Landstraße (Vienna)

Schwarzenbergplatz, the portal from the Ring towards Belvedere

Landstraße is the third district of Vienna, the largest of the inner (single-numbered) districts. While most tourists arriving by air end up at Landstraße on their train from the airport, many head immediately towards the ring and Innere Stadt. There are many reasons to stay and explore the district though.

A heavily populated area, Landstraße has many faces – from the densely-packed residential streets including the surprising creations of Hundertwasser through the peaceful grounds of the Belvedere Palace to the former industrial areas in the south.

Understand

Landstraße (3) is a rather large district to the southeast of the centre separated more or less by the Wien River (which is partially underground and otherwise chanellized. Stretching from the station Wien Mitte and the surrounding business and financial district where the lively Landstraßer Haupstraße shopping street begins, over quiet residential areas where the Hundertwasserhaus is located, all the way to the industrial hinterlands and the bus station at Erdberg in southeast, through neighbourhoods containing examples of public housing like the Rabenhof and many embassies to the Belvedere Palace and the Soviet Memorial at Schwarzenbergplatz.

Orientation

Landstraße's northern part is nestled between the river Wien and the Wiener Kanal, so it is easy to make out on the map. On the east, Landstraße's border starts with the Belvedere palace gardens and extends along the tracks running south from the Hauptbahnhof. The southern border is complicated harder to make out, but not as important for orientation - one thing to remember is that while the Gasometer U-Bahn station is on the border, the Gasometers themselves are in Simmering.

To those understanding a bit of German it may come as a surprise that there is no street called Landstraße within the districts. Rather than that, the main street running southeastwards from the Wien Mitte/Landstraße train station is called Landstraßer Hauptstraße or "the main street of Landstraße". Another major street in the district is the Rennweg, which marks the northeastern border of the Belvedere Park.

Get in

1 Bahnhof Wien Mitte is the main railway station in the district. This is where the City Airport Train from Vienna International Airport terminates and S-Bahn train S7 from the airport stops as well. Wien Mitte/Landstrasse is a part of the Stammstrecke, the part of the Viennesse S-Bahn system that is traversed by all trains, so that you can get there from whichever S-Bahn station within the city and beyond (provided you board the train in the right direction).

Other Stammstrecke S-Bahn stations in the district include Quartier Belvedere and Rennweg, situated at two opposite corners of the Belvedere gardens. The St.Marx station on the trunk line towards the airport is also in the district, but not particularly close to any attractions.

Wien Mitte is a busy station for suburban and metro traffic, but the only intercity trains that stop here are trains to Salzburg and Linz operated by Westbahn - for all other destinations the closest long-distance railway station to Landstrasse is the 2 Wien Hauptbahnhof, from where you can simply walk towards Belvedere or take the S-Bahn to one of the abovementioned stations. From Wien Hbf you can also take tram line O for the northern part of the district, or line 18 for the southern part.

The underground line  U3  crosses the district and  U4  is available to the north. From Stephansdom and Westbahnhof, take  U3  towards Simmering. From Schoenbrunn and Mariahilf, take U4 towards Heiligenstadt and get off at Landstrasse.

There are luggage boxes on the station for €2.50 for 24 hours.

