seasons. Insight Cities gives you a heads up right here how to search out and enjoy the very best autumn things to do during your 2024 fall visit to the imperial city.

Take a Tour with Insight Cities

Vienna is perhaps best known for the influential musical culture that produced the titans of western classical music over centuries. If you want to learn more about the musicians and composers (and their poweful imperial patrons) who helped cement Vienna’s status as classical music capital, book our Vienna: City of Music tour. Our local music historian will help you walk in the footsteops of musical greats such Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Strauss. Along the way, you’ll listen highlights of Vienna’s musical masterpieces on speakers!

Art Events

Viennacontemporary – September 12th to 15th, 2024

Vienna Contemporary doubles as an international contemporary art fair for serious buyers and an incredible opportunity for visitors to the Austrian capital to acquaint themselves with the city’s booming gallery scene. The fair takes place over four days in September each year, and over 100 local and international galleries present some of the finest, curated contemporary artworks from the world over. The fair takes place in the industrial, former cattle-shed, the Marx Halle, now home to some of Austria’s biggest events. Do what the locals do and buy your tickets online, to save time in the long lines that tend to form outside.

The famous Hundertwasser House in Vienna, with a colorful facade and trees with yellow and gold foliage framing it it

Vienna Design Week – September 20th to 29th, 2024

Sold as Austria’s largest curated design event, Vienna Design Week will be in its seventeenth year this fall. One of our alltime favorite fall things to do in Vienna, the program is spread over 10 days, the format is unique, with a number of site-specific events and shows held across the city, in addition to the exhibitions at the headquarters. With topics ranging from Urban Food and Design to Stadtarbeit (City Work) and the use of innovative mediums like Virtual Reality (VR), expect to be surprised and inspired by some of the best young designers around. This year’s focus district is Landstrasse, where you can find the fabulous Belvedere palace and the stylish shopping arcade The Mall, and the funky KunstHaus Wien.

Artwork at the Entrance to Vienna Design Week 2008 — *Vienna Design Week 2008. Photo by Wolfgang H. Wögerer, art by Raja Schwahn-Reichmann, via Wikimedia Commons*

Vienna Art Week — November 8th to 15th, 2024

Following up on Vienna Design Week and Vienna Contemporary, Vienna Art Week completes the artistic troika in the middle of November. Discussions, exhibitions, tours, performing arts and site-specific installations comprise the different events on during Art Week, all across the city. Unlike the other two, Art Week is much more of a hands-on, organic, bottom-up initiative, put on by a number of different volunteer associations and galleries, all member institutions of the Art Cluster Vienna. With over 200+ events on offer, you will be spoilt for choice. This year’s theme is “Facing time.”

Exhibitions

Chagall — opens September 28, 2024

This overview of painter Marc Chagall’s work, presented at the Albertina through 90 works, covers the entirety of the artist’s career, which, though the influence may vary from cubism to fauvism to surrealism, all display his penchant for color and whimsy. The gamut of his work also show how the various 20th-century artistic movements have influenced Chaball and others, revealing the changes in not just Chaball’s work but also in contemporary art as the field shifted away from realism.

Rembrandt & Hoogstraten: Color and Illusion — opens October 8, 2024

This fall, the Kunsthistorisches Museum debuts their first-ever exhibition on Dutch master Rembrandt and his pupil Samuel van Hoogstraten, with a collection gathered from several different international museums all in one place. The 60 paintings and drawings on display focus on Rembrandt’s innovative work with color, light and illusion, as well as the influence of his work on Samuel van Hoogstraten. His lesser-known pupil went on to create remarkable work of his own, impressing Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand III with his trompe l’oeil paintings.

a trompe l'oeil painting by Samuel van Hoogstraten featuring a comb, pen, small books, scissors, and ribbons against a black background — Trompe-l’oeil by Samuel van Hoogstraten, 1664

Theft — Closes October 27, 2024

This joint exhibition between Jewish Museum Vienna and Vienna City museum documents the systematic dispossession of Vienna’s Jewish citizens, telling the story through the various objects that were stolen from them in the name of Aryanization. Furniture, art, home decor, and other valuable objects that were taken from Jewish households are on display at the Jewish museum, with the Vienna City Museum’s exhibition focusing on the painstaking process of restitution, in an effort to restore these lost objects to their original homes.

