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Honest review: Is Vienna City Card worth it for tourists?
Planning a Vienna trip? You’ll definitely come across the Vienna City Card — it covers public transport and gives discounts at over 60 places. Sounds useful, right?
But the real question is: Is the Vienna City Card worth it? I asked myself the same thing. After spending 3 days in Vienna during my Austria trip, I found it’s nowhere as helpful as it sounds. It’s just a discount card, not a pass with free entries.
You only get 5% to 10% off at most attractions and some restaurants — a few go up to 20%, but that’s rare.
In this post, I’ll walk you through why I didn’t buy the card, how it can limit your experience, and what you can do instead.
If you’re a budget traveller, I’ll show you smarter ways to explore Vienna while saving money — without missing out.
What is the Vienna City Card?
The Vienna City Card gives you unlimited travel on the city’s trams, buses, and metro, plus discounts at over many attractions – from museums and palaces to a few restaurants and cafés.
If you’re planning to visit big names like the Hofburg Palace (home of emperors and jewel secrets), Schönbrunn Gardens (Vienna’s royal green escape), or the Natural History Museum (fossils, meteorites, and wow moments), the card gives you small discounts — but not free entry.
Here’s the price breakdown: ( Approximate)
Check their official website for the exact prices
You can pay extra to add things like:
The discounts apply to some big names like:
Sounds like a decent deal on paper, right? But let’s take a closer look – is it really worth it for most travellers?
Why I decided against the Vienna City Card
Only discounts, not free entry
The Vienna City Card offers discounts, not free tickets. So you’ll still need to pay entry, just with 5% to 20% off.
When I added it up, I would’ve saved just about €3 compared to buying individual tickets during my 3 days trip. Not exactly a win.
Too much to cover in too little time
There are 60+ attractions included with the card — but let’s be honest, you can’t see even half of those Vienna’s places even if you spend 3 days.
For example, I visited Schönbrunn Palace Gardens, but I didn’t need to see every museum or palace covered by the card. With limited time, it felt like overkill.
So I’d have been paying for places I never planned to visit.
Public Transport was cheaper without the card
Most people buy the card for transport access. I used the VOR Pass (Vienna’s best-kept budget pass) instead — full access, no pressure, and far more flexible.—Just €17 for 72 hours, and it covered all trams, metros, and buses.
Vienna’s public transport system is incredibly easy to use.
It gave me the same transport freedom without pushing me to visit places I wasn’t interested in.
Vienna’s public transport is easy to use, and I ended up walking a lot anyway. Most sights are well-connected and walkable.
Whether you’re heading from Stephansplatz (home to iconic St Stephen’s Cathedral) to Schönbrunn Palace for some quiet garden walks, or exploring the vibrant Naschmarkt food market, getting around was never an issue.
Plus, Vienna is very walkable and streets are charming, so I didn’t even need the metro for every attraction.
Real cost: Just €3 difference
I spent €158 in total — that includes tickets and a 48-hour VOR pass.
With the Vienna City Card, it would’ve been around €155.
That’s a tiny €3 saving, and I would’ve had to visit more museums and eat at card-listed restaurants just to make it feel worth it.
The card didn’t suit my travel style
I visited a few paid places, like Vienna gardens and churches, and spent evenings at free spots like MuseumsQuarter.
For food, my mum and I stuck to affordable cafés that had delicious local Austrian veg options-not chain places. (My mom is a vegetarian and I am an eggetarian) we liked. We weren’t going to swap that for TGIF just because it offered a discount.
Yes, some old-school places like Café Landtmann or Fischerbräu beer garden offer card discounts. But they didn’t match our budget or preferences.
Hidden Problems with the Vienna City Card
The Vienna City Card sounds helpful at first — unlimited public transport and discounts at attractions and restaurants. But once you look closely, it has some clear downsides:
In the end, it feels like the Vienna City Card limits your choices and gives very little real value, especially if you’re visiting for just a few days.
Other tourist cards in Vienna
While I was planning my 3 days in Vienna, I found out there are a few tourist cards that can help you see the city better:
Each one works a bit differently. And none of these are really budget saviour and. are’t of great value.
