Vienna Districts and Neighborhoods – The Ultimate Map

Preferred Living Areas

• Just about everywhere, except perhaps for the area directly on the canal or the Ringstraße (due to traffic noise).
• The historic center of Vienna was a walled-in city until the mid-19th century when the ramparts were demolished to make way for the Ringstraße – the splendid boulevard lined with noble buildings that circumnavigate the district. The inner city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is where most museums and cultural institutions in Vienna are located.
• The city center has the fewest residents but the largest workforce of all districts. It also abounds with tourists at all times of the year.
• The pedestrian zones of Kärntner Straße, Graben, and Kohlmarkt – informally known as the “Golden U” – is a shopper’s paradise showcasing unique local boutiques, international chain stores and luxury flagship stores.

Fun Facts

A quarter of all 1st district residents are over 65 years old – higher than the city average (17 percent).

Apartments here tend to be on the larger side – more than three of four apartments are larger than 60 m2. But more than half of the units are occupied by only one person.

Who should search for an apartment in the 1st district?

For you, money is no object. Perhaps you’re a highly ranked diplomat. You want to live like an aristocrat. You are probably single.

Pros

• Couldn’t be more central!
• Ample access to public transportation
• An abundance of cultural attractions, shopping, restaurants, and nightlife
• Beautiful old apartment houses, old-world charm
• Many pedestrian zones

Cons

• Most expensive housing, shopping, and restaurants
• Tourist hordes at your doorstep
• Driving-unfriendly

Preferred Living Areas

• The 2nd and its neighboring 20th district are situated on an “island” outlined by the Danube River and its city canal. Following Kaiser Ferdinand II’s ban on Jews in the city center and prior to the Nazi era, the so-called “Matzoh island” was the epicenter of the Jewish community in Vienna (it remains so today, though much smaller).
• The extension of the U2 subway through the 2nd district in 2008 made Leopoldstadt an even more attractive place to reside, and increased demand has resulted in higher apartment prices, particularly in the Karmeliterviertel and Stuwerviertel. The Nordbahnviertel, lying across the train tracks and closer to the river, is somewhat less attractive and accessible.
• In the southeast of the 2nd is the immense Prater park, the former imperial hunting grounds and today about 600 hectares of green space including woodlands, marshes, meadows, playgrounds, horse trails and several sport clubs. The northwestern corner of the park is the Volksprater (a.k.a., “Wurstelprater”) amusement park.
• Between the Volksprater and the Danube River is a trade-expo center (Messegelände) and the new campus of the University of Economics and Business (WU). Branded as “Viertel Zwei,” new residential buildings catering to young singles and families are being developed here.
• The Augarten, a formal garden park, lies on the district’s northern border.

Areas closest to the 2nd district

AUGARTEN, KARMALITERMARKT, PRATER COTTAGE, VIERTEL ZWEI.

Fun Facts

Leopoldstadt is a city district partner with Brooklyn, N.Y.

Who should search for an apartment in the 2nd district?

Those who want a central location, a good balance of the urban and green area,s and ethnic diversity. Dog owners [dogs].

Pros

• Proximity to the Prater, city center, Danube Canal and River, Donauinsel
• Unique retail, not just chain stores
• Good restaurants, cafes and food markets

Cons

• Separated from the rest of the inner city by the canal
• The northern railroad cuts off a large portion of the district
• Less than average proportion of larger apartments (>130 m2)
• Densely populated, not counting Prater, nearly 8000

Preferred Living Areas

• The Wien River separates the 3rd district from the city center, but some of the historic center’s opulence spills over the border. Prince Eugene of Savoy liked the 3rd district so much he built not one, but two, palaces here, separated by a large Baroque garden.
  Today, the Belvedere Palaces are museums – the Upper Palace is home to several much-loved paintings by Gustav Klimt. Adjacent to the Upper Belvedere Schloß is the Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna.
• The northern Radetzky Quarter (Weißgerber) is an up-and-coming Grätzl popular among young residents. Neu Marx, formerly Vienna’s slaughterhouse area, has become a burgeoning business area for bio-tech and media startups.
• Erdberg, in the southeast, is mainly an industrial area but also home to new office and residential development along the canal.
• Landstraße has seen steady population growth in the last five years. By 2034, the population could grow nearly 20 percent, largely due to foreign migrants settling here.

FASANVIERTEL, WIEN MITTE/STADTPARK, BELVEDERE/BOTSCHAFTSVIERTEL, ROCHUSMARKT, WEISSGERBER, ARENBERG PARK

Fun Facts

Over 300 years old, a White Mulberry tree on
Landstraße Hauptstraße is one of the oldest in
the city and is one of 11 protected natural
monuments in the 3rd district

Who should search for an apartment in the 3rd district?

Families looking for quieter neighborhoods but still centrally located

Pros

• Proximity to city center, offices
• Diplomatic quarter
• Wien Mitte transport hub
• Landstraße Hauptstraße (shopping high street)

Cons

• Lacks charm
• Business district

Preferred Living Areas

• Wieden is among the smallest Viennese districts and is very densely populated, with relatively little green space. Nevertheless, its proximity to the city center, transportation hubs, the Technical University and the Naschmarkt, as well as its ample shops and restaurants, make it a desirable area for many.
• Before the 7th district became Vienna’s hipster central, the 4th held this title for many years and the vibe carries on, especially on Schleifmühlgasse and Schönbrunner Straße. There are several art galleries and sidewalk cafés.
• The Theresianum is considered one of the most “noble” private schools in Vienna and is where many expats’ children are educated (some students also board there). It is also home to the Diplomatic Academy, a postgraduate professional school.
• A relatively high percentage (24 percent) of apartments in Wieden are family-size (between 90 and 130 m2).
• Generally, the southernmost area of Wieden, close to the Gürtel, is less attractive.

AREAS NEAR CITY CENTER, NASCHMARKT
AND BELVEDERE.

Fun Facts

Running down the Wiedner Hauptstraße, the
Badner Bahn may look like a streetcar, but it
travels some 30 km from Karlsplatz to the
Lower Austrian spa town of Baden.

Who should search for an apartment in the 4th district?

Students, artists, and young families

Pros

• Proximity to Naschmarkt, Hauptbahnhof

Cons

• Densely populated
• Few green spaces

Preferred Living Areas

• Like the 4th, its eastern neighbor, the 5th is densely populated but with even less green space and hipness factor. In the last decade, there was a lot of speculative real estate investment here pending the construction of the Hauptbahnhof and the extension of the U2 subway. Prices rose accordingly. The area has yet to realize its full potential, but considering its great location and access to public transportation, there may be a turnaround in the coming years.
• Many charmless public housing projects line the heavily trafficked Gürtel and Wienzeile, which form the district’s southern, western and northern borders. However, the central areas around Margaretenplatz offer pleasant restaurants, cafés and shopping.
• More than half of the apartments in Margareten are occupied by only one person and nearly one of four units is less than 45m2 in size.

MARGARETENPLATZ, AREAS EAST OF REINPRECHTSDORFER STRASSE AND NORTH OF WIEDNER HAUPTSTRASSE

Fun Facts

Hell’s Angels Vienna chapter clubhouse is
located on Siebenbrunnengasse 11

Birthplace of Falco and Bruno Kreisky

Who should search for an apartment in the 5th district?

Singles on tight budgets

Pros

• Northern tip of district abuts Naschmarkt
• Extension / rerouting of U2 line will have three 5th district stations: Pilgramgasse, Reinprechtsdorfer Straße, and Matzleinsdorferplatz (construction starting in 2018)

Cons

• Most densely populated in Vienna
• Few cultural attractions
• Very little green space

Preferred Living Areas

• Preferred Residential Areas: around Naschmarkt, Getreidemarkt and Mariahilfer Straße
• Bordered by the Wienzeile, Gürtel, Zweierlinie and Mariahilfer Straße, the 6th district enjoys proximity to shopping, culture and public transportation. Built on a hill, many of its north-south running streets are steep and narrow, so several stairways (Stiege) have been built to connect the main thoroughfares Gumpendorfer Straße and Mariahilfer Straße.
• The latter, forming the border between the 6th and 7th districts, is Vienna’s longest shopping street. Since 2015, a large portion of the street has been made into a shared (mainly pedestrian) zone.
• The second smallest district in Vienna, Mariahilf is expected to grow in population by 20 percent by 2035. Two-thirds of all apartment units are larger than 60 m2.

Fun Facts

The Haus des Meeres aquarium is located in one of Vienna’s six surviving World War II-era anti-aircraft gun towers. This massive concrete construction
also is home to a climbing wall (flakturm) and a
rooftop terrace offering amazing views of the city.
As a young art student in Vienna, Adolf Hitler lived in a sublet apartment on Stumpergasse.
The 6th is the only district without a streetcar line.

