Vienna in December 2026: weather and what to do

Is December a good time for Vienna? Yes, if you like cold, clear days, coffee houses and Christmas markets. Daytime highs average 5.5 °C, nights hover around freezing, and only 46 mm of rain falls in the whole month. The days are short – about 8 hours 20 minutes of daylight around the solstice – but the city is lit up from mid-November, and the big markets on Rathausplatz and at Schönbrunn stay open until Christmas and beyond.

Weather in Vienna in December

Averages 2015–2024 from the ERA5 reanalysis (via Open-Meteo), rounded. Daylight: astronomical day length on 21 December at Vienna's latitude, about 8 h 20 min (sunrise to sunset).

What this means in practice: frost at night is normal, and a cold wind can make 5 °C feel much colder on the open squares. Snow is possible but not reliable – many Decembers stay grey and dry. Rain is rarely the problem; the cold is. Plan your sightseeing for the middle of the day, when it is light and a little warmer, and keep the markets for the evening, when the lights are on.

What's on in December 2026

The Christmas markets are the main reason people come to Vienna in December. In 2026, according to the organisers and the Vienna Tourist Board:

Next to the City Hall, the Ice Dream (Wiener Eistraum) ice rink runs from 13 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, closed on 31 December. Opening times for every market, and a route that links them on foot, are in our guide to the Vienna Christmas markets 2026.

Two dates to keep in mind: most of the small old-town markets close on 23 December, and on 24 December the markets that are still open close early. If you come between Christmas and New Year, Schönbrunn, the Belvedere and the winter market at the Prater are your options.

What to do on a cold or rainy day

Vienna is one of the easiest cities in Europe to spend a cold day indoors:

• Kunsthistorisches Museum: Bruegel, Vermeer, Raphael and a café under the dome – easily half a day.
• The Belvedere: Klimt's "The Kiss" in the Upper Belvedere, combined with the Christmas market in front of it.
• The Hofburg: the Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum and the silver collection under one roof.
• The State Hall of the National Library: one of the most beautiful baroque libraries anywhere.
• Coffee houses: Café Central, Café Sperl or Café Hawelka – sitting for an hour over a coffee is part of the culture, not a waste of time.
• Music: the State Opera, the Musikverein and many churches have concerts throughout Advent; programmes and tickets are on their official websites.

Tickets for Schönbrunn, the Hofburg and the museums^* are on Tiqets; a timed slot saves you the queue in the cold.

Christmas and New Year: what is open

In Austria, 24 December is a working day, but shops close early and most families celebrate in the evening. 25 and 26 December are public holidays: shops are closed, and many restaurants are closed or fully booked. 8 December (Immaculate Conception) is also a public holiday, though many shops in Vienna open on that day. 1 January is a public holiday too.

Museums and palaces keep their own holiday hours – some close on 24 and 25 December, others open with shorter hours. We do not list times here because they change from year to year; check the official website of each sight a few days before you go, and book restaurants for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day well in advance. Public transport runs on all holidays, usually on a Sunday timetable.

What to pack

• A warm, windproof coat, a hat, a scarf and gloves – evenings at the markets are spent standing still in the cold.
• Shoes with a good sole that keep your feet dry; cobblestones can be icy.
• Layers for indoors: museums, cafés and trams are well heated.
• A small bag or backpack for the markets; mugs for mulled wine come with a deposit and many people keep one as a souvenir.

YesTrip shows the forecast for your actual travel days and suggests matching clothes in the packing list.

How many days, and where to stay

Three days are a good length for a December trip: the old town and the Hofburg on day one, Schönbrunn and its market on day two, museums and the Belvedere on day three, with the markets in the evenings. Our article on how many days in Vienna has plans for one to four days, and our Vienna trip plan has the three-day route with a map. If you have a fourth day, our guide to the best day trips from Vienna covers the Wachau, Bratislava and more.

For a December stay, the Innere Stadt puts you within walking distance of most markets; Neubau near Spittelberg is a little cheaper and just as practical. Hotels fill up for Advent weekends, so book early. Travelling from outside the EU, a travel eSIM for Austria^* (Airalo) is usually cheaper than roaming; our eSIM price index compares prices per gigabyte.

With YesTrip you copy our Vienna plan into the app with one tap, add your hotel and the markets you want to see, and get the weather for your travel days and an offline map. YesTrip is free.

Vienna trip planDay by day, with map and tips

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