Where to Stay in Vienna: Our Favorite Areas and Hotels!

Latest update: October 23, 2023

The best districts to stay in Vienna

To help you choose the right district to stay, it makes sense to get a rough idea of the layout of the city.

Vienna is divided into a total of 23 districts. Each district has both a number and a name. People in Vienna generally just refer to the districts by their number.

So if someone from Vienna recommends a “hotel in the first” or a “restaurant in the third”, they’re always referring to the district.

The first district is the historical inner city of Vienna. Up until 1850, Vienna consisted entirely of the first district. The remaining districts were only suburbs back then.

Out of the 23 districts in Vienna, we recommend staying in one of the following 6:

• 1st district: Innere Stadt – The district with the most sights
• 2nd district: Leopoldstadt – The district on the Danube canal where the famous Prater is located
• 3rd district: Landstraße – Strategically located to get to most of the sights
• 4th district: Wieden – Lively district between the main station and the Naschmarkt
• 7th district: Neubau – The young and hip district in Vienna
• 10th district: Favoriten – Brand-new hotels around the Central Station

All of the districts have their pros and cons. In the following sections of this post, we’ll tell you which district is the right place for you to stay in Vienna. But you can’t really go wrong with any of these districts.

Die Bezirke auf einer Karte im Überblick

We marked our recommended districts on this map for a better overview.

Staying in the 1st district – Innere Stadt

In a nutshell: The 1st district is ideal for everyone who wants to be within walking distance of the most important sights in Vienna or who doesn’t have much time to explore Vienna.

The 1st district or Innere Stadt (which literally means “inner city”) is the original Old Town of Vienna. Some of the most important museums and sights of Vienna are located here, such as St. Stephen’s Cathedral or the Hofburg.

The entire 1st district is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It’s very walkable, so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting around on foot. The tourist infrastructure is very good, and there’s a variety of restaurants and several metro stops.

Pros of staying in the 1st district

• Best location. You can reach most sights on foot.
• Good food. The most famous Wiener schnitzel restaurant Figlmüller is located in the 1st district.
• Especially pretty at Christmastime. At Christmastime, you’ll find the most beautiful Christmas markets in Vienna here.

Cons of staying in the 1st district

• Not that affordable. Room rates in the 1st district are higher than in the other districts.
• Very touristy. The 1st district is one huge tourist attraction. No one really lives here, you’ll find a lot more local color in the other districts.

Where to stay in 1st district in Vienna

As we already mentioned earlier, hotels in the 1st district are relatively expensive. You’ll be hard-pressed to find cheap hostels around here, but it has the highest density of traditional luxury hotels.

Staying in the 2nd and 3rd districts – Leopoldstadt and Landstraße

In a nutshell: The 2nd and 3rd districts are ideal for people who don’t want to be right in the tourist center of Vienna, but still want to be within easy walking distance of most of the sights.

We’ve merged the 2nd and 3rd districts of Vienna into one section. The two districts surround the inner city to the east. Hotels here are generally cheaper than in the 1st district, but the sights in the city center are still pretty close by.

Some famous sights are also located in these districts, e.g. the Prater and the Wiener Riesenrad (Giant Ferris Wheel) in the 2nd district or the Belvedere and the Hundertwasserhaus in the 3rd district.

Pros of staying in the 2nd and 3rd districts

• More affordable. Hotels here are more affordable than hotels in the 1st district.
• Good location. The sights in the 1st district are still easy to reach.
• Local sights. Other sights and attractions are right nearby.
• Good public transport. Well connected by metro and tram.

Cons of staying in the 2nd and 3rd districts

• Not right in the center. You’ll be staying outside the immediate city center.
• Huge districts. The districts are extremely vast. The closer the accommodation is to the 1st district, the better the location.

Our tips for where to stay in the 2nd and 3rd districts in Vienna

Staying in the 4th district – Wieden

In a nutshell: The 4th district is close to the main attractions of the city and offers many options for shopping, eating, and going out. In our opinion, it’s the perfect mix for a visit to Vienna!

Wieden, the 4th district, is a small district south of the city center. The 4th district is conveniently located between Vienna’s central railway station and the first district.

The Naschmarkt in the 5th district and the Belvedere in the 3rd district are close by too.

Wieder also has many nice small bars and restaurants and plenty of shopping options, especially individual and smaller shops.

Pros of staying in the 4th district

• Good location. Perfect location between the main station and most attractions.
• Well connected. There are trams and subways going to all the other districts.
• Lots of great restaurants and bars. The 4th district has excellent dining options and bars.

Cons of staying in the 4th district

• Outside the center. The 4th district is located to the west of the city center.
• Few hotels. The selection of hotels in the 4th district isn’t all that great.

Where to stay in 4th district

Staying in the 7th district – Neubau

In a nutshell: The 7th district is perfect for everyone who likes galleries and hipster cafés and wants to get to know the alternative side of Vienna.

Neubau is the 7th district in Vienna and pretty much the hipster quarter of the city. Located to the north of the Naschmarkt, you’ll find several bars and galleries there. The famous Museumsquartier (museums quarter) is located in the western part of the 7th district.

The well-known shopping street Mariahilfer Straße and the Naschmarkt are also within easy walking distance.

Pros of staying in the 7th district

• Hip. You’ll find lots of galleries, bars and cafés in the 7th district.
• Well connected by public transport. Well connected to the public transportation network.
• Not as touristy. You can experience the ‘real’ Vienna here.
• Good location. All sights are still within walking distance.

Cons of staying in the 7th district

• Not right in the city center. The 7th district is located to the west of the 1st district.
• Small selection. There are relatively few hotels in the 7th district.

Where to stay in 7th district

Not only is the district different from the rest of the city, but many of the hotels there are very special. There’s a particularly large number of design hotels in the 7th district, which are individually and stylishly furnished.

Staying in the 10th district – Favoriten

In a nutshell: The area around the main station in Favoriten has many new hotels to offer and is ideally located for train travelers.

Favoriten, the 10th district, is the most populated district in Vienna and is not really known as a tourist destination. Recently, however, the brand new Vienna Central Station was completed at the extreme northern tip of Favoriten.

A small, completely new city quarter has sprung up around the station, which also features a few hotels. Since all the buildings here are brand-new, of course that means the hotels are too.

The pretty 4th district starts just one street further along. It doesn’t take long to get to the most important sights of Vienna from there.

Pros of staying in the 10th district

• Near the train station. The hotels are perfectly located for train travelers.
• Brand new. The hotels have all opened up fairly recently and are in mint condition.
• Affordable. You can get much better value for money here than in many other districts in Vienna.

Cons of staying in the 10th district

• Distance to city center. The inner city is a little further away.
• Location. The district itself isn’t really worth visiting, but the much more interesting 4th district starts just a street further down.

Where to stay in 10th district

We stayed at the Novotel by the Central Station and can recommend the hotel wholeheartedly. It’s brand-new with modern decor and the beds were exceptional – easily the most comfortable we’ve ever had the pleasure of sleeping in so far! The breakfast is great too!

The ibis shares a building and the same management with the Novotel and is a bit more affordable.

Can you recommend a hotel in Vienna?

Those were all our hotel tips for Vienna. We hope our post gave you a good first impression of which district in Vienna is the best place for you to stay.

Do you have any questions or can you even recommend a hotel? Then please let us know in the comments!