Shopping in Vienna
Opening hours
Shops are usually open Mon - Fri from 9.00 am - 6.30 pm, Sat until 5.00 pm or 6.00 pm; some shopping centers are open until 8.00 pm or 9.00 from Mon-Fri. Sunday and holiday shopping is possible at the large railway stations, at the airport and in the museum shops. If you really want to shop on Sundays and public holidays, we recommend you to make a trip to Bratislava or Brno on these days, as our dear neighbours don’t know compulsory shop opening hours. Especially the big shopping centers are open from 9 am to 10 pm in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Mariahilfer Straße
Emperor Franz Joseph used to travel along Mariahilfer Strasse as he shuttled between Schönbrunn Palace and the Hofburg. This street connecting the Ringstrasse boulevard and the Gürtel beltway cuts an almost two kilometer path through the 6th and 7th Districts. Today it is Vienna’s number one shopping destination and partly pedestrianized. This large thoroughfare features broad sidewalks and has attracted hundreds of shops and flagship stores carrying international brands, with a particular focus on fashion, footwear, accessories and interior design. There are also countless eateries, including cafés, ice-cream shops, fast food restaurants and pizzerias. Echoes of times gone can be heard at traditional shops like Walter Weiss which stocks virtually everything the heart desires when it comes to grooming – from combs to shaving brushes and mirrors. And of cource, you can always have a rest at X-Bar, just a hopf of Mariahilferstraße for some refreshments.
Kärnter Straße
Kärntner Strasse is home to one of just a handful of department stores in the city. Split across several floors, the Steffl department store offers fashion, fragrances and accessories. The nearby Ringstrassen Galerien is a spacious, indoor shopper’s paradise containing 70 shops and restaurants. Department store Peek & Cloppenburg has moved into a new building created by British architect David Chipperfield on the famous shopping street, opposite another relative newcomer, world-famous crystal maker Swarovski, which has a three-floor boutique packed with jewelry, fashion, accessories, design objects and its highly collectable crystal figurines.
Luxury at Graben, Kohlmarkt and Golden Quarter
The range of shopping options is particularly rich and diverse in Vienna’s historic first district. Here, the main – and most exclusive – shopping streets of Kohlmarkt, Graben and Kärntner Strasse form a pedestrianized area, which is known locally as the Golden U. This luxury hotspot took on an extra dimension in 2014 when the neighboring Goldenes Quartier (taking in Tuchlauben, Bognergasse, Seitzergasse, and Am Hof) officially opened for business.
Meinl am Graben
Meinl am Graben is the first adress for gourmets in Vienna. There’s nothing you won’t find, from traditional Austrian food to international delicatessen plus a huge liquor and wine assortment. In better days, Meinl had stores all over Austria, always specialising in upscale products, but when the Meinl Empire went down, they concentrated on the flagshipstore in Vienna and the excellent Austrian coffee from Meinl, branded with a well known moorish head with a red cap.
Before you enter the Shop, Meinl’s To Go sells freshly prepared bits for the bankers and other people working in the inner city. Of course they have a - rather modern - coffee house, where you can sit on the Graben and Kohlmarkt, where you can watch the young and restless passing by. If you prefer wine over coffee, then take a step into Meinl’s Wine Bar and taste Austrian and international wines. If you feel like enjoying a great dinner or lunch with your girlfriend or boyfriends, Meinl’s Sushi or Meinl’s Restaurant with an incomparable view over Graben and Kohlmarkt.
