Austria
Vienna in December
🧥 WinterCold and mostly dry.
🎒 Pack: warm jacket for evenings
Why December scores 7.6What goes into the score
How it works- Weather comfort6.7
- !Cold (5°C highs / 1°C lows)
- ✓Comfortable humidity (dew point -0.2°C)
- ✓Mostly dry (~40 mm rain)
- Air quality6.6
- !Elevated (PM2.5 ~28 µg/m³)
- Seasonal hazards10.0
- ·No notable seasonal hazards
- Safety baseline9.0
- ·Normal precautions
| Dec | Jul | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 7.6 Very good | 9.7 Excellent |
| Season | 🧥 Winter | ☀️ Summer |
| High / low | 5° / 1° | 27° / 18° |
| Rain | 40 mm | 80 mm |
| Humidity | dew pt 0° | dew pt 14° |
| PM2.5 | 28 µg/m³ | 5 µg/m³ |
Typical-month data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis) 2015–2024 (modelled, not a forecast). Temperatures: Vienna weather-station normals. Rainfall: Vienna weather-station normals (national met service).
Holidays & crowdsDecember 2026
Long weekendThere's at least one long weekend. Domestic travel picks up and popular spots get busier over those days.
- Christmas Day 25–27 Dec · 3 days off in a row
Other public holidays: Immaculate Conception (8 Dec)
National holidays only; regional holidays and school breaks aren't included. Source: holidays (open-source public-holiday calendar).
Explore ViennaEvents, sights, food & souvenirs
Check event dates locallyAustria's capital on the Danube, known for imperial palaces, classical music, coffee houses and art museums.
Christmas marketsDate variesUsually mid-November to 24–26 December
Christmas markets with crafts, punch and Glühwein.
Why go: Busy at weekends; many close on 24 December.
Where: Rathausplatz, Schönbrunn, Spittelberg and elsewhere
Coming up later
Vienna New Year's ConcertEvery year1 January every year
The Vienna Philharmonic's famous concert of Strauss music.
Why go: Tickets are awarded by lottery a year in advance.
Where: Musikverein
Ball seasonDate variesUsually January to February, peaking during Carnival
Hundreds of formal balls, including the Vienna Opera Ball.
Why go: Some balls sell tickets to the public; dress codes are strict.
Where: Hofburg, State Opera and other venues
DonauinselfestDate variesUsually late June
A large free open-air music festival.
Why go: Free entry but very crowded.
Where: Danube Island
Schönbrunn Palace
The Habsburgs' summer palace with large gardens and a zoo.
💡 Book a timed ticket for the palace rooms.
Hofburg
The former imperial palace with the Sisi Museum and the Spanish Riding School.
St Stephen's Cathedral
The Gothic cathedral with a patterned tile roof in the city centre.
Belvedere
Baroque palaces housing Klimt's The Kiss.
Kunsthistorisches Museum
One of the world's major art museums, with works by Bruegel, Vermeer and others.
Vienna State Opera
One of the world's leading opera houses.
💡 Cheap standing-room tickets are sold on the day of performances.
Wiener Schnitzel
Breaded and fried veal cutlet.
💡 Traditional Viennese restaurants
Sachertorte
Chocolate cake with apricot jam, created at the Hotel Sacher.
💡 Café Sacher and coffee houses
Apfelstrudel
Thin pastry filled with apples and raisins.
💡 Coffee houses
Tafelspitz
Boiled beef served with broth, apple-horseradish and chive sauce.
💡 Traditional restaurants
Heuriger wine
Young wine served at wine taverns in Vienna's own vineyards.
💡 Heurigen in Grinzing and Stammersdorf
Mozartkugeln
Chocolate balls with marzipan and nougat.
💡 Confectioners and supermarkets
Augarten porcelain
Porcelain from Vienna's historic manufactory.
💡 Augarten shop
Manner wafers
Hazelnut wafers made in Vienna.
💡 Manner shop near St Stephen's and supermarkets