Start the tour

Self-guided free tour

The Ringstraße: The boulevard that replaced the walls

Free · no booking Loop route

Duration
2 h 10 min approx.
Distance
4.5 km on foot
Stops
10 stops

A loop along the most spectacular stretch of the Ringstraße, the boulevard Vienna laid out where its city walls used to stand: from the Opera to the Secession, the imperial museums, Parliament, City Hall, the University, Beethoven's house on top of an old bastion, the Burgtheater and the gardens of the Habsburgs. Ten stops, just under four and a half kilometres and about two hours, not counting time inside the buildings.

Start and end Staatsoper, the Vienna State Opera

Get there

The route

The 1 marks where the tour starts and ends.

The 10 stops

At each one, a story of about two minutes.

  1. 1

    Staatsoper, the Vienna State Opera Start

    410 m · 6 min on foot

  2. 2

    The Secession

    850 m · 12 min on foot

  3. 3

    Maria-Theresien-Platz

    470 m · 7 min on foot

  4. 4

    Parlament, the Parliament

    370 m · 5 min on foot

  5. 5

    Rathaus, the City Hall

    400 m · 6 min on foot

  6. 6

    University of Vienna

    260 m · 4 min on foot

  7. 7

    Mölker Bastei and the Pasqualati House

    350 m · 5 min on foot

  8. 8

    Burgtheater

    270 m · 4 min on foot

  9. 9

    Volksgarten and the Theseus Temple

    730 m · 10 min on foot

  10. 10

    Burggarten and the Mozart statue

    390 m · 6 min back to the start

  11. Back at Staatsoper, the Vienna State Opera

    The tour ends where it started.

How it works

  1. 1. Get to the start

    Head to the starting point and tap “Start the tour”.

  2. 2. Listen

    At each stop, tap “I'm here” and listen to the story.

  3. 3. Follow the map

    Follow the map to the next stop. No rush.

Before you set off

Bring headphones and a charged phone: audio and map use up battery.

  • It is a loop: you finish where you started.
  • Stop whenever you like. Your progress is saved on this phone.
  • The route and the texts load when you start, so it keeps working with patchy coverage.
  • The walk stays outdoors. The time does not include going inside the buildings.
  • Available in Spanish and English.
Photo credits
  • 1. Staatsoper, the Vienna State Opera: P e z i · CC BY-SA 3.0 at · Wikimedia Commons
  • 2. The Secession: Thomas Ledl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • 3. Maria-Theresien-Platz: Manfred Werner - Tsui · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • 4. Parlament, the Parliament: CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • 5. Rathaus, the City Hall: Thomas Ledl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • 6. University of Vienna: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • 7. Mölker Bastei and the Pasqualati House: Welleschik · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • 8. Burgtheater: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  • 9. Volksgarten and the Theseus Temple: Thomas Ledl · CC BY-SA 3.0 at · Wikimedia Commons
  • 10. Burggarten and the Mozart statue: C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons