Vienna’s rich history, gorgeous Baroque architecture, cobbled alleys, imperial palaces, lush green gardens and sumptuous food make it one of the most charming cities in the world. Vienna is a city made for lovers and artists and steeped in undeniable sophistication. Plus, the vegan scene in the city is surprisingly too good.
Did you know Vienna is ranked among the top livable cities in the world & is famed for its clean spring tap water? Here’s how you should spend 48 hours as a vegan in Vienna, with vegan restaurant recommendations.
🗺 48-hrs in Vienna – Must-visit places:
- Schönbrunn Palace & Gardens: The best time is to go in the morning, so you have enough time to explore the palace and its beautiful gardens.
- Stephansplatz: The happening street is perfect if you want to shop, marvel at the city’s beautiful architecture and also visit the famed St. Stephens Cathedral and Opera.
- Ringstrasse: Walk around Ringstrasse, especially between Karlsplatz and Schottentor to cover key landmark places.
- Vienna Parliament: The building (and statue outside) is famous for its fabulous Greek-Roman architecture. Perfect place to capture some pictures and enjoy the skyline behind.
- Volksgarten: Beautiful public park with Theseus Temple makes for the perfect place to get some pictures against a beautiful backdrop.
- Belvedere Palace: While we only did Schonbrunn Palace, Belvedere is also one of the must-visit beautiful palaces that you shouldn’t miss out on.
- MuseumsQuartier: If you are an art buff, def check out the world-famous museums of Vienna, esp MuseumsQuartier.
Vegan Restaurants in Vienna
Enjoying vegan tiramisu at Swing Kitchen, ViennaThere are plenty of vegan places in Vienna to satisfy every taste bud. Vienna has everything from amazing vegan cafes and restaurants serving various cuisines to a vegan ice-cream shop, vegan bakery and even a vegan supermarket (Maran Vegan). Here are the vegan restaurants in Vienna I visited and also recommend:
🌱@The La La: Charming pink interiors, friendly staff, and delicious healthy plant-based food (thank God no faux meats and non-sense), make The La La easily one of the best vegan places in Vienna. The restaurant owner wanted to bring LA vibes in Vienna and I think they did it right! Perfect for breakfast, brunch and lunch. But I can have their delicious smoothie bowls any time of the day.
🌱 @Superfood Deli for breakfast. They serve acai bowls and smoothies. I was disappointed that instead of fresh local produce Austria has an abundance of, they only had frozen acai option for smoothies.
🌱 @Tolstoy for amazing vegan pizza and bowls. The pizza sauce was pre-made with onion-garlic (which I don’t consume as a Jain), so I asked them to give me the pizza just with the cheese and it was still so good.
🌱 @Swing Kitchen: This famous vegan fast food chain was just across from Tolstoy, so I decided to visit them for desserts. And oh boy, their vegan tiramisu was too good. Loved it!
🌱 @Sattva: Super-friendly staff and delicious food. They were nice enough to customise many Jain options.
🌱 @Tokyo Boom: Vegan Japanese queer-themed restaurant, owned by queer. The staff was really friendly, the pink, purple interior was cute and they even had a karaoke room inside. What’s not to like?
🌱 @Tian: This Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant in Vienna with a 6-course vegan menu is perfect for dinner. Be prepared to taste heaven in every bite. Love the fact that the restaurant focuses on organic, local and seasonal produce when preparing their menus.
🌱Venuss: If you’re looking for traditional Austrian dishes, then this vegan restaurant in Vienna is the perfect place to try Austrian classics with a vegan twist. Love that they also use seasonal and mostly organic ingredients and prepare fresh meals every day.
🌱 @Veganista: Finish off the day with delicious ice-cream at Vienna’s vegan-only ice-cream shop. From lavender to matcha, and cookies and cream, their unique hand-made ice-creams are a treat.
Where to stay in Vienna?
We stayed at the Hilton Vienna Plaza hotel, great location and spacious rooms. The hotel was just 6-minute walk from the center (St Stephen Cathedral), it had a tram station right outside and followed sustainable practices.
But there many other more eco-friendly hotels in Vienna including:
- Boutiquehotel Stadthalle: World’s first city hotel with zero energy balance and is run on clean energy generated by the property itself.
- Numa – The Wood: A unique hotel created from over 1,500 sustainably sourced spruce trees, Wood at Mariahilfer Gürtel is a lovely sustainable hotel close to the center and near metro.
- Harmonie Hotel: The hotel is designed according to the concept of “conscious living” and follows environmentally-friendly practices. They even serve only organic produce at their restaurant and serve vegan options for breakfast. Its central location makes it a great place to stay.
Travel Sustainably in Vienna
Vienna has very good public transport, so you can easily go around the city in trams, buses and metro. As I mentioned earlier, Austria (even Vienna) is known for the best drinking water in the world. The tap water comes from mountain springs, so even if you forget to carry your own water bottle, you can ask any cafe or restaurant and you’ll be fine. They even have water refill and drinking taps across the city.
Many vegan restaurants in the city prepare delicious meals using seasonal local ingredients, make sure to support local brands instead of exploitative chains with imported foods that come with a lot of carbon footprint.
Vienna has become one of my fav places in Europe!
