UrbanPicnics

Austria

Vienna

Vienna gave the world the Würstelstand — a permanent street kiosk selling hot sausage at two in the morning — so the city has never had a problem with eating standing up. The parks are formal and immaculate and nobody will look at you strangely for having lunch in one.

5 places to sit · 12 places to buy food · checked 2026-09-14

Green markers are the picnic spots. Amber ones are where to buy the food. Every place below also links straight to Google Maps for walking directions.

Before you go

  • Sunday closes Vienna. Supermarkets and many small shops shut completely; Würstelstände and museum cafés stay open.
  • Public drinking fountains are rare, but the tap water is Alpine spring water piped in and is excellent. Bring a bottle.
  • Most of the central sights are inside the Ringstraße and walkable. The U-Bahn covers everything else in minutes.

Burggarten

Innere Stadt, 1010

The Habsburgs' private garden behind the Hofburg, opened to everyone in 1919. There's a pond, an art nouveau glasshouse full of butterflies, and the Mozart statue with a treble clef planted in flowers in front of it.

Where to sit
Lawns you're allowed on, plus benches around the pond.
Open
6am–10pm.

Walking directions to Burggarten

Pick up food first

  1. Bitzinger Würstelstand

    €

    Käsekrainer — sausage shot through with melted cheese — with mustard and a roll

    The best-regarded sausage stand in the city, and about ninety seconds from the garden gate.

    3 min walk Daily 8am–4am

    Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 · Directions

  2. Leberkas-Pepi

    €

    Leberkäse — a hot meatloaf — in a fresh roll, a dozen ways

    Order the Pepi-Semmerl. Cheaper and more filling than anything else nearby.

    4 min walk Mon–Sat from 10am. Closed Sunday.

    Operngasse 12, 1010 · Directions

  3. Buffet Trzesniewski

    €

    Tiny open sandwiches with paprika, egg, herring or bacon spreads

    Open since 1902. Order five or six — each one is two bites. They box them up for takeaway.

    8 min walk Mon–Fri 8.30am–7.30pm, Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 10am–5pm

    Dorotheergasse 1, 1010 · Directions

Donaukanal at Schwedenplatz

Innere Stadt / Leopoldstadt

The Danube Canal is Vienna's release valve: concrete banks covered end to end in graffiti, pop-up bars on pontoons, and steps down to the water where the city comes to sit in the evening.

Where to sit
Wide concrete steps and terraces right on the water.
Open
Open all hours. Liveliest from late afternoon.

Walking directions to Donaukanal at Schwedenplatz

Pick up food first

  1. Schachtelwirt

    €€

    Schnitzel, roast pork and goulash, served in a box to go

    Austrian home cooking designed from the start to be carried away. The roast pork is the pick.

    6 min walk Daily 11.30am–10pm

    Judengasse 5, 1010 · Directions

  2. Café Ansari

    €€

    Georgian khachapuri, mezze, salads

    Ask for the khachapuri to take away — a cheese-filled bread boat that holds its heat well.

    5 min walk Tue–Sat from 11am, Sun 9am–3.30pm, Mon from 4pm

    Praterstraße 15, 1020 · Directions

Stadtpark

Innere Stadt, 1010

Vienna's first public park, laid out in 1862, with a small river running through it and the gilded Johann Strauss statue that every tour group in the city queues to photograph. Walk fifty metres past it and you'll have a bench to yourself.

Where to sit
Benches, lawns, and the stone banks of the Wienfluss.
Open
Open 24 hours.

Walking directions to Stadtpark

Pick up food first

  1. Joseph Brot

    €€

    Organic sourdough, filled rolls, quiche, pastries

    The bread is the reason to come. Buy a loaf and something to put on it.

    11 min walk Mon–Fri 7.30am–6.30pm, weekends 7.30am–5pm

    Führichgasse 6, 1010 · Directions

  2. Ströck-Feierabend

    €€

    Bakery counter plus a full kitchen: sandwiches, salads, pastries

    More of a restaurant than a bakery, but the takeaway counter is fast and cheap.

    17 min walk Mon–Fri 7am–10pm, weekends 7am–6pm

    Landstraßer Hauptstraße 82, 1030 · Directions

  3. Schachtelwirt

    €€

    Boxed schnitzel and roast pork

    A longer walk from this park than from the canal, but worth it if you want schnitzel outdoors.

    14 min walk Daily 11.30am–10pm

    Judengasse 5, 1010 · Directions

Resselpark, Karlsplatz

Wieden, 1040

A long reflecting pool in front of the Karlskirche's green dome and two enormous carved columns. Sit on the low wall facing the church with your back to the traffic and the view does all the work.

Where to sit
Benches and low walls around the pond; grass at the edges.
Open
Open all hours.

Walking directions to Resselpark, Karlsplatz

Pick up food first

  1. Tewa am Naschmarkt

    €€

    Middle Eastern mezze plates, wraps, grilled chicken

    In the Naschmarkt, Vienna's big open-air market. Wander the stalls first — plenty of cheaper grab-and-go options.

    7 min walk Mon–Sat 8am–11pm, Sun 10am–9pm

    Naschmarkt Stand 672, 1060 · Directions

  2. Leberkas-Pepi

    €

    Hot Leberkäse rolls

    Straight up Operngasse, five minutes.

    5 min walk Mon–Sat from 10am. Closed Sunday.

    Operngasse 12, 1010 · Directions

Augarten

Leopoldstadt, 1020

Vienna's oldest baroque garden, all straight avenues of chestnut trees — and then, rising out of the middle of it, two vast concrete anti-aircraft towers from 1944 that nobody has ever worked out how to remove. Nowhere else looks like this.

Where to sit
Big open lawns and long shaded avenues. Rarely crowded.
Open
6.30am–8pm.

Walking directions to Augarten

Pick up food first

  1. Der Wiener Deewan

    €

    Pakistani curries, rice and bread — all you can eat, pay what you think is fair

    Pay-as-you-wish, genuinely. There's a fixed-price takeaway option too, which is what you want here.

    23 min walk Mon–Sat 11am–11pm. Closed Sunday.

    Liechtensteinstraße 10, 1090 · Directions

  2. Café Ansari

    €€

    Georgian and Middle Eastern plates

    On the way if you're walking up from the canal.

    23 min walk Tue–Sat from 11am, Sun 9am–3.30pm, Mon from 4pm

    Praterstraße 15, 1020 · Directions

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