Neubau & Spittelberg (7. Bezirk)
The district that starts where the Ring's grandeur runs out. At its eastern edge the MuseumsQuartier occupies the emperor's old stables — eight hectares of courtyards you can sit in for free, with the world's largest Schiele collection on one side and a modern art museum in a block of grey basalt on the other. Behind it, Spittelberg's Biedermeier lanes are so narrow the lanterns almost touch, and beyond that the 7th thins out into Vienna's densest run of restaurants, independent shops and long straight streets that were rebuilt for walking rather than driving.
Who it's for: People who want to eat somewhere different every night — Neubau has one of the highest restaurant densities in the city, and the range runs Filipino to Tyrolean to Israeli to Vietnamese within about eight streets. Modern art people, for the Leopold and mumok. Shoppers who want independent labels and vintage rather than Kohlmarkt. Anyone travelling on a budget who still wants to be central: the MQ courtyards are free, the Libelle roof terrace is free, and dinner costs half what it does inside the Ring.
Things to know
- The MuseumsQuartier courtyards are free, always open and covered by free wifi. You do not need a ticket for anything to sit on an Enzi with a beer from the MQ kiosks, and a very large number of visitors never realise that.
- The MQ Libelle, the glass rooftop pavilion on top of the Leopold Museum, is also FREE — you go up in the Leopold's lift without a museum ticket. It gives one of the best views in Vienna and opened in 2020, so it is missing from most guidebooks.
- Buy MQ museum tickets individually unless you are doing three or more. Leopold Museum is about €19, mumok about €18, and under-19s are free at both. Combination passes only pay off across several institutions.
- Spittelberg is Vienna's second-largest pedestrian zone. The Christmas market there in December is genuinely smaller and calmer than the Rathausplatz one, and locals will tell you so unprompted.
- Neubaugasse has been a Begegnungszone since 2021 — shared surface, no kerbs, 20 km/h, cyclists and pedestrians with equal right of way. The rebuild stops at Burggasse; the northern section toward Lerchenfelder Straße has not been done.
- This district has one of the highest restaurant densities in Vienna, and most of the good ones are small and book out. Reserve, even for places that look casual.
- Almost all retail here closes Sundays, including the whole of Neubaugasse. Restaurants, the MQ and the museums stay open.
- The obvious U-Bahn stops are Volkstheater and Museumsquartier (U2, U3) at the eastern end and Zieglergasse or Neubaugasse (U3) in the middle. The 49 tram runs the length of Burggasse.
- Spittelberg's lanes are cobbled, narrow and uneven — awkward with a suitcase, a pushchair or a wheelchair.