Who should search for an apartment in the 6th district?

Not recommended for those who require barrier-free mobility.

Pros

• Shopping
• Naschmarkt
• Public transportation options

Cons

• Densely populated, dearth of green areas
• Steep streets: not suitable for those who require barrier-free mobility

Preferred Living Areas

• Despite its name, less than a quarter of all buildings in Neubau are post-war construction.
• Neubau boasts the highest proportion of singles and single-occupancy apartments in Vienna. Surprisingly, there are fewer than average typically single-size units between 45 and 60 m2, and above-average numbers of apartments between 90 and 130 m2:
• The attractiveness of this district is its variety. Abundant commerce (including both high street shopping on Mariahilfer Straße and smaller boutiques around Neubaugasse and Spittelberg), cultural attractions such as the Museums- Quartier, Volkstheater, Westlicht Gallery, and the Imperial Furniture Collection (Hofmobiliendepot); as well as a buzzing street scene make up for the lack of green space.
• A former red-light district, the narrow streets of Spittelberg are now among the most desirable addresses in Vienna among younger residents and play host to a charming annual outdoor Christmas market.
• Neubau’s population is expected to grow 14 percent by 2034.

AUGARTEN, KARMALITERMARKT, PRATER COTTAGE, VIERTEL ZWEI.SPITTELBERG, AREA AROUND MUSEUMSQUARTIER

Fun Facts

Leopoldstadt is a city district partner with Brooklyn, N.Y.In the 18th century, Neubau was the location of the city’s silk factories

Who should search for an apartment in the 7th district?

Young singles, professionals and parents who want to be in the cool crowd.

Pros

• Shopping
• Cultural offerings (MuseumsQuartier, Volkstheater)
• Restaurants, Cafés and nightlife

Cons

• Lack of green space
• Construction of U2 extension will be a burden in coming years

Preferred Living Areas

• Where the nobility once built great palaces, this district became populated by the magistrates and public servants who administered the great empire. The 8th is still an upscale inner-city district. Today, nearly 30 percent of the residents here are foreign citizens.
• ** Three-quarters of the buildings here were built before 1919. The district retains its traditional Viennese charm. It’s certainly not as rejuvenated as the trendier 6th and 7th, but there are a few businesses and eateries making inroads.
• ** That the 8th has the fewest cars of any district attests to the advantage of getting around on two feet. One is walking distance from both Rathausplatz and, across the Gürtel, Ottakring with its trendy Yppenplatz and colorful Brunnenmarkt.
• ** The small Schönborn park is a small Eden in this otherwise nongreen district. The cobblestoned Jodok-Fink-Platz in front of the Maria Treu church (also known as Piaristenkirche) has restaurants with outdoor seating.
• ** More than half of the apartments are occupied by one person; only 1 in 5 is occupied by more than three, but a quarter are between 90 and 130 m2.

ANYWHERE EXCEPT NEAR THE GÜRTEL

Fun Facts

Former President of Austria Heinz Fischer chose to live at his own home in the 8th instead of moving into the state’s official presidential palace.
Arthur Schnitzler’s Traumnovelle takes place partly in the 8th.

Who should search for an apartment in the 8th district?

Students, educated upper middle class

Pros

• Smallest district in Vienna in terms of area
• Walking distance to University of Vienna and Rathaus

Cons

• Practically no green space

Preferred Living Areas

• The presence of the University of Vienna and the colossal AKH General Hospital complex accounts for the relatively low proportion of residential buildings in this district.
• The old General Hospital (Altes AKH) has been repurposed for the university. Its inner courtyards provide a green oasis, showcasing a holiday Christmas market in winter and al fresco dining in warmer weather.
• Währinger Straße is home to two arts institutions: the Volksoper (People’s Opera) and an alternative culture center called WUK, housed in a former locomotive factory that was squatted by artists and students in the late 1970s.
• The Serviten Quarter between Liechtenstein Straße and the canal channels an artsier vibe with its small boutiques, restaurants and cafés. Close by is the Sigmund Freud Museum, once home to the father of psychoanalysis.
• The northern tip of the 9th is more industrial, hosting the Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof and the waste incineration plant (Fernwärme), the latter surreally festooned by the Viennese architect Hundertwasser.

