· 6 min read
50 euros a day in Vienna is possible, but only with choices. Here’s a realistic daily tally.
Bed: 0-20 euros
- Couchsurfing or staying with friends: 0.
- Hostel bunk (e.g. A&O Wien Stadthalle or Hostel Ruthensteiner): 25-40 euros in a dorm.
- Pension like Kolping Wien Central or Hotel Pension Wild: from 65-70 euros for a single, from 90 for a double.
50 a day only works if you sleep in a hostel. Solo in a hotel doesn’t fit the budget.
Breakfast: 0-5 euros
- Bakery (Anker, Ströck, local): coffee plus a roll with butter and jam, 4-5 euros.
- Supermarket (Billa, Hofer, Lidl): under 3 euros.
- Hostel or pension breakfast: often included.
Lunch: 6-10 euros
- Lunch menu at a Viennese beisl: 9-12 euros for two courses.
- Sausage stand: Käsekrainer with mustard and bread, 5 euros.
- Naschmarkt stand at lunch: falafel or a small plate, 8-9 euros.
- Trzesniewski (sandwich classic, Dorotheergasse): three sandwiches plus mineral water, around 8 euros.
Coffee house or snack: 4-6 euros
- A Melange at a coffee house: 4-5 euros.
- Snack to go: 3-4 euros.
Dinner: 10-15 euros
- Beisl: Bauernschmaus, saft-goulash, daily schnitzel between 10 and 14 euros.
- Trzesniewski in the evening: two sandwiches plus a beer, 6-7 euros.
- Self-catering via supermarket: 5-7 euros.
Sights: 0-15 euros
Using the list of free things to do you can do a day on 0. If you want at least one museum, budget 15-17 euros admission.
Public transport: 6-8 euros
The 24h ticket covers a full sightseeing day.
Tally for day 1 (dorm, one museum)
- Hostel: 30
- Bakery breakfast: 5
- Sausage stand lunch: 5
- Melange: 4
- Beisl dinner: 12
- Museum (Belvedere): 16
- 24h ticket: 8
Total: 80 euros. With some skill (supermarket sandwich for lunch, free sights) you can hit under 50.
Realistic 50-euro version
- Hostel or couchsurfing: 25 or 0.
- Bakery breakfast: 4.
- Supermarket lunch (filled roll, yoghurt, apple): 5.
- Walk instead of subway in the afternoon: 0.
- Pasta or bread with cheese for dinner: 6.
- Free sights (Volksgarten, Stephansdom inside, Donauinsel): 0.
- Single ticket for longer stretch: 2.40.
Total: around 42 euros. Works.
Where to save painlessly
- Tap water (Vienna’s mountain spring water is among Europe’s best drinking water, free and safe).
- Lunch menus instead of evening à la carte.
- Single ticket plus walk instead of 24h pass when you barely move.
- Bundle museum days: all three main museums on one day, then maths the Vienna Card.
Where you shouldn’t save
- Skipping the coffee house experience: a Melange, an hour at a table, that’s Vienna.
- Skipping a proper schnitzel or tafelspitz visit: you want to have done that.
- Skipping a Heuriger evening: that’s Vienna’s summer.