Suggestions for cultural activities in Vienna[1]

 

Vienna was founded by the Romans around 1 CE as Vindobona to serve as a military base and administrative hub on the Danube, helping the empire control and defend the border (the limes) against incursions while supporting local trade and movement of people. Over centuries it became a key center of the Austro-Bavarian and then Habsburg realms. From the 15th century, the Habsburgs made Vienna their imperial capital, expanding the city’s power and culture. Under emperors like Maria Theresa and Joseph II, it became a hub of Enlightenment reforms. In the 19th century, Vienna grew with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War I, it became the capital of Austria, and after WWII it was rebuilt and developed into a modern cultural city.

Vienna has an enormous rich history in music, art and architecture, too much to explore in just a few days. 

Here are a few suggestions that you might consider exploring while attending the 3dmag conference. 

Art and Architecture

  1. 25th anniversary of the Museums Quartier Wien 

With 114,310 square meters of space, 61 cultural institutions and over five million visitors annually, the MuseumsQuartier Wien (MQW) is one of the world’s largest arts and culture complexes. Characterized by diversity and cosmopolitanism, the MQ has a strong international presence. It is a place where people can come together, linger, and experience culture in all its facets.

https://www.mqw.at/ 

  1. Within the MQW is one of the world's leading architecture museum, the Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W). It shows and discusses how architecture shapes the daily lives of people around the globe.

https://www.mqw.at/en/venues-spaces/architekturzentrum-wien/ 

  1. Secession - Art nouveau 
    “To each era its art. To art its freedom” 

As an artist-run international institution exhibiting contemporary art since 1897, the Secession is an open venue for presentations of new creative ideas and engagements with the urgent concerns of our time. Confronting the complex realities of life and global challenges, the artists believe it is a core part of their mission to grapple with questions of cultural and social policy and showcase ambitious visions that spark public debate.

https://secession.at/

  1. Gustav Klimt created the famous Beethoven Frieze for the XIVth exhibition of the Association of Visual Artists Vienna Secession, which was held between April 15 and June 27, 1902. Conceived as a tribute to the composer Ludwig van Beethoven, the presentation epitomized the Secessionists’ vision of an encompassing synthesis of the arts. Twenty-one artists worked together under the direction of Josef Hoffmann.

https://secession.at/en/beethovenfrieze 

  1. 250 yr anniversary of the Albertina

Situated in Vienna’s historic Innere Stadt, the Albertina is home to one of the world’s most significant print rooms. Its vast collection encompasses roughly 65,000 drawings and over one million old master prints, alongside an extensive array of modern graphic works, photographs, and architectural designs. Beyond its renowned graphics, the museum hosts two premier collections of Impressionist and early 20th-century art, offering visitors a permanent encounter with these masterpieces.

https://www.albertina.at/home 

  1. Albertina Modern 

ALBERTINA MODERN is Austria’s new art museum for world-class modern and contemporary art. It trains its gaze on international artistic output and on the diversity of post-1945 contemporary art from Austria in equal measure.

www.albertina.at/albertina-modern/

  1. Museum of Applied Art (MAK)

In a way that is virtually unparalleled by any other institution, the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts stands for the fruitful combination of the past with the future, something which can be clearly sensed and experienced when visiting its extensive collection, large exhibition halls, themed special exhibitions and discourse-centered program of events. Bringing together applied arts, design, architecture, and contemporary art is one of the museum’s core competencies.

https://www.mak.at/en 

  1. Hundertwasser House Vienna

The Hundertwasser House in Vienna bears the unmistakable hand of the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000), whose birth name was Friedrich Stowasser. The colorfully decorated exterior façade of Hundertwasser House in Vienna draws attention to itself almost magically. Anyone who lives in the Hundertwasser House also has the right to decorate the façade around the windows entirely to their own taste. More than 200 trees and shrubs on the balconies and roof terraces make the Hundertwasserhaus a green oasis in the heart of the city. https://www.wien.info/de/sehen-erleben/sehenswuerdigkeiten-a-z/hundertwasserhaus-wien-348488

 

Movies and Music

Vienna is globally renowned as the "City of Music" and the "Capital of Classical Music," having been home to legends, e.g. from Joseph Haydn, Wolfang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johannes  Brahms, Johann Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Anton Schönberg to contemporary composers, musicians and performing artists. Since during the summer season most concert venues, such as the State Opera or the Musikverein are on summer break, you might be interested attending events that are connected to the backdrop of music and art.  