See

Belvedere

Museums and galleries

• 1 Schloß Belvedere (Belvedere Palace) (Tram D, stop Belvedere), ☏ +43 1 79 557 0, info@belvedere.at. Intended as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy, was outside the city walls. Its two palace segments, the Upper and Lower Belvedere, later became the permanent home of the Austrian Gallery. Combination ticket for Upper and Lower Palaces: €19 (adults), €15.50 (seniors/students), free (under 18).  
  • 2 Österreichische Galerie Belvedere (Austrian Gallery Belvedere), Prinz Eugen-Straße 27 (Upper Belvedere / Oberes Belvedere). Daily 10:00-18:00. Contains recent Austrian and international art from the past two centuries. Viennese art from the early 20th century is well-represented in the permanent collection Vienna around 1900 and the Art of the Classical Modern, and includes masterpieces from Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, and Egon Schiele, as well as earlier works by the Biedermeier painter Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. €12.50 (adults), €11 (Vienna Card), €10 (seniors/students), free (under 18).  
  • 3 Unteres Belvedere (Lower Belvedere / Orangery), Rennweg 6. Th-Tu 10:00-18:00, W 10:00-21:00. The Lower Belvedere and Orangery house temporary exhibits. The Baroque state rooms including the Marble Gallery, Golden Room, and Grotesque Hall are open for normal visiting. €11 (adults), €9.50 (Vienna Card), €8.50 (seniors/students), free (under 18). 
  • Prunkstall (Palace Stables), Rennweg 6 (by the Lower Belvedere). Daily 10:00-12:00. The former stables now house a permanent collection of medieval religious art and a collection of medieval tapestries. €9 (adults), €8 (Vienna Card), €7 (seniors/students), free (under 18). 
• 4 21er Haus (Museum für zeitgenössische Kunst / Museum of Contemporary Art), Arsenalstraße 1, ☏ +43 1 795 57-707, public@belvedere.at. W Th 11:00-21:00, F-Su 11:00-18:00; open on holidays. Has a permanent exhibit of works by the Austrian sculptor/architect Fritz Wotruba, and hosts rotating exhibits of international contemporary art. €7 (adults), €5.50 (seniors/students/Vienna Card), free (under 18).  

KunstHausWien

• 5 KunstHausWien (Vienna House of the Arts), Untere Weißgerberstrasse 13 (Tram O/N Radetzkyplatz), ☏ +43-1-712 04 91, info@kunsthauswien.com. Daily 10:00-19:00. Even an avowed hater of modern art can appreciate this. This is Hundertwasser's (born Friedrich Stowasser in 1928) major contribution to the Viennese art world. In a time when artists often try to shock the public or merely impress other members of the rarefied gallery subculture, Hundertwasser's KunstHausWien would be a bastion against the dictatorship of the straight line, the ruler and T-square, a bridgehead against the grid system and the chaos of the absurd. Starting with the façade of the building, adapted from its prior life as a furniture factory, there is a Gaudi-in-Barcelona feel to the place. Windows peek out like eyes from curvy, rounded plaster and colorful paint. It is a Disneyland for grownups. €10 (adults), €8 (seniors/students/handicapped/military), €5 (children 11-18).  

Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Military History Museum)

• 6 Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Museum of Military History), Arsenal 18 (near the Südbahnhof, trams 18, D, O), ☏ +43 1 79561-0, contact@hgm.or.at. Daily 09:00-17:00. A huge museum featuring weapons and military maps from different periods. You can also see the open-top car in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the last Austrian prince, was shot in Sarajevo. His death triggered World War I and the eventual downfall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the same room as this is the visibly blood-stained jacket he was wearing at the time of his assassination. €6 (adults), €4 (seniors/students), free (under 19). (updated Sep 2018)
• 7 Fälschermuseum (Museum of Art Fakes), Löwengasse 28 (down the street from the Hundertwasserhaus), ☏ +43 1 715 22 96, office@museum-of-art-fakes.com. Tu-Su 10:00-17:00, closed M and 24-25 Dec. Unique museum devoted to art forgery. Houses a large collection of counterfeited paintings, many from highly-skilled, infamous forgers. Includes several pages of the infamous fake Hitler diaries which fooled numerous experts in the early 1980s. €4.90 (adults), €4.40 (seniors/students), €2.20 (children 10-18), free (children under 9).  

