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

Bold fashion, red carpet and catwalk moments, and pretty people giving steely stares into a sea of fashion aficionados – this is MQ Vienna Fashion Week. This week of fashion will act as a platform to exhibit local and international designers, top models, photographers, art directors, and stylists.

We can’t even coordinate our socks, however, we enjoy showing up at this festival in denim overalls, flip flops, and a bowler hat. Check out the website for more details on ticket prices, participating designers, and the programme.

At the end of September, four cinemas in Vienna (Filmcasino, Metro, Stadtkino & Schikaneder) will play host to the city’s one and only horror and fantasy film festival, screening film after film that are made to twist your mind like a pretzel, or scare the crap out of you. So expect plenty of blood (on the screen, we mean), and plenty of mindf**** films.

Be sure to check out the full program, here.

If you’re feeling like engraving a cute and iconic figure on your skin (and who doesn’t have that impulse sometimes?) make sure to swing by the Quipster Shop at Kärntnerstraße this month. Because they’ll bring in a tattoo artist who’ll put a permanent Quipster tattoo on you – for FREE!

And if you’re not quite ready for the commitment: temporary tattoos will be an option as well.

The event of the year for all the theatre kids is finally around the corner…The International Musical Theatre Days! *Ball change, jazz hands!* You’ll be able to indulge in contemporary, independently produced works as well as guest plays from local and international theatre stars. Basically you’ll be in the room where it happens. Your future is unlimited. OMIGOD YOU GUYS!! (Ok, we’re stopping now.)

If you’re not quite ready to let go of summer yet (we know we aren’t) then visit the Spätsommer or ‘late-summer’ festival in the 2nd district. There’s going to be something for everyone’s taste. Whether it’s live music, good food or something for the kids like workshops and make up, you’ll have your hands full with things to do here!

September is Sturm season! If you visit a Heuriger at this time of year, you’ll be able to sip on the sweet and sour delight of Sturm. The semi-fermented, alcoholic grape juice made from the first grapes of the wine harvest season is a tradition that has played out for many years in Austria’s wine taverns. And it’s a drink worth experiencing amongst the changing colours of Autumn happening in Vienna’s wine hills at this time of year. Watch the brown leaves fall to the ground, and let the Sturm keep you warm.

You want your kids to start enjoying theatre early, right? After all, you’re a cultured family, dammit! Then do not miss out on this opportunity to show your young ones a piece of Austrian culture designed specifically to be enjoyed by their child brains. The Zauberflöte is a theatre piece performed by Mozart in (wooden) person! Enjoy a magical evening with them staring at wooden puppets performing an iconic piece of art. (The puppets might look a bit creepy to you but hey, the kids enjoy it. And they’re the bosses.)

Weekly movie nights at Max Brown Hotels is returning! (Yippity skippity!) The cosy theatre not only offers delicious drinks and FREE popcorn but also awesome movies that’ll make you cry, laugh, question your life choices and live through every other emotion that you can think of! (Also, seriously FREE popcorn?? You’ll save like 10 bucks!)

Our favourite red-headed singer decided to swing by Vienna and we’re already swooning. Ed Sheeran is in town! I don’t think we have to tell you who that is but we’re pretty sure the tickets will be gone quickly so…RUN!

Top restaurants all around Vienna will be offering discounts as part of Wiener Restaurantwoche this week. Around 80 gourmet places will participate, offering up of their lunch and dinner menus starting at 19.50€ and 39.50€ respectively. Don’t forget to make a reservation, because it can get really busy. And be sure to check out all the restaurants who are participating.

Few things can inspire the creative mind as much as the cutting edge art fair, Parallel Vienna, does each year. For the 10th time in a row, this art fair will transform unique buildings in Vienna into an exhibition center for both young and established artists. The framework welcomes art initiatives of all kinds to showcase art, from galleries to project spaces, curated spaces, and individual artists. It is as much a showcasing of local talents and trends as it is of networking and establishing new collaborations and professional platforms around art.

So if you ever feel like you are missing out on the overwhelming number of galleries and project spaces in this artsy city, get your dose of contemporary art, and a generous overview of local creatives at this funky fair.

