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Albertina 250 Jahre — "Sammeln für die Zukunft", June 19–Oct 11

When

19 June 2026 – 11 October 2026

Where

1st · Innere Stadt

The Albertina marks 250 years in 2026 with an anniversary exhibition that reframes the collection's founding story. Archduchess Marie Christine, co-founder alongside Duke Albert of Saxony-Teschen, endowed the collection with both wealth and artistic direction — a role that history has largely credited to her husband alone. The exhibition *Sammeln für die Zukunft* (Collecting for the Future) runs June 19–October 11 and spans the museum's 1.2 million objects: from Dürer's Hare to Schiele's expressive drawings, tracing how a private collection became one of the world's most important graphic art institutions. The angle is not "visit the Albertina" but "the Albertina's anniversary show is an argument about who gets credit for founding one of the world's great drawing collections." Marie Christine's role as both patron and artist — she was active as a painter herself — shaped the collection's scope in ways that deserve to be named. The museum is in the 1st district, Albertinapl. 1. Standard admission applies. The **Open Door event** on July 4–5 (the founding anniversary weekend) offers free access — a good entry point if you've been meaning to look.

Njola Impressions: Kiteezi — Theseustempel

When

28 May 2026 – 11 October 2026

Where

1st · Innere Stadt

Ugandan artist Nabukenya Allen (Njola) is transforming waste from the Kiteezi landfill — which collapsed in a devastating landslide in August 2024 — into objects and installations about renewal, over-consumption, and the Boda-Boda drivers of Kampala. The work is on view outdoors in the Volksgarten's Theseustempel, the 1st district. The opening vernissage on May 28 at 19:00 is free. The exhibition runs through October 11. Allen is in residence in Vienna through PART International Art Residency Austria. This is the kind of work that sits at the intersection of Ugandan urban politics and Viennese institutional space — rare enough to be worth making time for.

Lebt und arbeitet in Wien — Kunsthalle Wien, May 1–October 26

When

1 May 2026 – 26 October 2026

Where

7th · Neubau

Contemporary art from Vienna, May–October. The Kunsthalle Wien runs "Lebt und arbeitet in Wien" across both its locations — Museumsquartier (the 7th) and Karlsplatz (the 4th) — a major survey of 56 artists who live and work in the city right now. Curated by Daniel Baumann, Michelle Cotton, and Monika Georgieva, the show spans painting, sculpture, installation, photography, performance, film, and video. Over 130 works. The title is the argument: not "Austrian art" but art made by people who chose Vienna. Thirty-eight artists created new work for this exhibition. It runs until October 26.

10. Genussfest — Sussitz

When

10 October 2026

Where

2nd · Leopoldstadt

Sussitz marks a decade at the Karmelitermarkt with a producer-focused celebration: 20+ winemakers and food artisans from across Austria pour their own bottles and tell their stories. Guest of honor is Vittorio Gianni Capovilla, one of Italy's most respected distillers—a figure revered in the field for revolutionizing fruit distillation through water-bath methods that preserve delicate aromas. This is the kind of event where you actually talk to the people making the wine, no velvet rope, no gatekeeping. The afternoon runs 15–21h on October 10 in the 2nd district.

Wieninger Wine Tavern on Nussberg

Where

19th · Döbling

Fritz Wieninger pioneered biodynamic viticulture in Vienna, and his wine tavern on Nussberg is where that philosophy meets genuine hospitality. The setting is the thing: a terrace among the vines with views across the city's rooftops and the Danube glinting to the east. Locals gather here on lounge chairs to drink Gemischter Satz, Riesling, or Grüner Veltliner — wines that taste like they belong to this place. The food is cold Buschenschank fare: Liptauer, cheese, cured meats from producers Wieninger trusts. No pretence, no velvet rope. Open April through October, weather permitting.

Schweizerhaus

The Prater's legendary beer garden has been running for more than a century under the Kolarik family. Enormous outdoor seating spreads under trees and parasols — the kind of place where you arrive for an hour and leave when the sun drops. Open daily 11 AM–11 PM from mid-March through October. The food is homemade: pork knuckles (Stelze) carved at your table, Wiener Schnitzel, grilled chicken, fresh beer. The Stelze feeds two to three people and arrives with the kind of crunchy skin that makes the wait worth it. No reservations needed, but they accept them — book ahead on weekends. Mains run €12–18, beer €3–4. This is the Viennese beer-garden experience unchanged for decades.

urbanize! 2026 — Reclaim the Streets!

When

13 October 2026 – 18 October 2026

The 17th urbanize! festival transforms Vienna's streets into the main subject of inquiry. Oct 13–18 across multiple neighborhoods: talks, workshops, city walks, films, and artistic interventions exploring climate adaptation, mobility, social justice, and public space. The opening event on Oct 13 at Caritas Kirchenschiff features the Community Sprechchor from the Burgtheater, a talk on streets as urban space by Stefan Bendiks, and food and drinks from Küchenschiff. Free entry; some formats require registration. This is genuinely local work — not a festival for tourists, but a six-day conversation about how streets function as gathering space and what reclaiming them means.

Sophienpark opening — former Sophienspital garden, June 12

When

12 June 2026 – 31 October 2026

Where

7th · Neubau

The Sophienpark opens to the public on June 12 — the courtyard garden of the former Sophienspital on Apollogasse in the 7th. The Sophienspital was Vienna's main women's hospital for over a century; the complex has been slowly repurposed since its closure. The park is free and accessible on its own, though it pairs with the sophie7 restaurant in the Kenyonpavillon if you want to eat. A historic hospital garden that has been closed to the public for decades, now open. The kind of discovery that only works in Vienna, where history is always just behind a door. Open June 12–October 31.

