Amsterdam Mamas’ Quick Guide: Vienna with Kids

For a city that takes pride in its Baroque palaces and rich legacy in art and music, Vienna has an astonishing array of child-friendly places. No wonder it keeps toping the best cities to live list! Read on for Meher Fatma and Katherine Price Beuchert’s tips for visiting Vienna with your family.

All parents with children between the ages of 1-year-and-1-month and 17 know this: no family holidays are enjoyable if the trip is not liberally sprinkled with plenty of child-friendly activities. It is not enough to take them to a cafe to enjoy croissants with good quality butter and homemade jam. Children do not care where the jam and butter came from; they only care that their jam is 80% M&Ms and 20% fruit. Their croissants better be pink and hedgehog-like. Or blue and shaped like an aeroplane or train. Then, and only then, will children think going to a cafe is a child-friendly activity’!

But from the list below, it is clear to see that Vienna will occupy children aplenty! Between foamy sips of melange (milk coffee) and luxurious bites of fresh sacher torte (chocolate and jam cake), you can hop from interactive museums to lively street markets and dramatic courtyards with a happy toddler in tow. There is always plenty for kids to do in Freud’s City of Dreams.

Cultural Experiences

Haus der Musik encompasses the city’s rich history in classical music. The museum is interactive and kids can virtually conduct a concert and learn about sounds while playing a musical game of Namadeus. In summer, there are open air concerts across the city. 

Vienna State Opera has specially-designed operas for its young audience. Recommended for children six years and older, these (usually) one-hour-long performances are a huge hit and tickets sell out weeks in advance. Check their webpage for this year’s compositions; look up the schedules for opera and book English tours in advance.

Spanish Riding School is home to the famous Lipizzaner horses. Families with children aged three years and older are welcome to watch the 10am training session and steal a view of the opulent 18th Century riding school.

Schönbrunn Palace offers tours of the Imperial apartments and grand parlours where 6-year-old Mozart performed for the Empress. Get lost in the maze and labyrinths outside or settle down for a dress-up party at the Children’s Museum. Lined up with several wardrobes, kids can put on royal costumes, try on wigs and accessorise. The greenhouse is right out of period dramas and classical paintings! There are enough props across the hall for taking postcard-worthy pictures of your little prince and princess. Once you’ve had your fill of frescoed walls and fancy trimmings, visit the zoo that sits beside the palace.

Belvedere is a beautiful Baroque complex, consisting of two grand palaces, housing famous art works. Head to the Upper Belvedere and pick up the 20-page Museum Detective booklet. Set your six to twelve-year-olds on a trail of the masterpieces, finding mistakes in paintings and answering questions about sculptures.

Kunsthistorisches Museum is a great experience for children on Sunday afternoons. The afternoon workshop at this museum of fine arts helps them create their own artworks works and memorabilia inspired by paintings and sculptures inside the museum.

Mumok is Vienna’s equivalent of MOMA. Open your children’s eyes and mind to what art can be: junk modelling from scraps, creating animated short films, and authoring comics inspired by the exhibitions.

For the latest events in Vienna, check out all the live classical music offerings in Vienna and Vienna ticketing office of cultural offerings.