AREAS SOUTH OF ALSERBACHSTRASSE (ALSERVORSTADT, ROSSAU)

Fun Facts

More than 10 percent of all medical practices in
Vienna are located in Alsergrund.
Most student housing in Vienna.

Who should search for an apartment in the 9th district?

Students, families.

Pros

• Already good public transportation options will be even better with the opening of the U5 line (2024 earliest)

Cons

• Limited shopping attractiveness

Preferred Living Areas

• Favoriten is a large and highly populated working-class district (about 10 percent of the city’s residents live here) with an ethnically diverse population, having been settled by many expats from the Balkan regions – more than a third of the residents here are foreign born.
• The opening of the new Hauptbahnhof in 2015 was the cornerstone for wider commercial and residential development of the surrounding area, rebranded the “Sonnwendviertel.” The city is taking a “build it and they will come” approach, but the transition is in progress.
• The Ankerbrotfabrik, formerly an industrial bakery, has been repurposed for creative startups, galleries and social organizations.
• The main shopping street, Favoritenstraße, is the second longest pedestrian zone in Vienna.
• The southern half of the district is home to a combination of large tracts of public housing developments as well as the beautiful park land at Laaer Berg and Oberlaa, which includes Vienna’s own thermal baths (Therme Wien).

NEW DEVELOPMENT AROUND THE HAUPTBAHNHOF (SONNWENDVIERTEL, QUARTIER BELVEDERE), OBERLAA

Fun Facts

The extension of the U1 line to Oberlaa and the planned southern extension of the U2 promise to open up new development to the 10th district.

Who should search for an apartment in the 10th district?

Singles and married couples requiring low-cost / subsidized housing and urban pioneers.

Pros

• Despite high population, lots of green space and good transportation options

Cons

• Some dodgy neighborhoods

Preferred Living Areas

• Simmering is a district many Viennese encounter only when driving to and from the airport on the A4 east Autobahn. Its flat, low-lying area encompasses vast industrial parks, Austria’s largest cemetery, an electric power plant and a sewage treatment plant. Although this district boasts 39 percent green space, nearly half of it is devoted to agriculture, rather than public parks or woodlands. Less than 10 percent of the buildings here were built before 1919.
• Many prominent Viennese are located in Simmering – unfortunately most of them are dead and interred in the Zentralfriedhof. Among its 330,000 gravestones are memorials for the interred bodies of Beethoven, Schubert and Falco.
• But wait! The real estate prices here are affordable. There are several cooperative housing development projects (such as the Mautner Markhof-Gründe) and 46 percent of all apartments are between 60 and 90 m2. The main street (Simmeringer Hauptstraße) offers ample retail shopping. A city within the city, the Gasometer – four large, former gas tanks converted into a modern mixed-use facility – offers residential space, shopping, movie theaters and a concert hall for popular music.

SOME POCKETS OF THE AREA AROUND THE SIMMERINGER HAUPTSTRASSE (U3 LINE), GASOMETER

Fun Facts

The “Simmeringer Haide” was used for military training, cannon practice and horse races in the 19th century.

Who should search for an apartment in the 11th district?

People qualified for subsidized housing, young adults on a limited budget.

Pros

• Proximity to airport, east/southeast autobahn
• Lower prices

Cons

• Large amount of industrial space
• Sparse rapid transit and tram options

Preferred Living Areas

• Not only is the outline of Meidling shaped like a dog, but the district is quite dog-friendly. Some 2,350 canines (4 percent of Vienna’s pooch population) live here, pampered by the 13 dog zones covering 2.5 hectares of land. For their owners, over 200 “Sackerl fürs Gackerl” (dog poo bag) dispensers are available.
• Traditionally, Meidling has been a district for working “dogs,” but became more diverse in recent years and its multicultural population is growing.
• The Meidlinger Hauptstraße was made into a pedestrian zone in 1994.
• Meidling has many apartment house complexes, more than half are “Neubau” structures built after 1945. Development continues, such as the “Wildgarten” housing complex in the Rosenhügel area, which promises environmental and social sustainability.
• In next two decades the population is expected to grow by 12 percent; 2 in 5 residents will be foreign-born.

HETZENDORF

Fun Facts

Sebastian Kurz, who became Austria’s youngest
chancellor in 2017, is a Meidling native.

Who should search for an apartment in the 12th district?

Dog lovers. Those seeking quick escape from the city to the south.