Wieninger am Nussberg — Buschenschank, the 19th

When

1 April 2026 – 31 October 2026

Where

19th · Döbling

Wieninger's Buschenschank sits on the Nussberg with a proper vineyard terrace behind it — the vines you're drinking from grow directly below. The view is called the Meeresterrasse because on a clear day it looks like a sea horizon, the whole city laid out in one angle. This is not a tourist Heuriger. It's a working vineyard that happens to have the best view in Vienna. The Wieninger family has been making wine on the Nussberg since the 1970s and is one of the most respected names in Viennese wine. The Buschenschank opens from April 2026: Friday and Saturday from midday, Sundays and holidays from 11 (expanding to more days as summer progresses — check wieninger-am-nussberg.at for the current schedule). Wine runs €5–6 a glass. Reservation recommended, especially on weekends. The angle is simple: you sit on a vineyard terrace with a view over the whole city and drink wine made from the vines directly behind you. The Meeresterrasse is the reason to go. Everything else follows.

WAX & GOLD at Österreichisches Filmmuseum

When

5 October 2026

Where

1st · Innere Stadt

Ruth Beckermann's WAX & GOLD follows the Vienna-born filmmaker to the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa—built by Emperor Haile Selassie as a monument to African modernization—where she unravels Ethiopia's layered history through archive footage, lobby conversations, and her own reflections as a European woman in Africa. The title refers to an Ethiopian literary technique of saying the opposite of what you mean, a metaphor Beckermann applies to the slipperiness of historical truth, colonial legacy, and the gap between image and reality. Beckermann is one of Austria's most decorated documentary filmmakers; Waldheims Walzer won the Berlinale Documentary Award and was Austria's Oscar entry. WAX & GOLD premiered as a Berlinale Special in February 2026 to strong reviews. This is a single screening at the Filmmuseum on October 5 at 20:30 in the Unsichtbares Kino—the intimate setting gives this essay film exactly the contemplative space it deserves.

Subarnarekha at Österreichisches Filmmuseum

When

13 September 2026 – 5 October 2026

Where

1st · Innere Stadt

Ritwik Ghatak's *Subarnarekha* (1962) is the final film in his Partition trilogy. It follows a Hindu refugee from East Bengal trying to rebuild his life on the banks of the river Subarnarekha in West Bengal, only for history's violence to catch up with him again. It is one of the most devastating films ever made about displacement, and one of the least-seen: Ghatak was a contemporary of Satyajit Ray but worked in the shadows, his raw, operatic style too unruly for mainstream Indian cinema. This screening at the Österreichisches Filmmuseum is part of the RISE UP! Film – Form – Freedom retrospective (running through 21 October). The 13 September screening comes with an introduction by Elisabeth Streit — a rare chance to see a restored print of a film that shaped generations of South Asian filmmakers. The cinema is in the 1st district, in the Albertina building on Augustinerstraße. For anyone in Vienna who cares about the politics of belonging and the long aftermath of partition, the screening is worth the journey. Check the Filmmuseum website for ticket prices and exact screening times.

Teresas Körper at Top Kino

When

29 September 2026 – 8 October 2026

Where

6th · Mariahilf

Teresa's Körper is the debut feature of Magdalena Chmielewska, a Polish director based in Vienna. The film is a portrait of her own mother, Teresa, who has lived for years with debilitating back pain, and the three women — mother and two daughters, including Chmielewska herself — who carry the weight of that suffering together. Chmielewska blends documentary observation with fictionalized memory and ritual, creating something that sits between genres. The film won Best Director at the Max Ophüls Prize and the Jury Special Prize for Screenplay at the Diagonale 2026. It's an intimate, body-centred piece of filmmaking — the kind that rarely gets a wide release but deserves one. Screening daily at Top Kino through October 8. The film is 76 minutes, in German with English subtitles.

Karmelitermarkt

Where

2nd · Leopoldstadt

The Karmeliterviertel's open-air farmers' market runs Fridays and Saturdays year-round on Karmeliterplatz in the 2nd district. Once quiet, the neighbourhood has transformed around it—galleries, studios, and restaurants now fill the streets, but the market itself remains anchored in the practical: locals buying vegetables, not tourists buying vegetables for photos. The dining scene has grown without losing the neighbourhood feel. Come early if you want a seat at one of the surrounding cafés; stay for lunch if you find yourself lingering. Free entry; vendor prices vary.

Augarten

Where

2nd · Leopoldstadt

Vienna's oldest Baroque park, opened to the public in 1775 by Joseph II. Tree-lined avenues and meadows stay open year-round. In autumn, light filters through the chestnuts at an angle that makes everything look like a film still. The north side has a bakery that opens at seven — early morning before the joggers and kids arrive is the time to go.

Mayer am Nussberg

Where

19th · Döbling

A wine tavern perched 376 meters up on Nussberg hill in the middle of Vienna's vineyards, with a garden for 300 guests, loungers, and a view of the entire city spread out below. Grüner Veltliner and Gemischter Satz from the Mayer family's own vineyards. Fresh food from small local producers. The most Viennese way to spend an afternoon or evening.