23 things you NEED to do to make the most out of August in Vienna

If you are missing out on festivals this year, fear not! The Afrika Tage is here to provide. It’s exactly the festival you’d expect it to be – colourful, full of music and food. This festival is happening on the Donauinsel and is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture. Check out more info and the programme on their website!

Get your cosplay or fursuit ready: Austria’s largest Anime and Manga festival is coming! You’ll find various artists, cosplayers, and merchandise sellers there, along with a packed program featuring contests and show acts.

Vienna’s dance festival of all dance festivals, ImPulsTanz, is back and they’ve sure got a lot of workshops and performances lined up that are worth doing your happy dance about. So get your dancing pants on and get yourself tickets for one of the shows / register for one of the classes. Check out the full Impulstanz programme here.

Vienna’s fantastic arts and culture scene will be on display as part of the city-wide Kultursommer festival. With a diverse (and huge) programme, there’s something to see for everyone – and we mean everyone! If you’re a culture vulture and you know what’s good for you then be sure to check out the programme.

If you have a friend who finds Viennese summer a little too cheery, take them to this new exhibition at Albertina. ‘The Aesthetics of Evil’ dives deep into Alfred Kubin’s dark and haunting art, showcasing his obsession with the eerie and macabre. Have a look at some creepy paintings and go for ice cream afterward.

Calling itself the biggest Vegan Fest in Europe, there’s a vast array of vegan-centric companies and brands taking part.

Over the course of three days, there will be vegan food galore on offer, as well as music and activities that are all 100% animal-friendly. Whether you are vegan or not, there will be definitely something that will blow your mind, as well as give you ideas on what to cook when the vegans come for dinner. There will also be stands handing out advice on how to live a vegan life.

Along with the sounds of some sexy engines revving, this weekend-long vintage car festival also features music to waltz to as the race warms up at the Rathaus.

Late night shopping…Viennese Style! Imagine… in a city where the stores typically close at 6.. all your favourite markets stay open until 11pm! Whaaaaat?! So if you’re busy during the day then don’t worry – you can get your fruits and veggies until late in the night (party in the produce section, anyone?) and you might want to grab an almost-midnight snack as well!

We’ve all had those messy nights below the neon lights of the bars located along the Gürtel, and there’s a festival that will encourage more of that close to the end of this month – the Gürtel Nightwalk.

If you haven’t done this before, than just imagine hopping from bar to bar, stage to open-air stage, with a drink in hand, and plenty of music being pumped into your ears – it’s good wholesome fun. If you’re home before 4am without a horrible pain in your stomach from that Käsekrainer you downed just before calling it a night, you haven’t done the night justice.

Metal meets electronic dance club. If you’ve never experienced this combination yet, you should try it. HEAVY – THE METAL CLUB NIGHT (VOL VII) is set to take over Pratersauna this month. The event will feature two floors of music, with heavy metal and dark electro beats provided by eight DJs, including Julius Kössler and DJane Blegh Instinct on the Metal Floor, and UNCVLT and UFONYCA on the Electro Floor.

It’s that time again when the beloved city’s beer brewery, Ottakringer Brauerei, comes to life for summer, as they’ve set up the Ottakringer Bierfest.

Most importantly, if you ask us, there will be lots of beer flowing – different kinds of beer produced in their brewery, to be specific.

To check out what will be happening, have a look at the programme for more details.

Ah, the joys of living in Vienna! There is something quite unique going on every summer in this city’s heart, right at the Rathausplatz. From July to September a great variety of concerts ranging from classic ballets, operas and Jazz to Pop and dance will be shown on a huge screen in front of the Rathaus. For free, we might add.

There’s a huge screen installed in front of the beautiful town hall, with enough seats to accommodate a small village from Vorarlberg. The films begin at sundown. However, from 11am onwards, there are a plethora of food stands featuring cuisine from around the globe. We feel like you can find nearly anything from every corner of this world there. It’s a culinary heaven!

So enjoy sitting in the shade, have a Spritzer and wait for the film to begin. Throughout the summer, most films will be played twice. Most nights, there are also live performances of some sort before the screenings. Check out the full programme.