I will explain the downsides of all three cards in the coming section. But the most talked card is Vienna city card. So let us focus on that first.
Vienna Flexi Pass downsides
The Flexi Pass sounds tempting because you can pick 2 to 5 attractions to visit.
But the downside is, you have to choose only from their list. Most major places are covered, but you don’t get public transport included.
So you still have to buy tram or metro tickets separately.
Also, you might not want to visit everything offered. Some attractions feel like fillers just to make the list look big.
And the pass isn’t cheap — around €49 for just 2 attractions and almost €123 for 6 attractions.Honestly, unless you rush, you won’t get full value from it in a short trip.
Vienna Pass downsides
The Vienna PASS offers free entry to 90+ attractions and includes a hop-on hop-off bus. Sounds great, but there are some catches:
The Vienna PASS only makes sense if you’re the type who wants to cram lots of sightseeing into one or two days.
Other Austrian cities offer better tourist cards than Vienna
One thing that stood out to me is how much better tourist cards are in other Austrian cities compared to Vienna.
Take Innsbruck and Salzburg, for example : Their city cards are simple, clear, and genuinely save you money.
Innsbruck card
The Innsbruck Card includes unlimited public transport and free entry to major attractions – like the Nordkette Cable Car (with stunning Alpine views), Ambras Castle,
And it even covered entrance fees to Swarovski Crystal Worlds near Innsbruck – the birthplace of Swarovski with that iconic giant green head water spout.
It’s a real all-in-one pass where you’re actually getting free access, not just a small discount here and there.
Salzburg card
You get free admission to over 30 major attractions, including Hohensalzburg Fortress and Mozart’s Birthplace, plus unlimited use of public transport.
Vienna’s City Card doesn’t work like this.
It mainly gives you discounts, not free entry. And unless you rush from museum to museum, you won’t get much out of it.
It made me realise — other Austrian cities have done a much better job creating real value for tourists. Vienna’s card feels like a missed opportunity.
Still thinking about buying the Vienna City Card?
If you still want to buy the Vienna City Card, it’s pretty easy to get.
You can purchase it:
Pro Tip:
It might seem convenient to pick one up at your hotel, but it’s always a good idea to compare prices online first. Sometimes you’ll find a better deal if you buy ahead of your trip.
The Bottom Line: Is the Vienna City Card Worth It?
After weighing all the options during my 3-day stay in Vienna, my answer is simple: the Vienna City Card isn’t worth it for most travellers.
Would I recommend it? Nope- unless you are buying a Vienna city card for 7 days where you can see a lot of places.
24,48 and 72 hour Vienna city cards aren’t useful at all – You can’t see a lot in just 3 days and get the value of this card which just gives discounts and not the entry fees to attractions
The Vienna City Card saves you tiny amounts – in my case, it would have been around €3 to €4 at best. It’s far from the “budget lifesaver” it’s made out to be.
If your plan is to visit a few main attractions – like Schönbrunn Palace or spend time around Stephansplatz – it’s much cheaper and easier to just buy individual tickets and use a VOR Pass for public transport.
That’s exactly what I did.
The VOR Pass gave me unlimited metro, tram, and bus rides, and I could choose the sights I genuinely cared about — without feeling pressured to chase discounts.
If you want freedom, flexibility, and real value, the VOR Pass is definitely the better choice. You’ll save money, travel at your own pace, and avoid wasting time on places you’re not even interested in.
The best of all VOR Pass for Vienna
Where and how to buy the VOR Pass
If you decide to skip the Vienna City Card (like I did), getting the VOR Pass is super easy.
You can buy it at:
The VOR Pass is available for:
It gives you unlimited travel on Vienna’s metro, trams, and buses, making it a simple and budget-friendly way to move around the city without worrying about extra costs.
Quick tip for using the VOR Pass
When you first buy the VOR Pass, validate it before you hop on your first metro, tram, or bus. You’ll find blue ticket machines at metro stations and inside trams or buses — just insert the card once, and you’re good to go for the next 24, 48, or 72 hours!