Pros

• Proximity to Wienerberg office buildings, Schönbrunn
• Over 2,700 buildings with only one or two units

Cons

• Densely populated

Preferred Living Areas

• When Empress Maria Theresia built her imperial summer residence, Schönbrunn, in the 18th century, many of the court elite eventually followed suit, building their own villas nearby. The affluence of the area remains to this day.
• The average age here is nearly 45 (four years older than Viennese average) and more than 30 percent are over 60. Hietzing has the highest proportion of widowers in Vienna (14.4 percent). The average income here is 132 percent of the average of all Viennese.
• The greenest district of all, Hietzing encompasses a large chunk of the Wienerwald, the protected wildlife zone Lainzer Tiergarten, and Schlosspark Schönbrunn. Of the total green space, nearly three-quarters is woodland. The highest point of the district’s nine hills is the 500-meter-high Hornauskogel.
• The average apartment size of 88m2 is second only to the city center.

ALTHIETZING, SCHÖNBRUNN, LAINZ, OBER ST. VEIT

Fun Facts

During excavations for various Hietzing construction sites, evidence of a 12-million-year-old volcano was discovered .

Who should search for an apartment in the 13th district?

Those who can afford it and want to breath rarified air next to the Wienerwald. Wealthy pensioners.

Pros

• Beautiful real estate, many with sweeping views of the city
• New housing developments, high population growth unlikely

Cons

• Most expensive real estate outside of the city center
• Too suburban? Automobile dependent
• Not very multicultural
• Relatively few apartments under 60 m2

Preferred Living Areas

• Like its southern neighbor, Hietzing, Penzing includes many wooded hills of the Wienerwald (nearly half of the district’s total area). Its residential neighborhoods run the gamut: from the posh houses and garden cottages abutting the woods in Hütteldorf, Hadersdorf and Baumgartner Höhe; to the more densely populated working-class areas of Breitensee and around Linzer Straße. Taken as a whole, Penzing is statistically similar to Vienna at large in terms of demography and population.
• The art nouveau architect Otto Wagner left his mark on Penzing. His own villa (now a museum of works by the late artist and villa owner Ernst Fuchs) and the Hütteldorf train station, as well as a church and hospital built on the Steinhof grounds are exemples of Viennese Jugendstil architecture.
• Located in a former coffin factory, the Sargfabrik co-op and community center offers modern cooperative housing, cultural attractions, concerts, children’s programs and an indoor bathhouse.

HÜTTELDORF, BAUMGARTEN,
HADERSDORF

Fun Facts

The only district with a ski slope (Hohe- Wand-Wiese), Penzing is also home field for the Vienna Rapid national league football club (Allianz Stadion).

Who should search for an apartment in the 14th district?

Couples and families seeking quiet suburban living, perhaps even a stand-alone house.

Pros

• Easy access to West-Autobahn and railway (direction St. Pölten, Linz and Salzburg)
• Proximity to nature

Cons

• Long commute to city center from westernmost areas
• More than 60 percent of buildings are Neubau (built after WWI)

Preferred Living Areas

• Despite its reputation as a grungy district with high levels of street prostitution, the 15th is seeing increased interest from the bobos and hipsters priced out of the trendier Neubau (7th) and Ottakring (16th). The area around Reindorfgasse is undergoing a renovation offensive and many young creative types are settling in.
• The former military training grounds “auf der Schmelz” is today home to an expansive university sports center as well as a small-garden community.
• Two large indoor shopping malls along the Gürtel – Lugner City and Westbahnhof – provide convenient shopping and entertainment opportunities, while diverse local shops can be found on the outer Mariahilfer Straße, Reindorfgasse and Märzstraße.
• The expansive Stadthalle on the Gürtel is Austria’s largest event center and contains indoor arenas used for concerts, fairs, conferences and sporting events.

MEISELMARKT, AREA BETWEEN HÜTTELDORFER STRASSE AND FELBERSTRASSE

Fun Facts

During the 1848 revolution, rioters turned back
from the heavily guarded city center went on to loot and pillage Rudolfsheim. As they turned toward Schloß Schönbrunn, they were gunned down by the military.

The northern “Niebelungenviertel”
developed in the early 20th century has
streets and buildings named after heroes
from medieval German mythology.

Who should search for an apartment in the 15th district?

Students and urban adventurers in search of the real Vienna – or hungry creatives looking for a bustling, cost-friendly neighborhood.