Akademietheater

• 8 Remise - Verkehrsmuseum der Wiener Linien (Museum of public transport (formerly known as Straßenbahnmuseum / Streetcar Museum)), Ludwig-Koessler-Platz (U3 Schlachthausgasse), ☏ +43 1 7909 46803, fax: +43 1 7909 46809, museum@wienerlinien.at. W 09:00-18:00; Sa Su 10:00-18:00. This museum in a former depot houses a comprehensive collection of vintage vehicles explaining the history of Viennese public transport. The exhibits include horse-drawn streetcars from 1868, a steam tram set from 1885, many electric streetcars from the 1910s until the recent past, and buses from 1949-1978, including the infamous "Reichsbrücken-Bus" which fell into the Danube but was recovered and repaired to run for many more years. The simulator of a U-Bahn train is considered the highlight among guests. Attached small gift shop. Major labels are in English and German, but some smaller items are labelled in German only. €8 (adults), €6 (youth), free (children under 15). (updated May 2016)

Architecture

Hundertwasserhaus

• 9 Hundertwasserhaus, Kegelgasse 36-38 (5–10 minutes east of Wien Mitte U-Bahn stop, tram N stop Hetzgasse), ☏ +43 1 4701212. Interesting apartment/office complex, designed by the Austrian architect/painter Hundertwasser. Remember that most of it is still in use as housing or offices and respect the residents' privacy. The nearby KunstHausWien (see above) is a Hundertwasser building you can freely explore.  
• 10 Schwarzenbergplatz. The Schwarzenberg place is a big square in inner Vienna. It is faced by many palaces amongst them the Palais Schwarzenberg, the hosue of industry, the French embassy and others.The square runs next to the RIng.  
  • 11 Heldendenkmal der Roten Armee (Soviet War Memorial), Schwarzenbergplatz (Trams 1, 2, 71, D, J, Schwarzenbergplatz). An imposing Soviet-style monument near Karlsplatz commemorates the Soviet victory in Vienna over the Nazi army.  

Historic sites

Mozart's grave at St. Marx Cemetery

• 12 Arnold Schönberg Center, Schwarzenbergplatz 6 (entrance at Zaunergasse 1), ☏ +43 1 712 18 88, office@schoenberg.at. M-F 10:00-17:00. This building houses an archive of the works of the Viennese composer, with a permanent exhibit relating to his work and music and a gallery of his paintings. €5 (adults), €3 (seniors/students), free (children under 12), 10% reduction for Vienna Card.  
• 13 Sankt Marxer Friedhof (St. Marx Cemetery), Leberstrasse 6-8, ☏ +43 1 4000-8042, post@ma42.wien.gv.at. Apr-Sep: 06:30-20:00, Oct-Mar: 06:30-18:00. This historic cemetery was in use from 1784 until 1874. Mozart was buried here in an unmarked pauper's grave in 1791; the tombstone dates from a later period, after his grave was tentatively identified. The Bezirksmuseum Landstraße offers regular guided tours of the cemetery (in German). Free.  

Parks

• 14 Botanischer Garten (Botanic Gardens), Rennweg 14 (Main entrance: Mechelgasse/Praetoriusgasse; Upper entrance: Belvedere/Alpinegarden; Jacquingate), ☏ +43 1 4277-54100, botanik@univie.ac.at. Hours vary by season and weather, generally 10:00-15:00/18:00. Established in 1754 by Empress Maria Theresia as a garden for medicinal plants and granted to the University of Vienna, which has maintained it since. The gardens contain a number of rare plants, including alpine specimens. Free.  

Do

Haus der Industrie

• 1 Konzerthaus, Lothringerstraße 20, ☏ +43 1 242002, fax: +43 1 24200-110, ticket@konzerthaus.at. Box office: M-F 09:00-19:45, Sa 09:00-13:00; Sa Su holidays: 45 min prior to performance. Built between 1911 and 1913, the Konzerthaus is the homebase for the Vienna Symphony (Wiener Symphoniker), the Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Wiener Kammerorchester), the Wiener Singakademie and the Klangforum Wien.  
• 2 Arena (Arena Wien), Baumgasse 80 (U3 Erdberg), ☏ +43 1 7988595, arena@arena.co.at. The arena is one of the biggest concert and alternative culture places. The slaughterhouse got squatted in 1976 and operates since as culture center. FM4 hosts here its annual birthday party. The programme lists the performing artists. The open air arena can host 3000 peoples.  
• 3 Akademietheater, Lisztstraße 1. The Akademietheater is the smaller of two performance halls of the Burgtheater ensemble. It was built between 1911 and 1913 by the architects Fellner und Hellmer and Ludwig Baumann.  

