Spring 2025 Events in Vienna: Easter markets, Food festivals, Concerts, and Commemorations
Best things to Do in Vienna Spring 2025
At the first hint of warm spring weather, Vienna bursts into life again, much like the adagio of Beethoven’s spring sonata (No. 5). The city’s denizens reappear on its cobbled streets with gusto, as if making up for lost time. Not quite warm enough to drink beer without a jacket, spring in Vienna sets the tempo for the rest of the year with dozens of cultural, artistic, gastronomic happenings. Our list of top spring things to do promises to make your visit to Vienna even more special.
Take a tour with Insight Cities
First time visiting Vienna in the spring? Take an introduction tour with us at Insight Cities Vienna. Our expert guides will show you the Imperial capital’s most remarkable sights and help you grasp the rich history that lies behind them, keeping the tour engaging and entertaining all along the way. Contact us and book your tour today!
Easter in Vienna
Throughout Central Europe, Easter is a much lower key holiday compared to Christmas, but decorations of colorful eggs, bright flowers, and rabbits appear, reflecting the hope and renewal that the season brings. Easter markets pop up like daisies, offering wares such as hand-painted decorative eggs, flowers, Easter wreaths, and authentic crafts and decorations.
Schönbrunn Easter Market – April 4–22, 2025
Not quite as ostentatious as the city’s famous Christmas markets, Vienna Easter markets also appear in many different venues. Our top pick once again is the Schönbrunn Palace’s gargantuan Easter market, with loads of entertainment and craft stalls on offer for the entire family. You kids will enjoy the Easter Bunny workshops, while you get in the spring groove to live jazz – as well as great regional spirits and wine and local culinary delights.
Am Hof Easter Market – April 2025 (exact dates TBA)
If you prefer your Easter markets to be less bustling, the small market at Am Hof has all the charm of other Easter markets without the madding crowds. Located on a small square in Innerestadt, the Am Hof Easter market is s bit of a hidden germ in the heart of the city. Stop by to browse the Easter goods and sip some mulled wine while you do.
Easter season in Vienna often means partaking in special treats, such as Osterpinzen (traditional soft easter loaves of bread) or Striezel (braided yeast pastry), or marizpan in the shapes of rabbits and eggs. You might see Easter treats such as pancakes (Kaiserschmarrn). Easter ham and gröstl (Austrian hash) grace many a traditional menu. Note that Easter Monday (April 21, 2025) is a public holiday, so many shops and restaurants may be closed.
Art
Art Austria Art Fair – May 8-11, 2025
Each May, the Museumsquartier in Vienna is abuzz with art lovers perusing work by established contemporary artists as well as up-and-comers. Many artists whose work appeared here have exhibited at the Albertina, including Ai Weiwei, Roy Lichtenstein, and Alex Katz. Whether you’re interested in adding to your private collection or just want to browse, Art Austria is the place to check out the latest and greatest in contemporary art.
Exhibitions
Gustav Klimt: Pigment & Pixel at Belvedere – February 20 to September 7, 2025
This exhibition, using recent technical analysis, sheds new light on famed painter Gustav Klimt’s methods and practice, exhibiting microscopic glimpses of gold leaf in his legendary gold paintings. In addition to a closer look at some of Klimt’s best-known works, the exhibition includes an AI-assisted reconstruction of Klimt’s Faculty Paintings, which were destroyed in World War II.
Diverse Stories at Wien Museum – closes April 20, 2025
For most of Vienna’s history, the city has been a place where different cultures meet, and a diverse cast of language and traditions have always commingled. Various objects represent 48 stories, including those that are lesser known: the Chinese restaurants that popped up in the interwar period, a congregation of monks that contributed to Armenian linguistic research, and the African students who protested at university campuses in the 1960s. Of course, the exhibition also covers those who have opposed the heterogeneous makeup of Vienna, yet the diversity of experience and cultures continues to thrive in the former imperial capital. Explore this exhibition for an intimate look at the communities that have called Vienna home through the ages.
Fear at the Jewish Museum – closes April 27, 2025
Fear is a pervasive emotion throughout human history, and the global Jewish community knows this all too well. this exhibition at Jewish Museum Vienna: Judenplatz explores the experience and depiction of fear throughout history, focusing on the fears that have plagued Jews in Europe: loss, ostracism, annihilation, and death.
Curious to learn more about the experiences of Vienna’s Jewish community and their history? Our Jewish Vienna Tour takes you through Vienna’s most significant Jewish sites, from the still-standing City Temple to the former sites of destroyed synagogues. You’ll also learn about Vienna’s most illustrious Jews, who made significant contributions to politics, the arts, and sciences – figures like Sigmund Freud, Theodor Herzl, Karl Krauss, and Gustav Mahler. We’ll also explore the fragile revitalization of the Jewish community after the devastation of the Holocaust, and where Vienna’s Jewish community stands today. Your guide, an expert certified in Jewish history, will treat the topic with enthusiasm and sensitivity. Book a tour with us and get to know your guide today!
Music and Concerts
The Vinyl and Music Festival – March 8th and 9th, 2025
Only in its third year, the Ottakringer Vinyl and Music Festival has already gained cult status for collectors and visitors alike. Held in the fascinating industrial locale of the Ottakringer Brewery on the outskirts of Vienna, the festival is part flea market, part music shop and fully, a party, with live acts and numerous well-known DJs. While it may occasionally feature international acts, this festival is as local and authentic as you will find in Vienna, so if modern music is your thing, it comes highly recommended.