Summer time is open air cinema time! We have put together the ultimate guide to Vienna’s open air cinemas for you! So don’t forget to get some popcorn and enjoy watching movies under the starry sky.

When a former royal garden opens up for the entertainment of us peasants, like the garden of the Palais Schwarzenberg is doing for the summer-long Theater im Park, it might be time to dust off that suit and dress you got in the back of your closet. Ok, you won’t need to dress up for this as it’s a nice casual affair. A good dose of culture, theater and cabaret is going to be served up to you right in the park under the stars if you buy a ticket for one of the shows going on all summer. Check out their programme!

It doesn’t take much to spend an amazing evening at the Donaukanal. And we suggest you spend a bit of time down there by the waterside during June and July and August. Just as much time as you can spare because it feels good. Make sure to follow our list of the DOs and DON’Ts, so you have a good experience.

Vienna looooves its wine and during this time of the year, a big part of the city can be found up on the wine hills surrounding the city, throwing back bottles of the liquid of the Gods and cooling in the shade of well tangled vines.

For beginners, head out to the 19th district’s area of Grinzing and pick from the many nice Heurige gardens aligning the streets. There, you can sit and enjoy the local, self-produced wine, that you must pair with some unpretentious but tasty Schmankerl (a snack made of cold cuts, cheese and spreads). Some Heuriger have a hot buffet to choose some limited but carefully selected Austrian dishes.

For a more authentic and non-touristy wine expedition, head out to Stammersdorf where you can follow our tipsy-tips for a full experience.

The fun doesn’t stop here: the areas around Vienna are packed with Heurige, so anytime you want to be surrounded by grape vines, check out our guide to the wine growing and Heurige-hosting regions around Vienna.

And in case you want to brush up your Heurige-Know-How before heading out to one of them, we’ve got some facts about Heurige we bet you didn’t know.

Do something different this year when you’re going for a swim in the Danube and try one of these Vienna-inspired dives from the video below.  It will be fun, we promise. Jumping into the water like a boring person is so last year, anyway.

If you’re going to endure a sticky Vienna summer, you might as well do it while also getting in shape, getting bendy, finding your inner peace while soaking up the sun and fresh(ish?) air, and taking in amazing views by signing up to some outdoor yoga classes!

One of the best things to be doing in summer doesn’t involve you doing much at all – sitting in one of Vienna’s lovely Schanigarten.

With a multitude of Schanigärten on offer, spending your evenings in one of them whilst enjoying a drink or a meal is a must for everyone in Vienna this month of warm summer nights.

We’ve put together a list of some of the outdoor dining spots with absolutely gorgeous Schanigärten.

More and more places have been popping up along the Danube river in recent years, meaning you have plenty of spots to enjoy a view which is as good as the food on your plate, or the drink in your hand.

Be it for food or to party (or both), you should definitely spend some time at these awesome places along the Danube river to make the most out of your summer.

What screams summer more than sand, beaches, and the sun? Well, even though Vienna doesn’t have any natural beaches, there are actually many places that can offer you all of these things! (Say what?!)

Yes, going to one of these beach bars should definitely be on your summer bucket list, so if you’re wondering where your nearest sandy beach is located, we’ve put together a list of places where you can sink your toes into the sand, whilst having some refreshing drinks. Be sure to check out our article!

There’s nothing that screams summer more than the cold, sweaty feel of a martini glass in your hand as you look out over the Danube, right? (The cold, sweaty feel was the martini glass. Not us. Just to clarify.) Vienna has some fantastic rooftop bars where you can enjoy food, drinks and a stunning view of the sunset. And weeeeeee so kindly made a list of the coolest rooftop bars in Vienna. You’re welcome.

One thing you need to do this month to make the most out of the, well, more or less quality weather (when there is not a full-ass rainstorm going on outside) this year is to party party! party! (WHOOP! WHOOP!) Plus, it’s summer so you can do all of your partying outdoors!

Knowing that you probably aren’t experts on events, (*cough* we are) we thought we’d suggest you constantly keep an eye on our event guide, so you’ll be in the know when all of the cool parties are happening.