Which station in Vienna?  City map showing stations...

• Vienna Hauptbahnhof is Vienna's swish new central station, opened fully in December 2015 and used by all international trains and all ÖBB domestic mainline trains.  Hauptbahnhof is often abbreviated to Hbf, it simply means main station in German.  Vienna is of course Wien 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 as this is the main station with more facilities.

• Vienna Westbahnhof:  Vienna Westbahnhof is a terminus now only used by regional & suburban trains and by the hourly privately-operated Westbahn trains to Linz & Salzburg.  All international trains and ÖBB domestic mainline trains ceased using Vienna Westbahnhof from the timetable change on 13 December 2015.

• Vienna Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof:  A small terminus in the north of the city handling regional trains to Ceske Velenice for Ceske Budejovice & Cesky Krumlov.

Vienna Hauptbahnhof.  See panorama tour of station.

Vienna Hbf is Vienna's swanky new central station, a modern station truly fit for a capital city which opened fully on 13 December 2015.  The idea was simple:  To replace 3 separate dead-end termini (Westbahnhof, Ostbahnhof & Sudbahnhof) with one big central through station at which all trains could call when passing through Vienna, both east-west & north-south.  East-west trains no longer have to go into the Westbahnhof (a dead-end terminus) and waste time having the locomotive detached and another attached at the other end to haul it out.  Passengers no longer have to trek between stations by taxi, tram or bus to make connections between east-west trains using the Westbahnhof and northbound or southbound trains using the Ostbahnhof or Sudbahnhof.  All trains now use one main central hub, Vienna Hbf.  It has transformed travel to, from & across Vienna, making interchange easy and cutting 30 minutes off the journey from Munich or Salzburg to Budapest, for example.

Main entrance on the northern side of the tracks, nearest the city centre as you'd expect.  This entrance is on the western side of the concourse, there's smaller entrance on the eastern side.

Main concourse seen from just inside the main entrance.  The upper-level row of windows on the right looks through to platforms 3-12. The ticket office (reisezentrum) is on the right of this photo, beneath the red ÖBB sign.  The stairs just left of centre lead down to platforms 1 & 2 used by S-Bahn & some regional trains, and to toilets and U-Bahn. Beyond the ticket office on the right is the broad passageway leading under tracks with escalators or lifts up to platforms 3-12.  The entrance to the ÖBB Lounge is in the far distance on the left, the lounge itself is on the first floor. See panorama tour of station.

Vienna Hbf main concourse, seen from the 1st floor windows of the ÖBB Lounge.  Underneath the departures board is is the wide passageway under the tracks, from which stairs, escalators and/or lifts lead up to platforms 3-12.  To the right of the departure board is the ticket office.  The stairs just visible on the far right lead down to platforms 1 & 2, toilets & U-Bahn.

South side entrance.  The Interspar supermarket & ÖBB's company headquarters are on this side of the tracks

Platforms...

Platforms 1 & 2 are sub-surface, used by S-Bahn suburban trains and regional trains.

Platforms 3 to 12 are above ground level on a viaduct, served by all ÖBB mainline domestic & international trains.  They're numbered from north to south, with platform 3 closest to the main entrance and concourse

Platforms 3-12 are one level up from ground/concourse level.  Each pair of platforms is reached by stairs, escalators or lifts from the passageway below.

The stairs from concourse down to platforms 1 & 2, toilets and the U-bahn.  There are also lifts.		Sub-surface platforms 1 & 2, used by S-Bahn & regional trains.

Ticket offices

The main ticket office is on the main concourse on the northern side of the tracks, see the photo below.  It's well-organised with a reception desk and numbered queuing system to make sure you go to the right ticket counter in your turn.  There is a separate ticket office with counters for Westbahn and Regiojet trains, to the right of the main ÖBB ticket office, see the photo below.

ÖBB first class lounge...

If you have a 1st class ticket or any sort of sleeping-car ticket, or a 1st class Interrail or Eurail pass, you can use the first class lounge for up to 90 minutes 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.

ÖBB Lounge entrance on the main concourse.		The ÖBB Lounge is on the first floor, accessed by stairs or lift.

Left luggage...

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

Supermarket & places to eat...

• There are a variety of eateries & food outlets around the station, including cafes and fast food.

• The best place to stock up for a journey is the Interspar Pronto supermarket on the ground floor of the station near the steps up to platforms 11 & 12, on the south side of the station - see the photo below.  The supermarket also has an entrance off the south side forecourt.

• Bierochs Bierkeller, 7 minutes walk south of the station, has been recommended as a great bar to kill time between trains.  See article.  See walking route map.

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.

Hotels in Vienna...

• Near the station:  There are a number of good and relatively inexpensive hotels just outside Vienna Hbf, try the Novotel Vienna Hbf, Motel One Vienna Hbf, Hotel Zeitgeist Vienna Hbf.

• In the city centre near the sights:  Central hotels tend to be expensive, but try the 3-star Pension Nossek (with art nouveau rooms, just 5 minutes walk from St Stephen's cathedral), 4-star K&K Palais Hotel, Mercure Centrum Wien or Le Meridien Vienna.  If you really want to push the boat out, there's always the 5-star Palais Hansen Kempinski Vienna & Park Hyatt Vienna.

• For something inexpensive try the Best Western Plus Amedia Hotel, a little way out of the centre and a taxi ride from the station.

Vienna Westbahnhof...

Vienna Westbahnhof used to be one of Vienna's main stations, but in December 2015 all mainline trains were transferred to Vienna Hbf and now it's only used by regional trains and the hourly Westbahn trains to Salzburg.  You'll find plenty of shops, cafes, restaurants & ATMs at the Westbahnhof.  Left luggage lockers are available, see here for opening hours & prices.

Vienna Westbahnhof...		Inside the Westbahnhof...

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