Vienna for Families

Vienna - a hit for kids!

Admiring the elephants in the asphalt jungle, reaching for the skies on a bouncy castle, painting masterpieces in a museum: Vienna, the romantic imperial city of the Habsburgs, capital of arts and culture is also a city for kids. They are in their element here – with no end of sporting attractions, fun and leisure activities for all the family.

“Mom, I’m bored!” is the complaint you get from children the world over – even during vacations. But in Vienna there is no time for yawning. “Action, Action, Action!” is the name of the game for even the youngest visitors. And the Austrian capital has plenty of space for all that action. Unlike many other major cities, Vienna boasts a huge amount of green space where children can run riot.
But that is by no means all. Maybe a little princess would like to dance a minuet in a hooped skirt and old-fashioned bodice? Or a super-detective would like to find some unicellular organisms with a special microscope, travel across the starry sky or re-invent electricity? Become a child artist? Discover the senses of sight, hearing, smell and taste in a completely new way? No problem. Petting snakes or coming up with a fresh design for Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s Kunst Haus Wien are all among the entertaining options available. And those are just a few of the hits for kids that await in Vienna.



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Sport & Action

Danube Island
The Danube Island is the ideal place for cool action on hot days. This Viennese open-air paradise with 42 kilometers of riverside pursuits is the ideal territory for almost every kind of outdoor sports activity: swimming, inline-skating, skate-boarding (halfpipe near Reichsbrücke bridge), stand up paddling, beach volleyball, basketball, soccer, trampolines, boating, biking and water-ski lift adventures or climbing fun at the Danube Island climbing center.  The Danube Island is also a hotspot for barbecue fans – there are 15 grilling stations that can be reserved for a fee, and two freely available for public use.

Image credit - www.donauinsel-kletterpark.at

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Wasserturm water playground
Start of May until end of September daily from 09:00 (Fridays from 11:00) until nightfall, admission free

The 15,000 square meter Wasserturm water park is the largest of its kind in Europe. Waterfalls, ponds, bridges, streams, a slide and boat trips are among the many attractions here. Playing in the mud and in the sandbox is always great fun. And a place to hose it all off again ensures that visitors always return home gleaming.

Image credit - www.wien.gv.at

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Therme Wien
Monday to Saturday 09:00-22:00, Sundays and public holidays 08:00-22:00

Therme Wien, Vienna's thermal baths, offers fun and games in the water at the Adventure Stone (a special part of the spa designed with the needs of families in mind), a varied kids’ entertainment program and countless other aquatic attractions including a water park, diving boards and plenty of slides. Kids get in free to the spa on Mondays (except public holidays): one child gets in free for every paying adult. On Friday afternoons there is a reduced admission price for children aged 13 and under, and admission is always free for children under three. The spacious spa – the heated outdoor pool is also open in winter – with sauna, massage, quiet zone and various other attractions gives worn out parents plenty of options to unwind after a long day’s sightseeing.

Image credit - http://www.thermewien.at

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Dianabad indoor water park
Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday 10:00-22:00, Wednesday and Thursday 13:30-22:00, Sunday 10:00-20:00

The Dianabad is the perfect option for a spot of indoor poolside enjoyment in winter. This water park has a 125m-long rubber ring slide, a pirate ship and a water play area. A balmy 29°C ambient temperature, wave pool and palm trees conjure up images of the south seas.

Image credit - http://www.dianabad.at

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Endless options for active families

There are plenty of other places in Vienna for children to let off steam. Kilometers of cycle paths through the city, and open grassland and walking trails in the Vienna Woods, Lainz Game Reserve, Lobau and Prater are just some of the sportier options. And if anyone has any energy left after all that exertion, they can have a go at scaling the 35-meter-high exterior wall of the former anti-aircraft tower in Esterházy park, which is teeming with climbers of all ages from easter to autumn. During winter – and on those rare days when the weather refuses to play along – there is always the Vienna Climbing Center. A full list detailing all the options for climbers can be found here.

Information on outdoor climbing centers such as Waldseilpark Kahlenberg, which features a slackline area and a 35cm-high route for smaller children is available online at: www.wien.info.

There is also plenty to keep everyone occupied during the winter months: skaters should head for Christmas World at the Christmas Market and Vienna Ice World with their romantic trails through the Rathauspark in front of City Hall. Other popular options include the rooftop Engelmann ice rink and the Wiener Eislaufverein.

Nature’s bounty

Schönbrunn Zoo

November to January 09:00-16:30 daily, February 09:00-17:00 daily, March and October 09:00-17:30 daily, April to September 09:00-18:30 daily

The best place to go for an excursion into the wonderful world of animals is Schönbrunn Zoo. This imperial setting is home to over 700 species from anteaters to zebras.

Schönbrunn is one of a handful of zoos worldwide lucky enough to be entrusted with giant pandas. 
Feeding time at the sea lion enclosure is always popular. It’s not just the seals having all the fun as they splash about and tear through the water chasing the fish; the people watching also get into the swing of things. Look closely as the anteaters use their long tongues to extract their liquefied feed from artificial termite mounds in the South America Park. The anteaters live here in an animal commune with other breeds such as the South American tapir and capybara. The Rainforest House has a bone fide Tarzan-in-the-jungle experience – for the eyes, nose and ears – in store for visitors. The Polarium is a special treat – here the little ones just love to press their noses up against the glass as they watch the elegant penguins glide by.

Image credit - www.zoovienna.at

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An audience with the Emperor

Schloss Schönbrunn children’s museum


A giant palace as a playground? A trip to the Schloss Schönbrunn children’s museum brings the dream to life and gives an unprecedented insight into everyday life for the youngest members of the imperial family. Children aged three and over can get involved in the fun and find out for themselves what life was like for the young Habsburgs first hand. And at the end of the museum tour, everyone is given the chance to dress up in historic costumes and become a young prince or princess themselves. 
On selected weekends in January and February, children aged 7 and above can enjoy themed tours of the Schönbrunn Palace state rooms, focused on Empress Maria Theresa and her children (tours last approx. 1hr).

Image credit - www.kaiserkinder.at

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Marionette Theater at Schönbrunn Palace

Artful puppet theatre that has been entered into UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, with beautiful figures that enchant children and adults alike. The repertoire includes operas, operettas and musicals that have been specially adapted for children. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart could be described as the man of the house at the Marionette Theater at Schönbrunn Palace. The most famous of his operas, The Magic Flute, is performed several times each week all year round to a packed house of children and the young at heart. A wide variety of composers are brought to life as marionettes to guide the audience through their great works. Mozart appears as a member of the cast in The Magic Flute and The Abduction from the Seraglio. Johann Strauss puts in an appearance in Die Fledermaus, Engelbert Humperdinck narrates his opera Hansel and Gretel, and Aladdin tells the story of his magic lamp. This unusual playhouse can also be booked for birthday parties for children of all ages to celebrate with friends and family.

Image credit - www.marionettentheater.at

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Imperial Apartments in the Hofburg


Kids aged six to 11 can find out what a typical day was like for the Austrian rulers and their children in the imperial Hofburg palace in the heart of Vienna, on a special children’s guided tour of the Imperial Apartments – the private rooms that Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Sisi once called home, which are preserved in their original state. They also have the chance to try on grand costumes and experience imperial life at first hand (duration approx. 1½ hours).
Schönbrunn Palace, the Hofburg and the Imperial Furniture Collection all offer special imperial birthday party packages.

Image credit - www.kaiserkinder.at/hofburg

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House of the Sea - Aqua Terra Zoo

09:00-18:00 daily, Thursday 09:00-21:00

Some of the world’s most interesting land and water-based life forms are the stars of show at the House of the Sea – Aqua Terra Zoo in a former WWII anti-aircraft tower in the Esterházypark. There are more than 10,000 creatures spread across eleven floors and two purpose-built extensions (the Tropenhaus and Krokipark). In addition to species from the world’s oceans, the Tropenhaus provides a real taste of jungle life: 500 animals including monkeys, birds and fruit bats move freely above visitors’ heads. Elsewhere crocodiles, turtles, piranhas and the majestic sharks hold a magical fascination for children.
The sharks are fed on Mondays at 10:30, Wednesdays at 15:00 and Fridays at 15:30. Piranha feeding sessions take place on Tuesdays at 15:00, the crocodiles are fed on Saturdays at 09:30, with the reptiles taking their turn on Thursdays at 19:00 and Sundays at 10:00. Every Thursday at 18:00 an intrepid member of staff goes for a dive in the shark tank, and there is a fascinating microscope show called Mini Meer on Fridays at 14:00.

