Which station in Vienna?  Vienna Hauptbahnhof, Meidling or Westbahnhof?

• Vienna Hauptbahnhof:  This is Vienna's swish new central hub station, opened fully in December 2015.  All international trains and all ÖBB domestic mainline trains now use Vienna Hauptbahnhof, and it's the station you would normally want to use.  Hauptbahnhof is often abbreviated to Hbf, and it simply means main station in German.

• Vienna Meidling:  Some trains also call at Vienna Meidling on their way to or from Vienna Hbf, for example trains on the main east-west artery Munich/Zurich - Salzburg - Vienna - Budapest call at both Meidling and Hauptbahnhof.  By all means use Meidling if your train calls there and it's closer to your hotel, but normally it's better to use Vienna Hbf.

• Vienna Westbahnhof:  Vienna Westbahnhof is now only used by regional & suburban trains and by private operator Westbahn who run trains between Vienna Westbahnhof, Linz & Salzburg.  All international trains and ÖBB domestic mainline trains ceased using Vienna Westbahnhof from the timetable change on 13 December 2015.  The Westbahnhof is a terminus, and this saved trains having to reverse at the Westbahnhof, slashing half an hour off the journey time from Munich or Salzburg to Budapest, for example.

Station locations...

Vienna Hauptbahnhof.  See panorama tour of station.

Vienna Hbf is a through station (not a terminus), on an east-west route through the city.  The main concourse is at ground level beneath the tracks with an entrance either side of the station.  Escalators and/or lifts lead up to each platform.  The station opened fully on 13 December 2015.

Vienna's new Hauptbahnhof, open for business...  Unlike Vienna Westbahnhof which is  a terminus, the new Hauptbahnhof is a through station.  See panorama tour of station

ÖBB first class lounge...

If you have a first class ticket or any sort of sleeping-car ticket, or a first class InterRail or Eurail pass, you can use the first class lounge before or after your journey.  The lounge at Vienna Hauptbahnhof is open 06:00-23:30 every day of the week.  It offers free WiFi, tea, coffee and snacks, also (after 18:00) red & white wine, beer.  You'll find similar lounges at Vienna Meidling, Vienna Westbahnhof, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz & Klagenfurt, full details of opening hours and entry requirements can be found on www.oebb.at.

This is the ÖBB lounge at Vienna Hauptbahnhof.  Courtesy of DiscoverbyRail.com.

Left luggage...

There are left luggage lockers available if you need to leave your bags, see the luggage lockers page for details.

Local transport:  Walking, taxis & metro...

• Walking...  There's no reason why you can't walk from the station to the city sights, but it's a fair way.  Vienna Hbf to St Stephan's cathedral is 3km and takes 38 minutes, for example, see Google map of Vienna showing stations.  You may prefer to take the metro or a taxi.

• U-Bahn:  Vienna Hbf is on line U1 of the Vienna U-bahn (= underground or metro).  This will take you direct to Stephansplatz in the city centre, change there for line U3 to Vienna Westbahnhof.  Vienna Meidling is on line U6.  U-bahn stations are marked with a distinctive U sign.  For metro information see www.wienerlinien.at.

• Taxis:  For a taxi fare calculator see www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=Vienna-Austria&lang=en.  Taxis are usually plentiful outside the station.

Vienna Westbahnhof...

You'll find plenty of shops, cafes, restaurants & ATMs inside the Westbahnhof.  Left luggage lockers are available, see here for prices.  However, from 13 December 2015 virtually all international trains will use Vienna Hbf and will no longer serve Vienna Westbahnhof.  Only regional trains and the Westbahn trains to/from Salzburg will use the Westbahnhof.

Vienna Westbahnhof on a rainy day...		Inside the Westbahnhof...