Vienna nightlife has lots to offer, whether you prefer bar hopping, live music, or classic club entertainment. Vienna is quite a compact city, but entertainment venues are many and can cater to different tastes for drinks, music, and events. We are providing here the top 5 venues for bars, live music, and clubs and will expand this list once we have gathered more information.

Bars

Vienna has dozens of bars in the central area and many more in peripheral districts. Most of them have very affordable prices for drinks and food and often offer various entertainment options (live music, games, karaoke) to make your stay more enjoyable and memorable. Here is a list of the top 5 bars in Vienna.

Luster bar

A modern bar with a unique design, located in a historical building from the beginning of the 20^th century. It has a friendly atmosphere, a great selection of drinks and cocktails, and nice music. Luster bar is very popular, so book your seats ahead. It is located in the 6^th district, but you can get there in 10 minutes with U3 from Stephansplatz (Wien Ottakring direction, stop Neubaugasse).

Address: Windmühlgasse 32, 1060 Wien (6^th district)
Telephone: +43 1 2642364
Website: https://www.luster.bar/
Open: Mon-Sat 6:00PM-1AM, Sunday: closed

Loos Bar

A cozy bar, designed by famous architect Adolf Loos in 1908 (yes, a very long time ago ) has a great atmosphere and it is kind of an institution by itself. Worth going for a couple of cocktails before heading to some club. It might be crowded even with few guests inside, so get ready to cozy up with other patrons. It has been advertised as the first American Bar in Vienna and many celebrities visited apparently, one of them being Quentin Tarantino.

Address: Kärntner Durchgang 10, 1010 Wien (1^st district)
Telephone: +43 1 5123283
Website: https://www.loosbar.at/
Open: Mon-Sun 12:00PM-1:00AM

Polkadot

Advertised as an “Alternative music bar for students, travelers, and awesome people”, this bar defines its clientele as a wide range of guests, and we hope you will fit in one of these categories. It offers a great variety of beer, wine, and other drinks at very affordable prices. It is not a classic bar – it has various events regularly, such as live music, DJs, stand-up comedy, quizzes, and even language clubs for people to practice their German.

We recommend this bar also for people who are moving to Vienna as it looks like a perfect mingling place for newcomers. It is located in the 8^th district and it is reachable by 2 stops with Tram No. 2 from Rathaus (you can easily walk from there as well).

Address: Albertgasse 1, 1080 Wien (8^th district)
Telephone: +43 1 4074125
Website: http://polkadot.at/
Open: Sun-Thu: 7:00PM-2:00AM, Fri-Sat: 8:00PM-4:00AM

Vienna Nightlife - Bars — Vienna Nightlife – Bars

Travel Shack

Travel Shack is another ‘multipurpose’ bar, meaning, apart from the standard setting of a bar (tables, music, drinks, etc), it offers a variety of entertainment and activities daily. This includes watching sports events, singing karaoke, playing Jenga, foosball, and beer pong, and organizing birthday and themed parties (Halloween, St. Patrick’s, Cinco de Mayo).

Needless to say, it offers a great variety of beer, wine, original cocktails, and some interesting finger food. It is located in the 15^th district, but easily reachable with U3 from Stephanslatz (direction Wien Ottakring, stop Westbahnhof) or with an Uber (if a group of 4 is traveling might be cheaper than a subway).

Address: Mariahilfer Gürtel 21, 1150 Wien (15^th district)
Telephone: +43 1 9610131
Website: http://www.travelshackvienna.com/
Open: Mon-Sun: 4:00PM-4:00AM

R&Bar

This bar is linked to movie design and production agencies and it is the favorite meeting place of movie makers to exchange ideas with a drink or two. The bar offers a wide variety of drinks, cocktails, and bar food (tapas, finger food). The bar serves organic coffee and cocktails with homemade ingredients. The DJ is playing chill music and visitors often dance spontaneously when the crowd clicks.

It is located in the 7^th district, reachable by U3 from Stephansplatz (Direction Wien Ottakring, stop Neubaugasse and a 5-minute walk from there).

