Vienna is a huge city so has everything you might expect in terms of shops: from small ethnic grocery outlets to flagship stores for luxury brands. But where should you focus your attention for a holiday shopping spree?
- Take a shuttle bus* to dozens of brand outlet stores in Parndorf
- See also:
- Recommended souvenirs
- Opening times
Jump to:
- Kärntner Straße, Graben, Kohlmarkt
- The Golden Quarter
- Outlet stores
- Mariahilfer Straße
- A local favourite
- Malls and centres
- Westfield Shopping City Süd
- Other shopping complexes
- Something different
- Open-air markets etc.
Stores galore
Unlike Vienna’s museums and palaces, stores come and go (especially given the times we find ourselves in). So, if you’re looking for a specific store, check locally to see if it’s still there before heading out.
Luxury & brand shopping
(View down the Graben pedestrianised street)
Let’s begin with the more expensive and exclusive end of the shopping adventure. Now, as a lowly writer locked in an attic with a bottle of cheap brandy and a typewriter, I cannot speak from experience, but…
Kärntner Straße, Graben, Kohlmarkt
Walking along the streets in Vienna’s pedestrianised old town takes you past various top stores. Last time I checked:
- The Graben had, for example, Omega, Hermès, Tag Heuer, Longines, Tommy Hilfiger, and Longchamp
- Kohlmarkt featured, for example, Lagerfeld, Chopard, Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Breitling, Dior, Fendi, and Burberry
- Kärntner Straße hosted, for example, Boss, Chanel, Lobmeyr, Ray Ban, Peek & Cloppenburg, the Steffl department store, the Österreichische Werkstätten (spiritual successors to the Wiener Werkstätte) and Swarovski (who offer a special shopping experience tour*)
Bonus mention goes to Meinl am Graben, a large high-end food store at the junction of the Graben and Kohlmarkt. The place to pick up your champagne and gourmet delicacies (and a fair few international imports as well).
Also, be sure to wander down the side streets around this area. The flagship Augarten porcelain store, for example, is just off the Graben on Spiegelgasse.
As time goes by, the pedestrianised areas (and Kohlmarkt in particular) seem to accumulate more and more high-end labels with fewer local shops around. Which is just economics, but the cost is a loss to the unique character of the locations.
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The Golden Quarter
An extension of the above is the so-called Goldenes Quartier (Golden Quarter) around Bognergasse, Tuchlauben and Seitzergasse.
A relatively new initiative, the area brings together numerous top brands (e.g. Alexander McQueen, Prada, Armani, Saint Laurent, and Valentino) in close proximity to one another.
Incidentally, all the above parts of the centre have gorgeous Christmas lights from late November onwards.
Outlet stores
Another popular option used by the Viennese (and my kids) for top brands is the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet centre located outside of Vienna, but easily reached through a one-hour shuttle bus service* that leaves from just outside the State Opera House.
The centre has around 160 stores…from Adidas to Versace and all things in-between.
Mariahilfer Straße: a local favourite
(View along Mariahilfer Straße)
When your average Vienna resident goes shopping for clothes or gifts, they pop into one of the malls (see below).
Or they simply wander along Mariahilfer Straße, a long shopping street close to the centre and adjacent to the Museumsquartier cultural complex. Big chunks of the street are closed to most traffic.
Mariahilfer Straße offers a potpourri of everything, with a slight emphasis on clothes, sports, and shoes. This is where you likely find, for example, brands like H&M, Puma, Pull & Bear, Snipes, C&A, Jack Wolfskin, Nike, New Yorker, Zara, Geox, Footlocker, Peek & Cloppenburg, etc..
The big department store there is Gerngross, first opened in 1879 and filled with various brands.
The top levels house a giant electronics store (MediaMarkt) and a gastronomy area (the Akakiko Japanese restaurant – one of our favourites – is up there).
Again, drop into side streets for more shopping opportunities, as the local area has plenty to offer.
Another advantage to Mariahilfer Straße is accessibility by public transport.
For example, Westbahnhof station (U3 and U6 subways and numerous tram lines) tops one end of the main shopping part.
Further down the street are the U3 subway stations Neubaugasse and Zieglergasse, while the lower end has the Museumsquartier station on the U2 subway line.
Incidentally, Mariahilfer Straße holds another bonus for visitors: the Haydn Kino is one of Vienna’s English-language movie theatres.
Oh, and quite a few cafés, bars, and ice cream parlours fill the spaces between the stores, including the traditional Café Ritter coffee house. Nip down the Otto-Bauer-Gasse side street for Café Jelinek and the lovely L’Amour du Pain French-style bakery.
As you can tell, finding refreshment before (or after) a round of shopping is easy.
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Malls and centres
(The Badner Bahn service with its new TW500 vehicles takes you out to the SCS centre; press photo by WLB/Zinner and © Wiener Lokalbahnen)
Numerous malls and shopping centres wave their wares at you in and around Vienna. Here a few suggestions…
Westfield Shopping City Süd (SCS)
This is an absolutely mammoth shopping centre on Vienna’s outskirts. So, for example, it has:
- A huge cinema complex
- Over 50 places to eat and drink, including international chains like McDonalds, Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, and Burger King
- A bucketload of shops (well over 200)
In addition to a huge mall complex, various more-or-less standalone giant stores fill out the SCS area. A big IKEA is here, for example.
If you don’t want to drive out there, the Badner Bahn city train takes you from Vienna’s centre to the Vösendorf SCS stop. The Badner Bahn starts at the Oper/Karlsplatz stop opposite the State Opera House.
Other shopping complexes
- Westfield Donau Zentrum
A huge mall also with its own multiplex cinema, over 50 places to eat and drink, and over 200 shops. The Donau Zentrum slots neatly into Vienna’s subway system, with a station next door: Kagran on the U1 line.
- Millennium City
Another big mall with dozens of shops and restaurants, as well as plenty of entertainment venues (cinema complex, bowling alley, indoor play centre, and more).
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(Find tickets and experience options for the palace and zoo)
Millennium City also adjoins a subway station: Handelskai sits on the U6 line, but is also a hub for city trains like the S45 that traverses Vienna or the S7 that goes out to the airport.
- SCN – Shopping Center Nord
The smaller-scale pendant to SCS, located on the northern side of the city.
- The railway stations
Vienna’s three main railway stations all underwent major refurbishments or rebuilding recently. Which is when the shops and restaurants moved in. So if you find yourself at Westbahnhof, Wien Mitte or Wien Hauptbahnhof, take a look around.
Something different
(Olives from the Naschmarkt)
Of course, Vienna also offers plenty of markets, niche stores, organic grocery chains, and similar. Four particular tips, though…
- For international flair, drop into the Naschmarkt, a large open-air food market with stalls from around the world and also plenty of places to grab a snack or meal
- If you miss your British or American food, drinks, or snacks, try Bobby’s foodstore (my ongoing source of Branston pickle, salt & vinegar flavoured crisps, and Cadbury’s mini-eggs)
- For American snacks and drinks, also try the Snack Shop at Otto-Bauer-Gasse 23 (as mentioned above, just off Mariahilfer Straße and very close to the east exit out of Zieglergasse subway station on the U3)
- Find information on Vienna’s supermarkets, which I’d rate as relatively inexpensive and good quality, though I have nothing to compare them with. Most have a wide range of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, diabetic, and (particularly) organic products, too
