I’ll be honest. February is a quiet month in Vienna, with only a few annual events and festivals. On the other hand, this also means far fewer queues and crowds.
- Book a classical concert* for your trip
- See also:
February 2026: top activities
Those queues get even shorter during the so-called Semesterferien (February 2nd to 8th): a week-long break between semesters when Vienna’s schools all go on holiday.
A lot of Viennese take off with the kids for the Semesterferien (to ski, for example), leaving even more space for the rest of us.
Anyway, the usual concerts, museum offerings, tours etc., continue unabated this month. But what else might you do?
My quick tip
The Karlskirche (left) makes a rather lovely setting for classical concerts with excellent acoustics.
The church is one of many historical venues that host evenings of light classical music* designed for visitors to Vienna..
Exhibitions in February
(The Albertina has a promising exhibition on paper in art across the centuries in February)
Vienna always has numerous exhibitions on at any one time. Although some way off, we can already get excited about the following in February 2026…
Highlights
- We have the final days of French impressionist delights at Lower Belvedere. Cézanne, Monet, Renoir runs until February 8th. But the exhibition around the wonderful baroque character heads of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt continues
- Enjoy the last days of the big Michaelina Wautier exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum (until February 22nd)
- And grasp your final chance to see the solo exhibitions for Lisette Model (until February 22nd) and Leiko Ikemura (until February 8th) at the Albertina. The same museum still has its intriguing exhibition around paper as an artistic medium running through the month
- The Albertina Modern brings us a dialogue between the US artist KAWS and various modern and contemporary colleagues
- Catch the much-anticipated Helmut Lang exhibition at the MAK
- Time travel back to the sixties for some art of the era with mumok’s Mapping the 60s exhibition or to the 80s for their in-house introspective retrospective
- The Jewish Museum examines issues and prejudices around skin colour and Jewishness
Related events
February 2026 might bring a repeat of Art at the Park (2026 dates TBA): a high-quality art fair held on the premises of the luxury Park Hyatt Vienna in the centre of town.
Enter the Ice World
(The lighted rinks)
It starts on January 22nd in 2026, but hits its peak throughout February: the Wiener Eistraum.
The “Vienna Ice World” offers a wonderful outdoor ice skating experience right in the middle of the city, along with food and drink stalls with an organic focus that normally feature plenty of vegan & vegetarian options.
The square in front of the Rathaus turns into a split-level ice rink, with skating trails and areas spread among the trees of the Rathaus park. Everything lights up delightfully at night.
Oh, and don’t worry if your packing list for Vienna failed to include skates: simply hire them on site.
Valentine’s Day
(Come for a kiss. Couples enjoy free evening entry to the Klimt rooms at Upper Belvedere for a courtesy professional photo opportunity; press photo © Ivory Rose Photography / Belvedere, Wien)
Ah, the dance of hearts begins afresh on February 14th. But what to do with a loved one to celebrate the day in Vienna?
Help is at hand with my Valentine’s Day overview.
(And there’s always cake: something Vienna specialises in.)
Beer, flowers & chocolate
(More beer inside than you can wave a pint glass at)
That headline sounds like my ideal Valentine’s Day. But…
Beer
The Vienna Kraft Bier Fest craft beer festival began life in 2024 and looks set to repeat regularly with the possibility of another February edition (2025 dates TBA).
Apart from an excellent selection of craft beers, the event takes place in the Gleis//Garten food hall. So you have a wide choice of food to go with your Zwickl or Wiener Lager.
Flowers
(The orchids on show are more spectacular than this houseplant)
Ah, yes, and no ordinary flowers, either. The International Orchid Show (February 25th to March 1st) sets up in the Hirschstetten Botanical Gardens.
Numerous exhibitors add more than a few spots of colour to the Viennese winter. We really enjoy the show, which includes lovely displays as well as the expected sales booths.
Chocolate
Be still my beating stuffed-full-of-cocoa-solids heart.
The Schokoladefest Chocolate Festival dropped into the Marx Halle at the start of last February. Let’s hope for a repeat (2026 dates TBA). They had me at “Chocolate.” Not one of my toughest reporting assignments, I’ll admit.
Popular tours & concerts
(The prestigious Staatsoper. February offers a better chance of getting tickets)
Given far fewer people around, February is the time for booking those activities that are often busy or oversubscribed the rest of the year.
I’m thinking here particularly of:
- Classical music concerts (especially at the top venues and those various light classical Viennese concerts* crafted specially for visitors)
- The Schönbrunn Palace tours (do the Grand Tour of the self-guided options: for a small extra outlay you get into many more rooms than the basic tours)
- The Spanish Riding School (book to see the morning training or a stables tour if you can’t catch a gala or want an inexpensive way to experience the stallions)
- Upper Belvedere (where you get to see Klimt’s The Kiss)
- Vienna Zoo (which has indoor enclosures like a rainforest house, if you’re worried about the weather)
- Opera tickets (particularly for the ever-popular Staatsoper. Standing tickets are excellent value but you might be able to grab some inexpensive seats, too)
Oh, and talking music, how about the 27th International Accordion Festival (2026 dates TBA)?
Have a ball
(A hint at what to expect from the Opernball)
One of February’s claims to fame is that this is a busy month for balls. So if you’ve ever dreamed of doing the waltz in the city that invented the dance, now’s your chance.
2026 brings, for example, the 68th edition of the world-famous Opernball (2026 dates TBA), though tickets and tables are not always easy to come by if you’re a mere mortal.
Go skiing
(Avoid the Semesterferien if you go skiing)
Of course, you can always do as the Viennese do and flee the city for the slopes.
February is the main month for skiing in Austria, and you can reach the Semmering alpine ski resort, for example, in just over an hour, so suits a day trip.
It’s probably best not to do this in the Semesterferien week, unless you want to spend your day being jostled by impatient Viennese as they push their way into the lift queue.
Think of Rome’s Colosseum, but with ski sticks instead of gladiatorial swords and you get the idea. (I’m only partly exaggerating.)
Swim or float
(One of the city’s café-confectioneries)
Not outside, I should add. Holiday warm water treats include:
- The Schwerelos Floating Centre, where you float in a broad open tub filled with saltwater in what I found was a remarkably relaxing experience
- A day or two at the spa baths complex at Therme Wien. Hot water from thermal springs feeds its various pools. The Therme also offers all the usual spa treatments and a restaurant
Incidentally, Therme Wien sits right next door to an outlet of one of the city’s more renowned cake and confectionery chains: the Kurkonditorei Oberlaa. (And it has its own subway stop on the U1 that passes through the centre.)
Seasonal tip
Dress up warm
I don’t have the stats, but February could be our coldest month. Minus temperatures are plausible.
(Kaiserschmarren shredded pancakes to chase away the cold)
That’s not all bad, of course. Snow is possible, which makes the city look even more beautiful (at least until it turns into that delightful brown slush we all know and love).
And there is a certain pleasure to be had in entering a coffee house or Konditorei and warming yourself with a hot coffee topped by whipped cream or with a classic dish like Kaiserschmarren (much beloved by Emperor Franz Joseph).