Vienna Blues Spring – March 20th to May 31, 2025
The Vienna Blues festival is exactly what you need to kick the lingering winter blues away. Sold as one of the world’s longest blues festivals, the party goes on through most of March and April at the unique Reigen theatre (which also hosts the summer jazz festival). With a host of genres from Delta, Chicago, Blues Rock to old school boogie, the festival showcases the best of the city’s homegrown talent, with some pretty well-known global faces thrown in for good measure. Check the website for the latest updates and program.
Wean Hean – April 2025
Viennese folk songs have a rich tradition, so much so that there is a festival wholly dedicated to the art of Wienerlied. In addition to performances of traditional favorites, Wean Hean also includes world music and contemporary jazz acts to link the musical continuum that classic folk songs exist in.
Salam Music & Arts Festival – March 28 to April 6, 2025
As Vienna’s Arab community has grown, so has the Salam Music & Arts festival. Taking place over 20 years, the festival is held in various venues throughout the city, with a new curator every year. The 2025 edition, curated by Vienna-based musician Omid Darvish, will have a special musical focus on the Horn of Africa.
Fest der Freude – May 8, 2025
May 8 is a holiday in Austria, marking the surrender of the German Army in World War II, thus freeing Austria from the yoke of fascism. Every year, a free concert takes place at Heldenplatz to celebrate this anniversary and commemorate those who witnessed the end of the war. While the program varies every year, the evening typically ends with a rendition of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. The festival, after all, translates to “Festival of Joy.” While 2025’s program is yet to be announced, being the 80th anniversary, it’s bound to be particularly special.
Festivals
Vienna Festwochen– May 16 – June 22, 2025
Over the course of five weeks, Vienna celebrates art and free expression with concerts, dance, theater, exhibitions, and workshops. This year’s theme is “The Republic of Love”, so expect multitudinous celebrations of love and meditations on the complex, universal emotion. The opening event takes place on a giant stage in front of City Hall, so expect a crowded Rathausplatz on May 18.
Food and Drink
Mit Alles – April 2025
This hip new food festival celebrates all things gourmet, so those who enjoy the finer things in life and hardcore foodies should check this out.
Styrian Spring Festival – March 27 to 30, 2025
Each spring, trucks from the southeastern Austrian province of Styria, known for its food, wine and rich cultural traditions that have been kept alive to this day, converge in Vienna. Sample the pumpkin seed snacks, local cheese and sausage, giant pretzels, and sweet rolls from the region, and wash it down with Styrian wine and beer. With performers dressed in traditional costumes performing and dancing to folk music will perfect the mood. Set up in Rathausplatz, this distinctive cultural festival is a convenient way to get a taste of greater Austria without leaving Vienna.
Genussfestival – May 9 to 11, 2025
Vienna’s premier food festival takes place in the restful, green environs of the City Park, in the second weekend of May. Not quite summer yet, but warm enough to consider spending the better part of your day outdoors, scouring the 190 different stalls, for Austria’s culinary delights, from Alpine cheese, to Styrian pumpkin seed oil and Lower Austrian wines. From the innovative to the traditional, the Genussfestival has enough on offer to appease the most demanding of gourmets. Pro Tip: Visit on Friday – the first day of the festival, in the early afternoon – to beat the madding crowds that can build up over the weekend.
Rochusmarkt Farmers Market – Fridays and Saturdays from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
The Rochusmarkt Farmers Market gathers steam as the weather warms up and the fields become more bountiful. The farmers have more to offer and the price and quality far surpass anything you’ll find at a supermarket. Located on a leafy square in Vienna’s 3rd district, Rochusmarkt runs as a regular market, six days a week. What makes it special are the region’s farmers who pop up on Fridays and Saturdays, giving you a chance to take goodies straight from the farm to your table.
Film
Jewish Film Festival Vienna – March 11 to 25, 2025
Over two weeks in March, various venues in Vienna screen films by Jewish filmmakers, celebrating the contribution the diaspora has made to the medium. Focusing on small, contemporary filmmakers, the Jewish Film Festival often premieres films with special Q&As with the filmmakers, and many films are in English, or at least English-friendly. Stay tuned for the 2025 program.
Family Fun
Sunday Mass with the Vienna Boys Choir at the Hofburgkapelle – Sundays in 2025
Holy mass with the Vienna Boys Choir is the quintessential Vienna thing to do. Running from September to June, hearing the boys choir in action is an unforgettable experience, with their angelic singing and trained voices, as they reel off church favorites. The choir’s repertoire ensures that this is a great family experience. Our tip is the special Easter Mass on Sunday April 20th. Tickets will sell out early, so get them well in advance.
The Vienna City Marathon – April 6th, 2025
Marathons on holiday can be great family fun too. The Vienna City Marathon with a Youth Race (for ages 12 to 18) and Kids Race (for ages 7 to 15), in addition to a 10K, Half and Full Marathon. The race literally has an option for everyone in the family. We can’t think of a better way to familiarize yourself with the incredible Habsburgian architecture of the city than to run around some of its most famous monuments, including the Opera House, Schönbrunn Palace and across the Danube. Registration for the marathon is open until the end of March, or until spots fill up. Make sure to train well before you participate!
Long Night of Churches – May 23, 2025
One night a year, Vienna’s churches open to the public after hours to show their breathtaking interiors and artistic and religious treasures. Some churches even host concerts and organ recitals to welcome visitors in. If there’s a church you’ve particularly wanted to explore, this night is your chance!
Want to explore all the historic sights of Vienna this spring and learn the stories behind the monuments? Contact us and book your tour with Insight Cities. We have a cadre of expert guides who tell the stories of their home city with a personal flair, making exploring and learning about Vienna enlightening and entertaining. Book now to get your guide before the season gets busy!