There are normal circuses with sad clowns and holes in their tent, and then there is Cirque du Soleil. These guys are as good as it gets when it comes to performing artistic entertainment and acrobatics. You can catch their performances at the Stadthalle at the end of the month, so be sure check out their website for the exact times.

This one’s for the lovers of the bean! For those that want to bathe themselves in the brown nectar of the Gods! Ok, we’re getting a bit carried away – maybe we’ve had one too many coffees already today.

Anyhow, this is the 5th time round for the Vienna Coffee Festival which will be showcasing Vienna’s budding artisan coffee scene.

Coffee battles, workshops, demonstrations of how the bean becomes a cup of bliss – this is all in the program.

For details, check out their website

The godfather of Punk is coming to Vienna! Iggy Pop is about to rock the Wiener Konzerthaus off its foundation! Can you believe that this man is 74 years old? We can’t since he’s still singing and performing all of his most iconic songs. So put on your punk jacket with the pins and get ready for an unforgettable night full of headbanging, screaming and legendary music.

For ten days, the city will become an open stage for design. This festival showcases how design is shaping our everyday lives and influences us as individuals. Design is defining our lifestyle, our taste and our aesthetic sense and the Vienna Design Week is here to remind us of exactly that. This festival shows that design can open eyes and bring solutions to many day to day issues.

Check out their website for the complete program and get ready for many days full of exhibitions, workshops, presentations, guided tours and talks on the subject of design.

This exhibit is even in the calendars of those that hardly ever step foot in a gallery. With around 100 exhibitions around the world annually, the World Press Photo exhibition is the most popular traveling photo event in the world and will be displaying attention-grabbing photos at Westlicht gallery throughout September, October and the first week of November.

The poignant, moving images that are always guaranteed at this exhibition of photojournalism’s greatest shots of the year can be seen by anyone who has an interest in photography, or those that find the idea of reflecting on the last year of happenings around the world something they’d like to do.

Don’t be surprised if you leave with tears in your eyes, or full of inspiration.

You won’t be able to stand still at this street festival (like, really, because the crowd will be pushing you) as you listen and marvel at the many bands and solo artists playing on 3 different stages. This will be 2 days jam-packed (get it? Jam) full of music; and that is not all folks! That is not all! There will be food, there will be face painting (we suggest you go for a butterfly look), there will be shopping for random flea market treasures, there will be children’s activities. ANNND… no, that’s about it. Something for everyone, right?

Outstanding Austrian and international art will be displayed at the viennacontemporary art fair of a different kind. Goggle at art that you might not understand, but that’s okay. They have a full programm: countless discussions, guides and even concerts.

Ever wondered what’s behind the street facade of some of Vienna’s beautiful and interesting looking buildings? Ever wondered what some companies do that you’ve heard of. Ever wanted to get a sneak peek at the parts of the city that are closed to the public? Well, Open House Vienna is all about exploring your city and doing the things mentioned above.

Companies and buildings will throw open their doors to the public, and allow them to have a look around some of the most interesting parts of the city, especially those places with some of the most interesting architecture. Full details are available on their website, which will also includes a list of the buildings that are participating.

In September, the Ottakringer Brauerei will play host to a festival celebrating 2 kinds of spirits that have gained popularity in recent years – Rum and Gin! Two festivals will be taking place in the brewery at the same time – the Ginmarkt and the Rum Festival. Both festivals will bring together and showcase local and international spirit distillers, new cocktails, and there will also be some funky food on offer to soak up all the booze. You’ll be given your own tasting glass, but be careful how often you use it…you’ll probably end up leaving with a very wonky walk.

This summer has been HOT. So if you wanted to go for a run it was basically impossible unless you did it at night. And that is exactly what this event decided to do – a night run! So get your dusty running shoes out of the closet and join the 5km marathon around the Ring!

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.

A wave of bands will be hitting Vienna’s shores when the Waves Vienna music festival rolls up. They claim to bring some of the best of up-and-coming Eastern European and Western European bands together in the one weekend-long festival. Each year, they have a couple of countries they focus on (this time it’s gonna be the Danube countries) under the motto “East meets West”.

You won’t know the names of most of the bands in the program, and that’s the point – this music festival is all about discovering new sounds for your ears. Rock, Electronic and Alternative acts are amongst the mix, and there is a conference attached to the festival at which music and the collaborations between Eastern and Western are discussed and explored.