Sports

Ice skating at the Wiener Eislaufverein

• 4 Ice skating (Wiener Eislauf-Verein), Lothringerstraße 22 (U4 Stadtpark), Office@wiener-eisloewen.at. Late Oct-early Mar: 15:00-21:00. At the Wiener Eislaufverein in winter time one can skate on a big 6000 m² square.  

Buy

Shopping streets

• Landstraßer Haupstraße (starting from Wien Mitte, U3 Rochusgasse). A relatively upper middle-class neighbourhood shopping street, with a wide variety of business from pubs and clubs to organic shops to second-hand stores. The Rochus Market, Rochusmarkt, and a shopping arcade are located along this street as well. (updated Oct 2018)

Shops

• 1 Mocca Brasil (Brasil Kaffee), Rennweg 75, ☏ +43 1 713 61 12-0, mocca@brasil.at. The coffee shop also sells and repairs coffee machines. The main reason to come here is to purchase good coffee beans. They are one of the very few places in Vienna which even sells excellent green beans, and their roastery offers many choices. 
• 2 wakeup, Landstraßer Hauptstraße 105, ☏ +43 1 908 90 92, contact@wakeup-espresso.com. M-F 10:00–18:30, Sa 10:00–17:00. Mario Sciurti sells Italian Espresso-machines. The shop serves a short espresso (Ristretto). 

Eat

Assorted cheeses on offer at Meierei im Stadtpark

Due to the concentration of embassies in the 3rd district the restaurant selection is very international. It also includes with the Steiereck the most famous Austrian restaurant.

Budget

• 1 Vegetasia, Ungargasse 57, ☏ +43 1 713 8 33 2, +43 1 523 1 091. Daily 11:30-15:00, 17:30-23:00. Chain of vegetarian restaurants. Serves a huge variety of Taiwanese Buddhist vegetarian food. Most of it vegan, many meat imitations. Non-smoking. 

Entrance to the Museum of Art Fakes next to the Hundertwasserhaus

• 2 Rochusmarkt (Exit U3 Rochusgasse toward Rochusmarkt). Typical Viennese outdoor market with fresh produce as well as stalls selling baked goods and other prepared food. (updated Dec 2017)

