Shopping in Vienna: what to bring from the capital of Austria, where to buy souvenirs and fashion brands. Markets, outlets, famous shopping centers in Vienna. Expert advice and reviews of tourists about shopping in Vienna on the “Subtleties of Tourism”.
According to liuxers.com, Vienna is not only famous waltzes and strudels, but also a very pleasant shopping experience. Prices in this city are about the same as the European average, but the shopping streets and other spaces are organized so beautifully that you don’t want to leave the shops. And during the winter sale, the city turns into one big Christmas card with nice discounts.
Shop opening hours
Shopping centers and supermarkets in Vienna are open approximately from 9:00 to 18:30, on Saturdays most of them close an hour earlier, Sunday is a day off. Several days a week (usually Thursday and Friday), many shopping complexes are open until late – until 21:00. On weekends and until the evening (until 21:00), small shops are usually open in tourist areas, at train stations and at the airport.
Sales
In Austria, as well as throughout Europe, there are two seasons of discounts: summer and winter. The summer sale starts at the end of June and lasts until the end of August, although many stores extend it until mid-autumn. At first, customers are offered discounts of 20-30%, and towards the end of sales, they reach 70-80%. However, it’s not worth pulling to the last – by this time only the most slow-moving models and sizes often remain. The best time for shopping is the middle of the sale season.
The Winter Sale is held in three stages. The first one starts on December 20 and lasts until Christmas – at this time everyone buys gifts for the holiday. The second one starts right after Christmas and lasts about a week, so that people have time to return gifts that did not suit them back to the stores, and they, in turn, sold them again at already reduced prices. Well, in mid-January, the largest campaign begins, when prices are reduced everywhere and for almost all goods, and this holiday of consumption continues until the very beginning of spring.
What to buy in Vienna
Clothing and footwear
Almost all popular European brands, both democratic and luxury, are represented in Viennese stores. Of the local brands, it is worth paying attention to the exclusive designer clothes of Nelso, Bucherer and Knize&Comp; more budgetary, but also good Austrian brands – Turek, Bernhart, Steffl and J.&L. Lobmeyr.
During the sales season, it is worth going to Vienna for a fur coat – both in summer and winter they are sold with discounts of up to 70%. A good price-quality ratio is offered by Spar, Hofer and Billa stores.
Food and wine
The Austrians make amazing sweets. The main edible souvenir from this country is Mozart Kuegel marzipan sweets in a box with a portrait of the composer and candied violet petals. All this is sold in any city confectionery, as well as in coffee and tea shops (for example, in Demel and Bluhendes Konfekt). Especially for tourists, there are handmade Viennese sweets, they look luxurious, are expensive, but the taste is not much different from the factory ones. The famous Manner waffles are best bought in the same Manner family pastry shop in the center of Vienna next to St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
Sacher cake is sold everywhere, but the most delicious one is in the Sacher brand store (by the way, there is also a cafe there). A cake is unlikely to survive a long flight with transfers, but a direct flight to Moscow or St. Petersburg is easy.
Eiswein dessert wine is another hallmark of the country. The grapes for this wine are harvested in cold weather, when the berries are already frozen, which gives the wine an unusual and very rich taste. In addition, it makes sense to purchase a bottle of Austrian mulled wine (a semi-finished product for making this winter drink with a base and spices), as well as Mozart chocolate liqueur and Marillen Schnaps apricot moonshine.
Other popular edible souvenirs from Vienna:
- coffee, the most popular varieties are Kapuziner (dark coffee), Fiaker (mocha, which is usually drunk with cognac or rum) and Kleiner Schwarzer (espresso),
- Austrian pumpkin seed oil, which is made here almost by hand.
Shops in Vienna
Luxury boutiques are located on Graben Street. It is small, but all the most expensive and luxurious things you can buy in Vienna are concentrated here: furs, leather, exclusive clothes from famous designers, crystal and jewelry. More budget shopping on Kärntnerstrasse. In addition to shops, there are many cafes, kiosks with mulled wine and hot dogs, punch and pies – very cozy. Mariahilferstrasse is the longest shopping street in the city. All the most democratic European and local brands are concentrated here. In many stores you can find good discounts not only during sales, but all year round.
Shopping malls in Vienna
There are two large shopping centers in Vienna. The first of them, Shopping City Süd (SCS), is located 10 km from the city, you can get to it by IKEA bus, which departs from the Vienna Opera (travel time – 20-25 minutes). There are more than 30 shops, there is ample parking and a food court.
The second shopping center – Shopping City Nord (or SCN) is also located outside the city, but this time in a northerly direction. It has 77 shops, free parking and a children’s room, and can be reached by a free bus that leaves every half an hour from the Schnellbahnhof Floridsdorf train station.
Outlets in Vienna
In the suburbs of Vienna, about 40 km from the city, there is a huge Designer Outlet Parndorf. There are about 170 boutiques, where more than 300 brands of clothes, shoes, cosmetics, perfumes, jewelry, etc. are represented. The discounts are 30-70%, during sales periods – up to 90%. You can get to it by shuttle, which departs from the Vienna Opera on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as on prior request, the fare is 15 EUR per person. The timetable changes depending on the season, so you need to check it just before the trip. Another option is to take the train from the Wien Hauptbahnhof station to the Parndorf station, but you will have to walk a bit or take a taxi from the station, the fare is 75-95 EUR.
Markets
The largest city market in Vienna is the Naschmarkt. It has been operating since the 18th century, and food international reigns here: you can buy fresh vegetables, fruits, oysters, bread, cheese, Persian caviar, sushi and other goods from Turkey, Greece, Japan, the countries of the former Yugoslavia and others. On Saturdays, next to the grocery store, the famous Viennese flea market opens, where you can get hold of rare vintage gizmos. The flea market is always a lot of fun, there are a lot of hipsters and other young people who come here in search of something interesting and funny and just hang out.
Those who come to Vienna on Christmas Eve should go to the oldest Christmas market, Christkindlmarkt, which takes place every year at the City Hall. There are a lot of souvenirs, beautiful handmade Christmas decorations and other cute holiday trifles, as well as pouring mulled wine and frying sausages.
Tax free
Part of the money spent on shopping in Vienna can be returned. To do this, you need to make a purchase in a store where there is a Tax free Shopping sticker for more than 75 EUR, fill out a special form and present it along with the goods, passport and receipt at the airport. Keep in mind that the packaging of the product must be intact without attempts to open it, otherwise the money may not be returned. If everything is in order, the money will be given to you in cash or transferred to the card with which the purchases were paid.