Image credit - www.haus-des-meeres.at

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Off to the museum!

ZOOM Children’s Museum

Open daily except Mondays, different opening hours and different admission fees depending on area. Please book in advance.

At the hands-on Zoom Children's Museum, kids are free to explore, research, make, experiment, think, try things out, experience and play. As the most important way that children learn, play is the order of the day, involving all of the senses – enabling them to discover the museum experience in an exciting and varied way, inspiring curiosity and creativity, and awakening an active interest in their surroundings.
Spread across 1,600 m2, Zoom has four different areas for visitors aged up to 14: the Zoom hands-on exhibitions for children aged from six to 12, the Zoom Ocean play area for children aged eight months to six years, and the workshop areas – the Zoom Studio for three to 12-year-olds and the Zoom Animation Studio for eight to 14-year-olds.

Image credit - www.kindermuseum.at

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Museum of Technology

Monday to Friday 09:00-18:00, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 10:00-18:00

The Museum of Technology (Technisches Museum) is another world. Here, young technology buffs can explore some of the world’s most fascinating technical and natural phenomena. The central hall showcases technical achievements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries including rare exhibits from the world of the railways. The famous 1950s “Silberpfeil” (Silver Arrow) racing car, “Hannibal” the first horse-drawn railway, propellers, penny farthing bicycles and a giant crucible used to make steel are sure to capture young imaginations.

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Music & Theater

House of Music. The Museum of Sound

10:00-22:00 daily

The House of Music shows that music is something to be seen and felt, as well as heard. A hands-on journey of discovery through real and virtual rooms on five floors gives visitors the chance to experience music with all the senses – also as part of special kids’ tours. The grand finale is the chance for young visitors to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic. But a word of caution: the Austrian musical elite can have pretty high expectations on the budding conductors! Also worth checking out: the program of concerts for children, from recitals of classical masterpieces to fun concerts where the kids can join in. Guided tours for families every Saturday and Sunday at 14:00 aimed at children aged six to 12; advance registration recommended.

Image credit - www.hdm.at

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At the Prater

Prater


Peak season: Mid-March to the end of October.

The Prater amusement park – known locally as the Wurstelprater – is brimming with around 250 action-packed attractions, from the traditional House of Mirrors to a mini roller coaster where even the tiniest tots screech with delight. The popular Eisberg attraction, appeals to all five senses in a fantastic and unique interactive journey through an icy wilderness. There is also the dark and forbidding ghost train and the bouncy castle where visitors leap into the sky with the wind blowing in their hair. Anyone brave enough to get on board will find themselves 117 meters closer to heaven aboard the chain carousel “Praterturm”. And all that is left to make it the perfect day is huge helping of cotton candy and a colorful helium balloon.

Image credit - www.praterwien.com

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Madame Tussauds

10:00-18:00 daily

A snapshot with Gustav Klimt, James Bond, or Michael Jackson? Madame Tussauds at the Prater brings visitors face to face with around 80 stars from the world of film, sport and music as well as a host of historic figures. Visitors of all ages can pose for photos alongside the uncannily lifelike waxworks and enjoy the interactive exhibits. The Sisi Uncovered Experience is also interactive, bringing the fascinating personality of Empress Elisabeth to life with an encounter for all the senses.

Image credit - http://www.madametussauds.com/wien

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Planetarium Vienna


The Planetarium Vienna has an attractive program for younger visitors. At 15:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays there is a show aimed at very young children, followed by another for all the family at 16:30. In the fascinating shows Space4Kids and Polaris, children learn about stars, planets, space flight and more. Using state of the art projection technology, every show is a breathtaking voyage into the cosmos.

Image credit - http://www.planetarium.wien

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Further info: https://www.vienna.info/en/vienna-for/families