Mid-range

• 3 Amon, Schlachthausgasse 13 (U3 Schlachthausgasse), ☏ +43 1 798 81 66, office@amon.at. M–Sa 10:30–24:00, Su 11:00–16:00. The restaurant serves seasonal Viennese food typically of course plates with large quantities. The cellar is a vinothek with a good selection of Austrian wines. 
• 4 Benkei, Ungargasse 6 (U3, U4 Landstraße), ☏ +43 1 718 18 88, benkei@aon.at. M–F 12:00–14:30, 18:00–23:30, Sa 18:00–23:30. Favorite place from nearby Japanese embassy. The place has a bit dated interior. 
• 5 El Fontroussi, Reisnerstraße 39, ☏ +43 1 7125430. M–F 11:00–14:30, 18:00–24:00, Sa 18:00–24:00. The Belgium restaurant in this renovated tavern offers seafood with refined sauces. Daily lunch menu. 
• 6 Marx Restauration, Maria-Jacobi-Gasse 2 (U3 Erdberg), ☏ +43 1 51500 500, restauration@marx.at. The restaurant inside an old butchery serves modern Viennese food. Free Wi-Fi. 
• 7 No. 27, Ungargasse 27, ☏ +43 1 714 31 24. M-Su 11:00-15:00, 17:30-23:00. The Chinese restaurant is best visited with several persons to be able to taste their different plates. €7.50-27.00. 
• 8 O'Connor's Old Oak, Rennweg 95/2/1, ☏ +43 1 236 67 2, info@oconnors.at. M–F 10:00–01:00, Sa Su 13:00–24:00. Gareth "Gaz" Smith is cooking here daily, hence this Irish pub may serve the best Irish food in Vienna (not only legendary fish and chips). 
• 9 Pho & Saigon Market NR, Rennweg 5, ☏ +43 1 943 30 25. M-Sa 11:00-22:00. A Vietnamese restaurant next to the shop has small delicate choices. The cellar has one table tennis. 
• 10 Sri Thai Imbiss, Baumgasse 18/1, ☏ +43 676 70 79 296, harry_at2002@yahoo.de. M-Sa 18:00-21:00, Tu-Th 12:00-15:00. The small cellar place cooks Thai food (green curry,..) on the spicy side of life. 
• 11 Taverna Lefteris, Hörnesgasse 17 (U3 Rochusgasse), ☏ +43 1 713 7451. M–Sa 18:00–24:00. The Cretan (not Greek) restaurant changes its menu daily. 
• 12 Rochus, landstraßer hauptstraße 55-57, 1030 (Directly behind the Rochusmarkt entrance to the Rochusgasse U3 station). Contemporary Viennese and European cuisine. Vegan options available. Extensive wine and cocktail list. (updated Sep 2017)
• 13 al Italiana, Landstraßer Hauptstraße 71 1030 (Exit U3 Rochusgasse toward Hainburger Straße. It's midway along the pedestrian passage between Hainburger Straße and Landstraßer Hauptstraße). Traditional Italian pizzeria and trattoria. Friendly service, extensive menu, good wine list. Popular with locals. (updated Sep 2017)

Splurge

Steirereck im Stadtpark

• 14 Meierei im Stadtpark, Am Heumarkt 2A / im Stadtpark, ☏ +43 1 713 31 68 10. M–F 08:00–23:00, Sa Su 09:00–19:00. The very posh restaurant offers 120 different cheese varieties combined with freshly baked Viennese bread. This is the "bistro" of the Steiereck, but still extremely classy. 
• 15 Steirereck im Stadtpark, Am Heumarkt 2a (U3 Station Stubentor, U4 Stadtpark). M-F 11:30-15:00, 18:30-. The most renowned Austrian restaurant in middle of the beautiful Stadtpark is defintely worth a visit. Heinz Reitbauer is cooking with exotic or mostly forgotten natural herbs. Much of the menu features modernistic presentations of traditional Central European meats such as venison, carp, and crayfish. Adi Schmid is the leading Sommelier. Reservation in advance is definitely needed. 
• 16 That’s Amore, Messenhausergasse 13, ☏ +43 1 3439518, office@thatsamore.at. M–Sa 11:30–15:00, 17:30–23:00; Su 17:30–23:00. Italian cooks use well chosen products for their pizzas. 

Drink

Café Menta

• 1 Cafe Menta, Radetzkyplatz 4 (1, O Radetzkyplatz), ☏ +43 1 966 84 23, menta@cafementa.at. 08:30-24:00. Designed by Robin Molenaar and Yvonne Krisch with Rainer seats and an industrial bar, the café has a cool look plus interesting vegetarian options. 
• 2 Intermezzo Bar, Johannesgasse 28 (Inside the Intercontinental Hotel), ☏ +43 1 711220. 18:00-02:00. Incredible lustre above the bar from the 1960s. 
• 3 Salm Bräu, Rennweg 8 (71 Unteres Belvedere), ☏ +43 1 799 599 2, office@salmbraeu.com. 11:00-24:00. The brewery has a Viennese kitchen, but people mostly come for the good beer. 
• 4 Strandbar Hermann, Herrmannpark (U1, U4 Schwedenplatz), rudi@strandbar-herrmann.at. 31 Mar-29 Sep: 10:00-02:00. The outdoor bar serves daily happy hour cocktails during 18:00-19:00. As the name tells it is a bar on sand next to the Danube canal near the Urania. 