Address: Lindengasse 1, 1070 Wien (7^th district)
Telephone: +43 1 5224447
Website: https://dasrund.com/bar
Open: Wed-Sat: 4:00PM – 11:00PM

Live music

Vienna has many live music venues and we are excluding here classical music area (which will write about in a separate post). There is a place for every music genre and style and they are all well-established and popular. Here are the top five to keep you running for your exploration of Vienna nightlife, we will add more soon.

Chelsea

Chelsea is one of the long-running live music venues, located inside the underground overpass of the U6 line in the 8^th district. The place has a very rich program of live performances ranging in genres and styles and we recommend you check the schedule online to make sure you choose the right date and book your tickets.

The venue is not that big, and concerts are performed in a nice and cozy atmosphere (regardless of the noise) and are very enjoyable. It was initially located in a different area and had a problem with residents and authorities and now it is in a somewhat isolated area where nobody is bothered.

It is reachable by a combination of U3 and U6 lines from Stephansplatz.

Address: Lerchenfeldergürtel 29-31, 1080 Wien (8^th district)
Telephone: +43 1 4079309
Website: www.chelsea.co.at/index.php
Open: Mon-Sun: 6:00PM-04:00AM

Porgy & Bess

This is well established and popular jazz club in Vienna, and it has been running since the 90s. Prices for concerts are a bit higher than in other venues but the quality of the music and performers is completely worth it. Performers from Austria and around the world are playing in this cozy venue and since the program is known at least three months in advance, you will be able to plan for some great jazz events.

The venue is in the 1^st district and reachable on foot from Stephansplatz station in a few minutes.

Address: Riemergasse 11, 1010 Wien (1^st district)
Telephone: +43 1 5128811
Website: http://www.porgy.at/
Open: Mon-Sun 4:00PM-11:00PM

Elektro Gönner

For lovers of electronic music, house, disco, and techno and nice food and drinks in a relaxed atmosphere, Elektro Gönner is the right place. There, you can listen to the DJs, dance, have dinner, and have a few drinks, in a laid-back atmosphere of a former electrical shop retailer (the name was kept from the previous owner). The club also have workshops for DJs, and discussions about music and it is an all-around pleasant place for music lovers and enthusiast.

Address: 101 Mariahilfer Straße, 1060 Wien (6^th district)
Telephone: +43 1 2086679
Website: https://www.elektrogoenner.at/
Open: Thu: 6:00PM – 11:00PM, Fri-Sat: 5:00PM-11:00PM

1019 Jazzclub

This jazz club not only has great jazz concerts, but it is very famous for its food, so if you are both a food and jazz lover – look no further. Named after song 1019 by famous blues guitarist Eric Gales, the club brings a variety of performers from around the globe and you are guaranteed to have a great time. The venue also organizes parties and other events on demand.

Address: Althanstraße 12, 1090 Wien (9^th district)
Telephone: +43 1 3101112
Website: https://club1019.at/
Open: Mon-Sat: 7:00PM-2:00AM

Vienna nightlife - live music — Vienna nightlife – live music

Donautechno

If you like techno music, Donautechno is the best place to go and enjoy it and not go over the top. It is a very uniquely designed place and its walls are covered in visuals during the performances which makes it even better. There are a variety of drinks on offer and there is also local sausage available if you get hungry at some point. It is located in the 7^th district in an unremarkable venue, behind Art History Museum. Easily reachable by U3 (direction Wien Ottakring, stop Volkstheater and walk for few minutes)

Address: Karl Schweighofer Gasse 10, 1070 Wien (7^th district)
Telephone: +43 1 5238105
Website: http://www.donautechno.com/
Open: Mon-Thu: 8:00PM-4:00AM, Fri-Sat: 8:00PM-6:00AM, Sun: 8:00PM-2:00AM

Clubs

Vienna nightlife club scene always has something new and exciting and local club owners definitely follow global trends (and sometimes lead them) very quickly and efficiently. You can enjoy the club atmosphere and dance your feet off in many venues around the city that are on par with clubs from much larger world capitals. Here are recommendations for the top 5 venues in this area of Vienna nightlife.

Flex

This is the best club in Vienna by a wide consensus. It has been running for more than 15 years and it was THE underground club in Vienna in the beginning, now it is moving towards the mainstream. The good thing is, it doesn’t discriminate against people by the dress code, so that is that, very accessible for Vienna visitors that don’t carry with them ‘club’ attire.

