What is there to do in Vienna when it rains?

Head indoors to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, see Klimt's The Kiss at the Upper Belvedere, tour the Hofburg's imperial apartments and Sisi Museum, and warm up in a classic coffee house with a slice of Sachertorte.

Which Vienna museum is best on a rainy day?

The Kunsthistorisches Museum is the top pick for old masters and its spectacular café, while the Upper Belvedere is the essential stop for Klimt. Both use timed-entry tickets, so book a slot before you set out.

Can you visit the Spanish Riding School in bad weather?

Yes — the Lipizzaners train and perform in the covered Winter Riding School inside the Hofburg, so morning exercise sessions and performances run rain or shine. Performance tickets are booked directly with the school and sell out ahead.

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Rainy Day in Vienna: Best Indoor Things to Do

Vienna may be the best big city in Europe to be rained on — the Habsburgs left it stuffed with museums, gilded palaces and coffee houses where lingering is the whole point. Here is how to spend a wet day in Vienna entirely indoors, with the top-rated tickets and tours to book.

At a glance

1Kunsthistorisches Museum
2Coffee house & Sachertorte
3Belvedere & Klimt's Kiss
4Hofburg, Sisi & the Lipizzaners

Morning: old masters at the Kunsthistorisches

Begin under the dome of the Kunsthistorisches Museum on the Ringstrasse, home to the world's largest Bruegel collection, Vermeer's The Art of Painting and the Habsburgs' treasure-filled Kunstkammer. A timed-entry ticket gets you past the queue that forms on wet mornings, and the marble staircase café under the cupola is a destination in itself. Give it two to three unhurried hours.

Midday: a coffee house and the Sachertorte question

Viennese coffee houses were built for bad weather — UNESCO lists their culture as intangible heritage, and no waiter will rush you out. Settle in for a mélange and decide the city's oldest argument yourself: original Sachertorte at Café Sacher or the rival recipe at Demel. A guided coffee house tour with tastings adds the stories behind the marble tables and takes about 2.5 hours, all indoors.

Afternoon: Klimt at the Belvedere

When the rain settles in, head to the Upper Belvedere, the baroque palace holding Gustav Klimt's The Kiss along with major works by Schiele and Kokoschka. Entry tickets start from about €18 and timed slots are worth reserving — the Klimt rooms get crowded on grey afternoons for exactly the reason you're there. The palace's frescoed Marble Hall alone justifies the visit.

Still raining? The Hofburg and the Lipizzaners

Finish inside the Hofburg, the Habsburgs' 2,600-room winter palace. Skip-the-line tours cover the imperial apartments, the silver collection and the Sisi Museum, devoted to the restless Empress Elisabeth. The complex also houses the Spanish Riding School — if timing allows, catch the white Lipizzaner stallions at morning exercise or a performance in the chandelier-lit Winter Riding School, booked directly with the school.