Vienna hides its cheapest pleasures in plain sight: palace parks that never charge admission, Beisl kitchens serving schnitzel under €12, and a €5 standing spot at one of the world's great opera houses. Three days, imperial scale, working-class prices.
The palace charges €22 inside, but the 1.2 km² baroque park is free from 6:30 am. Walk the Great Parterre, climb the hill to the 1775 Gloriette for the classic view down to the palace, and detour to the Neptune Fountain.
Laid out in 1823 on Napoleon's demolished fortifications, the Volksgarten holds 3,000 rose bushes in 200 varieties and a scale replica of the Athenian Theseion built by Pietro Nobile to house Canova's sculpture. Free, open 6 am to 10 pm in summer.
Olbrich's 1898 gilded-dome manifesto of the Vienna Secession. The basement holds Klimt's 34-metre Beethoven Frieze from 1902, restored and displayed at eye level. Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00, closed Mondays; the exterior and golden cabbage cost nothing.
Fischer von Erlach's 1737 plague church fronts a shallow reflecting pool with a Henry Moore sculpture. Skip the €9.50 interior ticket, sit on the pool steps at golden hour — the twin Trajan-style columns light up copper against the dome.
Skip the tourist-priced restaurant row at the Karlsplatz end and walk toward Kettenbrückengasse, where produce stalls sell falafel wraps for €4–5 and olives by weight. Mon–Fri 6:00–19:30, Sat to 18:00; every Saturday a huge flohmarkt fills the west end.
Vienna's most respected sausage stand, open until 4 am and serving opera-goers in evening dress next to taxi drivers. A Käsekrainer with mustard and a Semmel runs about €5.50; the Burenwurst is cheaper still.
The longest street market in Europe, running 500 metres through the 16th district's Turkish and Balkan quarter. Börek from €2, whole roast chicken around €9, tea houses charging €2 a glass. Mon–Fri to 18:30, Sat to 17:00.
A working wine tavern in Vienna's northern vineyard belt, reachable on tram 31 with a normal city ticket. Buschenschank rules mean cold buffet by weight — roast pork, Liptauer, bread for €8–12 — with a quarter-litre of house Grüner Veltliner near €3.
An artificial flood-control island splitting the Danube, with free unsupervised swimming spots, nudist sections, cycle paths and barbecue zones. U1 to Donauinsel puts you on the middle of it; the Copa Beach end has cheap kiosks and rental bikes.
The world's longest residential building at 1,100 metres, built 1927–30 during Red Vienna and shelled in the 1934 civil war. The courtyards are public and free; the small Waschsalon museum in Block 2 costs €5 and opens Thu and Sun afternoons.
A waymarked city hiking trail from the Nussdorf tram terminus up through the Vienna Woods and vineyards to the 484-metre Kahlenberg terrace, where Sobieski's relief army descended in 1683. The whole route costs one transit ticket.
Standing-room tickets for the State Opera go on sale 80 minutes before curtain at the Operngasse side door: €18 for the parterre rail, €13 for the gallery, with a subtitle screen at each spot. Queue forms around two hours ahead for popular casts.