Entrance to the Jewish Museum Vienna Judenplatz in Vienna, Austria.

Music and Film Events

Waves Vienna – September 5th to 7th, 2024

Taking place at the tail end of summer, Waves Vienna is both an international music festival and industry-standard conference, focused on the alternative rock and indie music genres. Also situated in Vienna’s ninth district, the festival prides itself on being a meeting place for eastern and western music within Europe, and brings in some of the continent’s brightest young talent. This year’s guest country is Colombia, with a program focused on the cities featured along the road from Vienna to Berlin. The 2024 edition has a heavy focus on the indie scene, with headliners including German experimental duo Modus Pitch, UK based Freak Slug, and Colombian singer-songwriter David Arcos.

Viennale – October 17th to 29th, 2024

Compared to Berlinale, Viennale is a much more somber and proper Austrian affair. The Vienna International Film Festival has been around since 1960 and is one of the leading film events in the German-speaking world. With a number of Austrian and international premieres each year, the festival’s curators are known for their discerning eye and sometimes quirky tastes. Over 300 films are screened each year, including some historical delights, that have been painstakingly recovered from the archives. A complete film listing will be available in early October.

Wien Modern — October 30th to November 30th, 2024

The instruments may be the same, but the music performed at Wien Modern is far from Mozart. This music festival showcases modern classical music compositions, bringing the genre into the current day. Spread out numerous over evenings in the month of November, the festival features some of the biggest names in contemporary classical music, put on troupes like the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra at some of the city’s best venues including the Wiener Konzerthaus and Klangforum Wien.

A cartoon depicting an audience fighting with musicians while the conductor looms overhead. — *Cartoon depicting the infamous Skandalkonzert of 1913, in which a Schoenberg piece was played. Author unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*

This year commemorates the pioneering Modernist composer Arnold Schoenberg, who was born in Vienna 150 years ago this year and whose 1913 concert caused a riot and cemented his place in Viennese music history. Of course, the piece, “Chamber Symphony No. 1 in E major, op. 9,” will be performed as part of the program. Tickets will be available online from early September.

Fairs & Festivals

ART & ANTIQUE Fair — November 7th to 11th, 2024

Held inside the magnificent Hofburg palace, Vienna’s annual ART & ANTIQUE Fair is one of the biggest fairs of its kind in the country. From ancient sculptures to Medieval paintings to Art Nouveau vases, the ART & ANTIQUE Fair can work as a lively museum visit if buying doesn’t interest you.

Front of the Hofburg Imperial Palace, Austria, Vienna

Food and Drink

Genusmeille – August 31st to September 1st, September 7–8, 2024

Touted as the longest bar in the world, Genusmeille takes place each year at the beginning of fall in the Vienna Woods Thermal Region. Local vintners, farmers and gourmet shops setup tables along the 1st Vienna waterline hiking path between Mödling and Bad Vöslau, giving you a chance to walk along and sample the goods. Try some of the delectable wine, cheese and smoked meats on offer and burn the calories as you hike through some of Austria’s prettiest forests. Possibly one of our favorite things to do in the fall, Genusmeille makes for some perfect family fun.

A green vineyard in Vienna Woods, Austria, with hills rising in the background

Genusswelten — October 19–20, 2024

Calling all foodies – this festival is for you! Held in the Museum of Applied Arts, Genusswelten presents international and local specialties meant to delight the senses. Spices and sauces from far and near, cheeses and cold cuts, and wine, beer, and distillates are all available to sample and savor. In addition to tasting possibilities, Genusswelten also puts on show cooking events so you can watch the culinary art first-hand.

Vienna is full of fall color and events this season, so you’ll find plenty to do on your visit. Want to get to know the city and its wealth of history better? Contact us today and we can arrange your Vienna tour.