The club has the best sound system in Europe (as they claim) at the moment, so this will give you an idea of how loud the music is .

It is located on the edge of the 1^st district, next to the Danube and it is reachable by U2 and U4 (station of Schottenring) and also tram 3A.

Address: Augartenbrücke 1, 1010 Wien (1st district)
Telephone: +43 1 5337525
Website: http://flex.at/
Open: Mon-Sat: 7:00PM-01:00AM, Sunday: closed

Prater Dome

Located near Prater Ferris Wheel, this club offers multiple stages, playing different styles of music and there are also several lounges where you can relax and have a drink between your dance acts.

This club will require some better clothes as the clientele is more towards the well-off economic area. In any case, you will have great fun there, especially if you come with friends. The club has themed parties, including some fashion shows, cosplays, and also birthday celebrations. You should be able to see what’s on their website in advance so you don’t end up in the wrong setting.

Address: Riesenradplatz 7, 1020 Wien (2^nd district)
Telephone: +43 1 9081192
Website: https://praterdome.at/
Open: Thu-Sat: From 10:00PM

Platzhirsch

This club was advertised as the ‘coolest club in Vienna’ and it is worth checking out. There is a lineup to enter as DJs can really make people dance with their mixes. There is an entrance fee and drinks are a bit more expensive than in other venues, but the atmosphere is so great that you will forget about the budget.

It is located in the 1^st district, next to Karlsplatz U station and it is reachable on foot from anywhere in Innere Stadt.

Address: Opernring 11, 1010 Wien (1^st district)
Telephone: +43 664 88267202
Website: https://www.platzhirsch.wien/
Open: Fri-Sat: 10:00PM-6:00AM

Vienna nightlife - clubs — Vienna nightlife – clubs

Grelle Forelle

This is a relatively new club, from 2011, located in the 9^th district on the banks of the Donau canal and easily reachable by the U4 from Schwedenplatz (direction Wien Heiligenstadt, stop Spittelau). The club has a great sound system and world-class DJ so a good time is guaranteed. There is an entry fee, but the fun time you will have once inside will make you forget about it.

Address: Spittelauer Lände 12, 1090 Wien (9^th district)
Website: https://www.grelleforelle.com/
Open: Fri-Sat: 11:00PM-6:00AM

Ra’mien

This is a special place in the club scene, as it is part of the Asian restaurant (with excellent food. Btw), and the club is in the basement. You can combine great food and dance afterward for the best effect for the night .

The club is compact but very well designed and intricately decorated in Asian style. There are lounges to relax and a dance floor that is always full as DJs are masters in bringing people on their feet. The club organizes weekend parties that are very popular and memorable.

It is located in the 6^th district, near Leopold Museum, the nearest station is U2 (Museumquartier).

Address: Gumpendorferstrasse 9, 1060 Wien (9^th district)
Website: http://www.ramienbar.at/
Open: Wed-Sat: from 10:00PM

2024 updated list of best venues for nightlife in Vienna

Here’s a guide to some of the best places for nightlife in Vienna for 2024, including their location, description, history, average prices, dress code, and popularity.

1. Café Sacher Wien

Location: Philharmonikerstrasse 4, 1010 Vienna
Description: Café Sacher is part of the Hotel Sacher, one of Vienna’s most luxurious hotels. It’s famous for the Sachertorte, a rich chocolate cake that’s a must-try. The café exudes old-world charm with its elegant interiors and traditional Viennese coffeehouse atmosphere.
History: Established in 1832, Café Sacher is deeply connected to Vienna’s history and has been a gathering spot for celebrities, politicians, and locals alike.
Average Prices: €10-15 for a coffee and cake.
Dress Code: Smart casual; many visitors dress up a bit, especially in the evenings.
Popularity: Highly popular with tourists, but also beloved by locals for its historical significance and ambiance.

2. Grelle Forelle

Location: Spittelauer Lände 12, 1090 Vienna
Description: Grelle Forelle is one of Vienna’s top nightclubs, known for its underground electronic music scene. It features world-class DJs and a high-quality sound system, making it a favorite for techno and house music lovers.
History: Opened in 2011, Grelle Forelle quickly became a cornerstone of Vienna’s clubbing scene, attracting both local and international talent.
Average Prices: Entry typically ranges from €10-20, with drinks priced at €5-10.
Dress Code: Casual but trendy; sneakers and casual attire are common.
Popularity: Extremely popular among the younger crowd, especially those into electronic music.

