Take one eyebrow-raising look at Vienna and you might think staying here would be seriously pricey. But beyond the city's whirl of imperial palaces, monumental boulevards, big-hitter art galleries and five-star splendour, you'll find a flurry of hotels offering next-gen affordable luxury - many with impeccable green credentials. I've been treading the back alleys of the Austrian capital for two decades and there are plenty of hotels where you can snag a bargain without sacrificing style.
The apartment where the Austrian composer Franz Schubert died, the residence of Blue Danube writer Johann Strauss, as well as the house where Joseph Haydn lived are to be closed temporarily owing to cost-saving measures, the director of Vienna's museums announced on Wednesday. The closures are part of broader austerity measures that will also see the price of public transport in the Austrian capital rise by almost 30% for some tickets. We all have to economise, said Matti Bunzl, the head of public body the Wien Museum that oversees several historical sites in the Austrian capital.
For all its architectural and cultural grandeur, Vienna has never had much diversity of places to stay. The capital has long relied on a handful of storied institutions, while its culinary scene modernized around them. That's part of what makes the arrival of Mandarin Oriental Vienna, the group's first outpost in Austria, so significant. More than a decade in the making, this landmark transformation of an Alfred Keller-designed courthouse, built in the early 20th century, signals a new era of hospitality for the Austrian capital.
Wiener Linien announces it is expanding its zero-emission bus offer with the deployment of ten CaetanoBus H2.City Gold vehicles on Line 39A, following the introduction of battery-hydrogen buses in the city centre. The tender was awarded back in early 2024. Green hydrogen is supplied by Wien Energie, produced from renewable electricity at the Smart Campus of Wiener Netze in Simmering, enabling fully emission-free operation, the operator points out.
I'm pretty much a pro when it comes to staying in tight spaces. From a tiny-home hotel to a repurposed wine barrel, I've booked small, unique accommodations around the world. But I'd never stayed in an Airstream trailer before my trip to Vienna, Austria, in October 2023. Seeking an affordable, atypical accommodation, I booked two nights in Hotel Daniel's luxury camper through Airbnb for $300.
"We fell in love with the Austrian countryside, we fell in love with Vienna, and it's where we fell in love with each other, because we realized we have the exact same interests," says Ian.
The Austrian capital last hosted the ESC extravaganza in 2015 and 1967. Vienna beat out Innsbruck to host the 2026 European Song Contest, Austrian public broadcaster ORF said on Wednesday. Austria won the rights to host the 70th edition of the event after the country's singer, JJ, won in May 2025 with his song "Wasted Love." JJ's "Wasted Love" mixed techno beats with operatic vocalsImage: Denis Balibouse/REUTERS