Vienna contains 23 municipal districts, each with its own individual character and flavour.
- The old town and city centre is the first district
- Then we have a ring of eight districts around it
- And another 14 around those eight
- Book a concert experience* for your trip
- See also:
- An introduction to Vienna
- Public transport
- Where to stay
The 23 districts
You can tell which district any Viennese location is in by looking at its four-number zip or postcode (German: Postleitzahl):
The first digit identifies the Austrian province or region with a 1 indicating Vienna (the city also happens to double as a province).
That initial number doesn’t map precisely to one of the nine Austrian provinces. So although all Vienna addresses have the 1, some nearby locations in the surrounding province of Lower Austria may share the same first digit as those in the capital.
The second and third digits identify the relevant city district (German: Bezirk) in Vienna. In our example, 07 is – surprise! – the 7th district.
The fourth number is, um, I don’t know. It’s nearly always 0, and I think any other number indicates some kind of post office location. You may also find some unique postcodes for specific institutions that break the rules.
Anyway, these are the codes and names for the 23 districts…
The first district
(Stephansdom dominates the centre of the first district)
1010, the 1st district (Innenstadt or Innere Stadt) is the very center of town and home to many of Vienna’s historical attractions (including the Hofburg palace complex), to the most prestigious addresses, and to the highest rents.
The area roughly equates to the city as it was before the fortified walls came down in the 19th century.
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Districts surrounding the centre
The “inner circle” around the old town include…
1020 – the 2nd district (Leopoldstadt)
(The Riesenrad in the second district)
Opposite the first district on the other side of the Donaukanal arm of the Danube. Notable for the huge Prater park area, which includes such delights as the mammoth funfair, Madame Tussauds, the national stadium and, most importantly, the iconic Riesenrad Ferris wheel.
1030 – the 3rd district (Landstraße)
(The Kunst Haus Wien in the third district)
Many people arrive in this district on a direct train from the airport. Hosts two famous ends of the historical spectrum: the 18th-century Belvedere palaces (now prestigious art museums) and two 20th-century buildings by Friedensreich Hundertwasser (the Hundertwasserhaus and the Kunst Haus Wien).
1040 – the 4th district (Wieden)
(The Karlskirche in the fourth district)
Perhaps best known for the part closest to the centre, which has the Wien Museum and the magnificent Karlskirche church, both with panorama terraces overlooking Karlsplatz square. Also home to Bobby’s: the longstanding UK/US grocery store in Vienna.
1050 – the 5th district (Margareten)
(The Chocolate Museum recently moved to the fifth district)
A mixed island of a district with few of the tourist attractions you might find elsewhere. Borders the River Wien and one end of the large Naschmarkt open-air market.
1060 – the 6th district (Mariahilf)
(The Haus des Meeres in the sixth district)
A popular area for holiday apartments, given the rather vibrant, trendy nature of the district and plentiful bars and restaurants. Home to the huge Naschmarkt open-air market, the Haus des Meeres aquarium and zoo, Vienna’s main shopping street (Mariahilfer Straße) and the Haydnhaus museum.
1070 – the 7th district (Neubau)
(Main entrance to the MQ in the 7th district)
Another popular location for apartments for the same reason as above. The city centre side has the MuseumsQuartier complex (MQ), an area dedicated to culture with museums, exhibitions, cafés, events, shops, and a general contemporary urbanite vibe (not sure what that means but it sounds pretty apt)
- 1080 – the 8th district (Josefstadt)
- 1090 – the 9th district (Alsergrund)
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The outer districts
Further out of town we have another ring of districts that map out Vienna’s borders with Lower Austria.
- 1100 – the 10th district (Favoriten)
1110 – the 11th district (Simmering)
(Beethoven’s buried in the 11th district)
A large district that extends out to the east below the Danube and in the direction of the airport. Mainly housing and industry but notable for the huge Zentralfriedhof: Vienna’s main cemetery and “home” to such luminaries as Beethoven, Schubert, Johann Strauss (I and II), Brahms, Schoenberg, Maria Lassnig, Hedy Lamarr, Ludwig Boltzmann, and others.
- 1120 – the 12th district (Meidling)
1130 – the 13th district (Hietzing)
(Schönbrunn palace in the thirteenth district)
A noble district of most interest to visitors as the location of Schönbrunn: an Imperial palace and a surrounding park with a zoo, gardens, maze area, carriage museum, children’s museum and other delights. Also has the Klimtvilla and most of the huge Lainzer Tiergarten game reserve.
1140 – the 14th district (Penzing)
(The Rapid stadium in the fourteenth district)
A long district to the west that stretches out into the Vienna woods. The edge closest to the centre has the Technisches Museum and elsewhere you’ll find echoes of architect Otto Wagner in, for example, what is now the Ernst Fuchs Museum. The district is also home to Austria’s biggest football club: Rapid Wien with the Allianz Stadion.
- 1150 – the 15th district (Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus)
1160 – the 16th district (Ottakring)
(The brewery in the sixteenth district)
A largely working-class area until you get out into the surrounding hills. Home to the Ottakringer brewery, which also hosts several popular events and festivals.
1170 – the 17th district (Hernals)
(The Wiener Sportclub football tradition lives in the seventeenth district)
A relatively non-descript western district that extends out into the Vienna woods and hills. Home to the iconic Wiener Sportclub football club: its remarkable family-friendly atmosphere attracts many football tourists for live games.
1180 – the 18th district (Währing)
(The Geymüllerschlössel in the eighteenth district)
Like its neighbour Döbling (see below), an upmarket district that slips gently into green suburbs and a village-like ambience at the edges. Not a place you find many tourists, but home to, for example, the Geymüllerschlössel, where you can experience the Biedermeier architectural & design era. The classical AMADEUS Festival Vienna also takes place in Währing.
1190 – the 19th district (Döbling)
(The Beethoven Museum in the nineteenth district)
Another noble district and the first address when it comes to Vienna’s Heuriger wine taverns since it stretches out into hills and vineyards. Also has strong connections to Beethoven, who wrote his Heiligenstadt Testament here. Various Beethoven sites include the city’s main Beethoven museum.
- 1200 – the 20th district (Brigittenau)
- 1210 – the 21st district (Floridsdorf – one of only two districts north of the Danube river)
- 1220 – the 22nd district (Donaustadt – the other district north of the Danube)
- 1230 – the 23rd district (Liesing)
Which district are you in?
You can always tell which district you’re in by looking at the nearest street sign: the street name is nearly always preceded by the district number.
Here we see that Rotenturmstraße is in the first district:
(Rotenturmstraße leads away from the cathedral in the first district)
While this number may not mean much to your average visitor, it’s important to the locals. You are, after all, where you live. A noble address in the 13th, 19th or – gasp! – first district will set you back many thousands of dollars more than the same house in the less salubrious alternatives.
Be careful, though. Don’t confuse the district number with the house number.
In the two photos below, the first is a street sign indicating you’re on Stephansplatz in the first district. The second is a house number, indicating that you’re at house number 8 on Stephansplatz.
(One number is the district, one number the house address)
The difference is in the formatting of the number. The dot/period after the number tells you it means a district. In German, the dot is used as shorthand to show an ordinal number.
So where English has 1st, 2nd, and 3rd etc., German uses 1., 2. and 3. for a sequence. So 1. on the top sign means first, whereas an 8 on the bottom sign means the number eight.