3. Jazzland

Location: Franz-Josefs-Kai 29, 1010 Vienna
Description: Jazzland is Vienna’s oldest jazz club, offering a cozy underground setting for live jazz performances. The club hosts both local and international musicians, covering a range of jazz styles from classic to modern.
History: Established in 1972, Jazzland has a storied history and is considered a cultural institution in Vienna’s jazz scene.
Average Prices: Entry fees are around €15-25, with drinks priced at €5-10.
Dress Code: Smart casual; jeans and a nice shirt are common, but some guests dress up a bit more.
Popularity: Popular with jazz enthusiasts and those seeking a more relaxed, intimate nightlife experience.

4. Rooftop Bar at Hotel Lamée

Location: Rotenturmstraße 15, 1010 Vienna
Description: This chic rooftop bar offers stunning views of St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Vienna skyline. It’s known for its creative cocktails, sophisticated ambiance, and stylish crowd.
History: The bar is part of the boutique Hotel Lamée, which opened in 2012, blending modern design with Art Deco influences.
Average Prices: Cocktails range from €12-18.
Dress Code: Smart casual to dressy; many guests come dressed to impress, especially in the evenings.
Popularity: Very popular, especially during the summer months when the rooftop terrace is open.

5. Volksgarten

Location: Burgring 1, 1010 Vienna
Description: Volksgarten is one of Vienna’s most famous nightclubs, housed in a historic building within a beautiful park. It offers multiple dance floors, playing everything from mainstream hits to techno and house music.
History: Volksgarten has been a nightlife staple in Vienna for decades, with roots going back to the 19th century when the building was part of the imperial palace gardens.
Average Prices: Entry fees range from €10-20, with drinks priced at €8-12.
Dress Code: Smart casual to club wear; many guests dress up, especially on weekends.
Popularity: Extremely popular, especially on weekends and during special events.

6. Loos American Bar

Location: Kärntner Durchgang 10, 1010 Vienna
Description: Loos American Bar is an iconic cocktail bar designed by the famous architect Adolf Loos in 1908. The small but stylish bar offers classic cocktails in a sophisticated, intimate setting.
History: Loos American Bar is a historic landmark, renowned for its Art Nouveau design and status as one of the world’s most famous bars.
Average Prices: Cocktails are priced around €12-15.
Dress Code: Smart casual; stylish attire is appreciated given the bar’s elegant ambiance.
Popularity: Very popular with locals and tourists alike, especially those interested in architecture and history.

7. Chelsea

Location: Lerchenfelder Gürtel 29-32, 1080 Vienna
Description: Chelsea is a beloved live music venue located under the arches of the U6 subway line. It’s known for hosting a wide range of live music, from indie and rock to punk and electronic.
History: Chelsea has been a staple of Vienna’s alternative music scene since the 1980s, offering a laid-back, grungy atmosphere.
Average Prices: Entry fees are usually around €5-15, with drinks priced at €4-8.
Dress Code: Very casual; jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers are the norm.
Popularity: Popular with the alternative crowd and music lovers, especially those looking for an unpretentious night out.

8. Pratersauna

Location: Waldsteingartenstraße 135, 1020 Vienna
Description: Pratersauna is a legendary nightclub known for its unique location in a former sauna complex near the Prater amusement park. The club is famous for its eclectic mix of electronic music, indoor and outdoor dance floors, and a swimming pool.
History: Opened in 2009, Pratersauna quickly became an iconic part of Vienna’s clubbing scene, attracting top international DJs.
Average Prices: Entry fees range from €10-20, with drinks priced at €6-10.
Dress Code: Casual and trendy; comfortable clubwear is common, and swimwear is sometimes worn for pool parties.
Popularity: Highly popular, especially during the summer when the outdoor areas are open.

Conclusion

This is just a ‘small’ sample of Vienna nightlife and there is so much more to explore from the city’s entertainment offer. We will gather more information and present you in this post or in a separate post, depending on the volume of information we receive.