The northern part of the district is full of modern architecture and governmental buildings, like the imposing Justizzentrum

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Ibis budget Wien Sankt Marx. 
• 2 Vienna Sporthotel, Baumgasse 83 (U3 Schlachthausgasse), ☏ +43 1 798 82 01, info@vienna-sporthotel.at. Spa and tennis possibilities. 

Mid-range

• 3 Hotel Am Konzerthaus - MGallery Collection, Am Heumarkt 35-37, ☏ +43 1 716160. The rooms are nice and smallish, but still stylish. €120+. 
• 4 Austria Trend Hotel Doppio Wien. 
• 5 Best Western Plus Amedia Hotel Wien, Landstraßer Hauptstraße 155 (Tram stop Viehmarktgasse). Rather boring outside and inside (although with liberal use of red), the hotel is easy to miss at the far end of Landstrasser Hauptstrasse. Amedia marks high on comfort, cleaniness and service, which is a combination rarely found in Viennese hotels. 
• 6 Lindner Hotel Am Belvedere, Rennweg 12 (S-Bahn Rennweg - e.g. for S7 from the airport). Surprisingly tasteful, with large rooms, oversized beds and very reasonable pricing - and next to the Belvedere gardens indeed. You can get airline miles with many frequent flier programmes by staying at Lindner hotels. 
• 7 Mercure Grand Hotel Biedermeier Wien, Landstraßer Hauptstraße 28 (400 m south from Wien Mitte/Landstrasse). More Biedermeier than grand, this Mercure is a very typical representative of Viennese hotels, with questionable colours and patterns, all wrapped in a vaguely historic setting. That said, the unusually large rooms (esp. Privilege) make it an option worth considering. Many rooms face the narrow internal courtyard, i.e. another room's windows within a short distance. €124. 
• 8 NH Wien Belvedere, Rennweg 12a (S-Bahn Rennweg - e.g. for S7 from the airport). The NH corporate unformization did not quite make it to this hotel, but you can expect reasonable standards - and a simpler format of the typical Viennese hotel. Next door to the Lindner, the NH is indeed close to the Belvedere 

Splurge

Palais Larisch von Moennich in Johannesgasse

• 9 Austria Trend Hotel Savoyen, Rennweg 16 (next to Belvedere Palace), ☏ +43 1 206 33-0, savoyen@austria-trend.at. The hotel offers spacious and modern rooms including great breakfast. 
• 10 Hilton Vienna, Am Stadtpark 1 (U4 to Landstraße-Wien Mitte), ☏ +43 1 717000, fax: +43 1 7130691, info.vienna@hilton.com. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Home to Vienna’s premier conference centre. Features meeting space for 2-1,800 and provides a business service centre. 
• 11 Imperial Riding School Renaissance Vienna, Ungargasse 60 (Wien Rennweg S-Bahn - e.g. S7 from the airport). This Renaissance is one of the Marriott properties scattered across Vienna, located in a renovated historic building of the former Imperial Riding School - not to be confused with the Spanish Riding School, which is far away from it. With an impressive interior and rooms appointed with decorations referencing the equine history, it surely does impress. 
• 12 Intercontinental Wien, Johannesgasse 28 (Next to Stadtpark, near Landstraße (easy airport connection)), ☏ +43 1 711 22 0, vienna@ihg.com. See above for the bar.  
• 13 Spiess & Spiess, Hainburger Str. 19 1030 Wien (Just down the street from U3 Rochusgasse, exit toward Hainburger Str.). Classy older hotel on a quiet side street, tastefully renovated and modernized. Good-quality breakfast buffet included in the price. (updated Sep 2017)

Go next

• Innere Stadt is the central town district.
• Wieden is an inner district to the west.

Routes through Landstraße

Vienna/Mariahilf ← Vienna/Innere Stadt ←	N  S	→ END
Vienna/Margareten ← Vienna/Wieden ←	W  N	→ Vienna/Alsergrund → Vienna/Innere Stadt