Pros

• Lowest cost housing in Vienna
• Close to hipster 7th district
• Meiselmarkt is Vienna’s only indoorfood market

Cons

• The district with the city’s highest crime rate and lowest incomes have earned it the nickname “Rudolfscrime”
• Relative lack of green space unique among districts outside the Gürtel
• Western railway cuts district in half
• Relatively few apartments larger than 60 m2

Preferred Living Areas

• Between Schloß Wilhelminenberg on the top of the 449-meter-high Gallitzinberg to the densely populated Neulerchenfeld abutting the Gürtel, Ottakring embraces a broad spectrum, both in terms of real estate options and demographics.
• Except for the suburban areas abutting the Wienerwald, Ottakring was something of a slum for Turkish and Balkan immigrants until a few years ago, when real estate speculators started buying up and renovating relatively inexpensive properties, then flipping or renting them out to the hipsters and young families gradually being priced out of the inner districts.
• While the Naschmarkt may be the best-known open-air market in Vienna, you won’t find its throngs of tourists at Ottakring’s Brunnenmarkt. Extending from trendy Yppenplatz down Brunnengasse for several blocks, this market offers a large variety of produce and wares at affordable prices. The immigrant flavors of the neighborhood all commingle here.
• The district’s eponymous beer brewery – the only remaining one inside the city limits – is located here and is the largest remnant of the Ottakring’s industrial past. Today, the Ottakringer Brauerei is also a locale for festivals, parties, concerts and design fairs.
• Almost half of all apartments in Ottakring are occupied by one person. The proportion of housing units over 90m2 is relatively low, though single-family homes and villas can be found in the district’s outer reaches.

WILHELMINENBERG, GALLITZINBERG,
BRUNNENMARKT/YPPENPLATZ

Fun Facts

Soho in Ottakring, an annual arts and culture festival, takes place in various pop-up locations throughout the district

Who should search for an apartment in the 16th district?

Those who enjoy living in a vibrant, multicultural neighborhood.

Pros

• Longest (and inexpensive) street market in Vienna (Brunnenmarkt)
• Great mix of urban/suburban
• Easy access to downtown areas

Cons

• Densely populated
• Industrial area includes a waste incinerator and brewery

Preferred Living Areas

• Hernals, like its southern neighbor Ottakring, has a broad diversity of real estate ranging from the charming, wealthier and greener villages of Dornbach and Neuwaldegg to the denser,grungier apartment blocks closer to the Gürtel.
• But Hernals lacks Ottakring’s vibrant character (for better or for worse). Its attractiveness (to some) is its mediocre suburbanism. It’s something of a buffer zone between the immigrant, working-class districts to the south and the posher suburbs (Währing and Döbling) to the northeast.
• The 450 hectares of woods provide accessible recreational escape from the city. Schwarzenberg Park offers meadows, jogging trails, grilling stations and playgrounds.

DORNBACH, SCHAFBERG, HEUBERG, NEUWALDEGG, SOUTHWESTERN AREAS CLOSE TO YPPENPLATZ

Fun Facts

The 43 Straßenbahn line replaced a 19th century horse-drawn tram (Vienna’s first) that once brought wealthy city dwellers to summer resorts.

Who should search for an apartment in the 17th district?

Families with children. Students who prefer the quieter suburbs.

Pros

• Easy commute to University of Vienna / Schottentor
• Plenty of green space
• Construction of U5 subway will benefit the district

Cons

• Bland character, lack of interesting shopping, few cultural opportunities

Preferred Living Areas

• Reflecting Währing’s reputation as a green district, the leftist Green Party won the local elections in 2015. Here, unlike other suburban districts, the green space is more evenly distributed throughout. Währing is home to two of the most beautiful parks in Vienna: Türkenschanzpark, maintained by the local campus of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), boasts a broad diversity of arboreal wonders, pleasant meadows, jogging paths and ponds; while the Pötzleinsdorfer Schloßpark is a prime example of an English garden, surrounded by many acres of woods.
• Währinger Straße connects the 9th
  district to the outer villages of Gersthof
  and Pötzleinsdorf and offers ample shops
  and restaurants, as well as the Kutschkermarkt farmers’ market.
• The neighborhood east of Türkenschanzpark and extending into the 19th district is the so-called Cottageviertel, where there are numerous architecturally splendid, single-family garden villas (many have been subdivided into smaller apartment units). These are among the most high-priced and most-desired residences in the city.
• Three tram lines, the 40, 41 and 42,
  offer easy and fast transport to Schottentor
  in the city center. The suburban S45 rail
  line provides rapid transit to most of the
  other suburban districts, as well as to the
  U3 and U4 subways.
• Less ritzy and expensive housing is found
  closer to the Gürtel and around Kreuzgasse.

JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE.

Fun Facts

Vienna’s largest Jewish cemetery, dating to the 18th century, is located on the border of the 18th and 19th near the Gürtel. It is only opened to the public for special tours a few times each year.

Who should search for an apartment in the 18th district?

Upscale families looking for larger living quarters

Pros

• Great parks
• Altbauen (nearly half of all buildings built before 1919)
• Relatively high proportion of apartments over 90 m2
• Good schools

Cons

• High prices
• Lack of retail infrastructure in
  some outlying areas

Preferred Living Areas

• Döbling and its noble crosstown cousin Hietzing (13th district) are considered by many to be the most desirable districts to live. Its hillsides are covered with sloped vineyards and posh villas. While the latter may be out of reach to all but the top elite, the vineyards and their wine taverns (Heurigen) are open for all to enjoy.
• Beethoven left his footprint all over the district, as well. His legendary “Heiligenstadt Testament” is named after the Grätzl, and the house where he worked on his Eroica symphony is now a branch of the Wien Museum.
• The posh Cottageviertel extends into the southern Oberdöbling part of the district, which borders on Türkenschanzpark [see 18th District: Währing, p 82].
• But Döbling is not all classical music, champagne and caviar: Subsidized housing is interspersed throughout, bringing affordable housing within reach of the hoi polloi. The 1,100-meter-long Karl-Marx-Hof in Heiligenstadt is a huge public housing project from the post World War I period known as Red Vienna.
• The Höhenstraße, a two-lane parkway winding its way through the heights of the Wienerwald, offers not only a scenic drive but is also a useful shortcut for getting to Vienna’s outlying suburban districts, the west autobahn (A4) and Klosterneuburg.
• 11 percent of all apartments are larger than 130 m2, making Döbling a good option for larger families

GRINZING, SIEVERING, OBERDÖBLING, UNTERDÖBLING, NUSSDORF

Fun Facts

A bronze plaque at the Bellevue Wiese memorializes the spot where Sigmund Freud had a revelation leading to his theory of dreams.

15 percent of the land area in Döbling is used for agriculture, mainly vineyards.

Who should search for an apartment in the 19th district?

Pensioners, diplomats, if you can afford it, or qualify for subsidized housing.

Pros

• Best views in town
• Plenty of good schools

Cons

• High prices, except for public housing
• Outlying neighborhoods (Neustift, Salmannsdorf, Sievering, Grinzing, Kahlenbergerdorf) have sparse public transportation

Preferred Living Areas

• Occupying the same city “island” as its 2nd district neighbor, Brigittenau lacks Leopoldstadt’s hipness factor and charm. Many Viennese might come only here to visit the Lorenz Böhler hospital’s emergency room if they suffer an injury. The residential buildings here are mainly large, postwar housing projects.
• The statistics showing a relative lack of green space is somewhat misleading: Both the Augarten and the Donauinsel recreation area are easily within reach. Convenient for joggers and cyclists!
• The district’s freight train terminal (Nordwestbahnhof) has been targeted for redevelopment. Plans call for mixed residential and commercial use to surround a heart of green space by 2025.
• Vienna‘s second highest skyscraper, the Millennium Tower, offers offices, apartments, a hotel and a shopping/ entertainment center.

AUGARTEN AREA BORDERING 2ND DISTRICT

Fun Facts

“I’ve always said that I would rather move from Vienna before I move to the 20th district” (Yelp comment by Melisa R.)
The Bäckerei Prindl at Gaußplatz is open 24/7 – a rarity in Vienna

Who should search for an apartment in the 20th district?

People seeking low-cost apartments, those who qualify for subsidized public housing.