  1. Theater an der Wien Backstage tour
    Discover Theater an der Wien from a new point of view: join an exclusive backstage tour and learn about the fascinating history of this venerable theatre—from its first days dating back to 1801, founded by Mozart’s librettist Emanuel Schikaneder up to the modern Stagione opera house of today.
    Take in the spectacular auditorium, come with us backstage and ascend to our new foyer “Heaven” including our new balcony and a perfect view over Naschmarkt. Our guides will share exciting details about artistic highlights of the last 200 years and the current programme.
    https://www.theater-wien.at/en/events/season2025-26/1566/Backstage-Guided-Tour-English
  2. Harry Lime The Third man tour 
    With Viennese sarcasm and charm, and a helmet, follow in the footsteps of cinematic villain Orson Welles from the classic film 'The Third Man'—the popular sewer tour leads visitors deep into the city's underbelly.
    https://www.drittemanntour.at/en/index.html

 

Vienna has a long tradition of scientific discoveries

  • Ludwig Boltzmann (1844–1906) — physicist, foundational work in statistical mechanics.
  • Gregor Mendel (1822–1884) — pioneer of genetics; lived in Brno but studied in Vienna.
  • Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) — neurologist/psychoanalyst (Viennese scientific figure; often included in “Vienna notable scientists”).
  • Ernst Mach (1838–1916) — physicist and philosopher of science; major Vienna intellectual influence.
  • Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) — quantum physics; studied/connected with Vienna.
  • Christian Doppler (1803–1853) — physicist known for the Doppler effect; linked to Vienna.
  • Viktor Franz Hess (1883–1964) — physicist; discovered cosmic rays; Austrian scientist with strong Vienna ties.
  • Fritz Haber (1868–1934) — chemist (Haber–Bosch process); born in Breslau but worked in Austria and is often associated with Vienna’s scientific scene.
  • Lise Meitner (1878–1968) — physicist who studied in Vienna, becoming only the second woman to earn a doctoral degree in physics from the University of Vienna in 1906.
  • Josef Loschmidt (1821-1895) - Achieved habilitation at the University of Vienna in 1866; subsequently served as assistant professor in 1868 and held the chair for physical chemistry from 1872 until his retirement in 1891.
  • Josef Stefan (1835–1893) — studied at the University of Vienna, where he achieved his habilitation in mathematical physics in 1858 and became professor of higher mathematics and physics in 1863, the youngest to hold such a position in the k.u.k. Monarchy.
  • Anton Zeilinger (1945–today) — quantum physicist and 2022 Nobel laureate; professor emeritus at the University of Vienna and senior scientist at the IQOQI of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, primarily focused on the foundations and applications of quantum entanglement.

The Arkadenhof at the U Vienna (https://physik.univie.ac.at/en/about-us/history/ ) hosts a large collection of displays of famous scientists from Vienna. 

Selection of coffee houses (Kaffeehaus)

The Viennese coffee house (Wiener Kaffeehaus), is a typical institution of Vienna that played an important part in shaping Viennese culture.

Since October 2011, the "Viennese Coffee House Culture" is listed as an "Intangible Cultural Heritage" in the Austrian inventory of the "National Agency for the Intangible Cultural Heritage", a part of UNESCO. The Viennese coffee house is described in this inventory as a place, "where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is found on the bill.”

  1. Cafe Museum https://www.cafemuseum.at/
  2. Cafe Landtmann https://www.landtmann.at/
  3. Cafe Frauenhuber https://www.cafefrauenhuber.at/
  4. Cafe Schwarzenberg https://www.cafe-schwarzenberg.at/
  5. Cafe Hawelka https://hawelka.at/en/
  6. Cafe Demel https://www.demel.com/en

 

Finally, beyond its historical monuments, Vienna boasts a lively urban beach scene primarily situated along the banks of the Danube River and the Alte Donau (Old Danube), where sandy stretches meet vibrant beach bars and crystal-clear swimming waters. Notable locations to experience this facet of the city include the energetic Copa Beach and Strandbar Herrmann, the family-oriented Strandbad Gänsehäufel, and the picturesque Alte Donau, which offers idyllic settings for swimming and electric boating.

Or you can experience a different holiday feeling at the Vienna Bathing ship.  https://www.badeschiff.at/

[1] **Suggestions by Peter Fischer and family

This document can be downloaded here as a PDF.