Pros

• Proximity to 2nd and 9th districts and Donauinsel
• Low prices

Cons

• Several industrial areas – the northwest freight train terminal divides the district in half
• Over one-third of the district area is devoted to transportation infrastructure
• Population expected to increase to over 100,000 by 2025

Preferred Living Areas

• One can describe both the 13th district /Hietzing) and the 21st district as “suburban,” but they have little in common. In Floridsdorf, “suburban” = urban sprawl.
• Though some of the housing projects here were built during the Red Vienna period between the wars, 80 percent are post-World War II construction. The pace of development is nonstop – settlements pop up like mushrooms after it rains – and the city struggles to match the infrastructure with the growth. There are nearly 13,000 detached single-family or two-family houses.
• Only 18 percent of Floridsdorf’s population is foreign, well-below Vienna’s average. By 2034, the population is expected to grow by 16 percent.
• The northern wine villages of Strebersdorf and Stammersdorf offer a more small-town atmosphere.

AM SPITZ, ALTE DONAU

Transdanubia

If it were its own city (some think it actually is),
the combined population of the 21st and 22nd districts alone would make it the second largest in Austria.

Fun Facts

Nearly 40 percent of all Vienna’s vineyards are located in Floridsdorf.

Who should search for an apartment in the 21st district?

Families with children; commuters.

Pros

• Cheaper real estate
• Roughly two-thirds of all residential buildings have only one or two apartments
• Natural beauty around Bisamberg and Alte Donau

Cons

• Suburban sprawl, must have a car

Preferred Living Areas

• The highest points in Donaustadt are not the forested hills of the Wienerwald but rather the tops of the skyscrapers of Donau City in Kaisermühlen and the 205-meter-high Rautenweg waste dump. Otherwise, the district is a flat swath of land making up nearly a quarter of the entire city’s territory.
• Vienna’s largest district has got a lot to offer: business parks, agriculture, woodlands, parks, industry, tall buildings, “smart” buildings, detached houses with gardens, IKEA, shopping malls, cinemas, sports infrastructure, lakes, housing settlements catering to diverse demographic niches, river views, an entire island devoted to recreation (and another devoted to bathing), excellent cycling infrastructure, two U-Bahn lines to the city center, …
• But what it lacks is a resemblance to old Vienna. Incorporated as a Viennese district in 1954, more than a third of all construction in Vienna since 1991 is located in Donaustadt.
• Since 1979, the Vienna headquarters for the United Nations and International Atomic Energy Agency is located at the Vienna International Center, more commonly known as “UNO-City.” More than 4,000 employees from 110 countries work there. Donaustadt, however, is less internationally diverse than Vienna as a whole – less than 10 percent of residents are foreigners.
• The largest of all Vienna’s urban development areas is the Aspern-Seestadt project. Built on the site of Napoleonic war bloodbaths, the area promises to house some 20,000 residents by 2028. The extension of the U2 subway allows one to reach the city center from here in under 30 minutes.
• 24,659 buildings have only 1 or 2 apartment units. 30 percent of apartments house 3-5 people.

ALTE DONAU, WAGRAMER STRASSE, KAISERMÜHLEN, STADLAU

Fun Facts

One in nine Donaustadt households owns a dog.

Who should search for an apartment in the 22nd district?

UN employees. Young families. Those interested in co-op developments

Pros

• More larger apartments available
• Many development projects
• Nature aplenty: Lobau, Donauinsel, Alte Donau

Cons

• Distance from city center, long commutes by auto
• Lack of charm, cultural attractions

Preferred Living Areas

• Aside from a few areas around the Wienerwald (Mauer and Rodaun) with single-family houses and manicured gardens, Liesing consists of large, unattractive apartment blocks (e.g., Alterlaa Wohnpark), highways and logistics parks.
• 300,000 tons of foodstuff passes through the 30 hectare wholesale food market in Inzersdorf each year.
• Two-thirds of the construction in Liesing is postwar. However, a vast majority of residential buildings have only one or two apartment units.
• If you’re OK with living so far away from the city center, you might consider property in Lower Austrian suburbs such as Brunn am Gebirge, Mödling, Gumpoldskirchen or Baden.

LIESINGER PLATZ, MAUERN, RODAUN,
ATZGERSDORF

Fun Facts

“Liesing is so far off the beaten track that you can definitely live here for many years without having any friends dropping by spontaneously” – Katriina J. on Yelp

There is approximately one car for every two residents in Liesing

Who should search for an apartment in the 23rd district?

Families with children. People who commute to jobs south of the city. Country folk who don’t want to live in the city, but must.

Pros

• Access to the south autobahn (A2)
• Kid-friendly (schools, parks, playgrounds)

Cons

• Sparse public transport, especially at night. Must have an auto
• Long commute to city center