Free events in Vienna today and this week

The 17th edition of the urbanize! festival explores streets as public urban space. From October 13 to 18, talks, discussions, workshops, city walks, films and artistic interventions address climate adaptation, mobility, social justice, protest and encounter. Events take place at different locations across Vienna and are free, although selected formats require registration.

From October 2 to 18, re:pair FESTIVAL brings more than 90 participatory events to MuseumsQuartier and other venues across Vienna. Repair clinics, workshops, exhibitions, a clothing swap, films, talks and hands-on making explore practical repair, upcycling and resource-conscious everyday life. Public workshops and activities have individual times, prices and registration requirements.

The Mariahilf Women’s Weeks bring workshops, talks, readings, movement and music to several venues in the sixth district from 12 to 23 October. The programme opens with an art performance and includes 19 announced sessions. Workshops are intended for women and girls; everyone is welcome at the other events. Admission is free, with material fees for two craft workshops. Registration is requested for many workshops.

The multimedia exhibition PULS examines Vienna’s streets as social, climatic and political lifelines. Young artists explore movement, heat, encounter, standstill and visibility. The programme includes a pre-opening tour followed by the vernissage, a photo walk through Ottakring, and a closing event with a curatorial tour and queer-feminist discussion.

“Oberwasser” presents work by five artists inside the Favoriten Water Tower. The opening on 13 October includes a tower tour at 7:30 pm, followed by three further exhibition days through the closing event on 16 October.

Conservators introduce historic materials, wall decoration, sculpture and normally inaccessible parts of the Hermesvilla. The programme includes 25 tours and workshops, with touch tours, plain German and Austrian Sign Language. Some Friday sessions are for professionals; Saturday also welcomes families, with forest bathing from age six and a travel workshop from age ten. Registration is required; seven sessions are sold out, and two backstage tours are exclusively for supporters. Allow about 20 minutes to walk from Lainzer Tor; a shuttle is announced for visitors with mobility impairments. The villa itself is not fully accessible.

Free guided walks and cycle tours explore Vienna’s changing housing, public spaces, green areas and transport. Each tour has its own meeting point and duration. The calendar lists the remaining published dates for the season. Registration through the city’s booking calendar is required.

Vienna Running Collective meets every Friday at 7 am at kilometre zero of Prater Hauptallee by Praterstern for a fartlek session. Drills start at 6:45 am; there is no sign-up or membership fee. The October dates follow the published weekly schedule. The map pin marks the entrance to the avenue as a guide; confirm the meeting spot with the group.

At YOVO26 in Vienna City Hall on 16 October, around 40 nonprofit organisations present opportunities for young people to volunteer. Visitors can explore projects in social work, environmental and climate protection, and other fields. Admission is free; schools are asked to register.

The art and antiques market at Am Hof offers rarities, paintings, historical prints, coins and other collectables on Fridays and Saturdays. It is held in the historic city centre and runs during the day until mid-November.

Creative Cluster opens its studios and shared spaces on two afternoons. Around 140 artists and cultural practitioners present their work and discuss their practice. Calle Libre’s studio is also taking part. The former school in Margareten offers a chance to explore creative work and meet its makers. Doors are open from 1 to 9 pm on both days. The current organiser post does not list separately timed performances.

The 14th Vienna Volunteer Fair brings nonprofit organisations to City Hall on 17 and 18 October. Visitors can speak with organisations at their stands and explore different ways to volunteer. Admission is free.

The interactive “Kunst=Arbeit” exhibition at the Semmelweisklinik explores working conditions in the arts. Displays and open discussions address access, power and precarious employment; the venue is open from 11 am to 9 pm.

The cooking workshop on 17 October is sold out according to the organiser. Children and teenagers prepare autumn soups and compote together in the MILA community kitchen using organic ingredients and food leftovers. Adults with cooking experience support the afternoon; children through age ten need an adult companion. Participation is free, but no new places are currently available.

At the curated by festival, international curators develop exhibitions for 24 Vienna galleries. The opening weekend features extended hours and guided tours; the festival continues until mid-October. During the festival: Tue–Fri 12–18, Sat 12–16.

Curated by Sarah Johanna Theurer and Aditi Kapoor, this group exhibition examines the psychological costs of producing, using and consuming goods and infrastructure. Time-based media reveal hidden connections and dependencies within these systems. Regular exhibition visits run from 11 September to 7 November: Tuesday–Friday, 11 am–7 pm; Saturday, 11 am–3 pm. Closed Mondays, Sundays and public holidays.

This five-act exhibition takes Kate Millett’s 1972 installation “Terminal Piece” as its point of departure, placing around 400 works from the mumok collection in dialogue with loans and new commissions. The prologue on Level 0 is free to visit.

In her solo exhibition, Ana de Almeida examines carnations and roses as political symbols in Cold War imagery. Taking the Portuguese Carnation Revolution and the Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution as points of departure, archival photographs, metal drawings and living plants form a spatial constellation.

Hannes Gröblacher’s installation in the Kunstzelle in WUK’s courtyard draws on fragments of overheard phone calls. At the opening on 23 September at 7 pm, visitors can join a performance that passes these fragments between people. The installation remains accessible until 6 November during WUK opening hours.

The puzzle rally guides participants of all ages through the Allied Quarter with eight questions. Puzzle sheets can be picked up and returned during opening hours at the GB* district office on Nordbahnstraße; a small gift awaits after finding the correct solution.

This group exhibition at Kunsthalle Exnergasse explores care, parenthood and collaborative artistic practice. The regular exhibition runs from September 17 to October 24, with talks, workshops and performances scheduled separately.

The multimedia exhibition PULS examines Vienna’s streets as social, climatic and political lifelines. Young artists explore movement, heat, encounter, standstill and visibility. The programme includes a pre-opening tour followed by the vernissage, a photo walk through Ottakring, and a closing event with a curatorial tour and queer-feminist discussion.

The 20th Vienna Kunstsupermarkt presents original art for sale on Mariahilfer Straße. The opening and anniversary celebration starts at 5 pm on 14 October. The regular season runs from 15 October to 13 March 2027: Monday to Friday 11 am–7 pm and Saturday 10 am–6 pm. Admission is free; art purchases cost extra. Closed on Sundays. The current calendar lists closures around public holidays and New Year; check the source before a holiday visit.

Kunst VHS opens its open-call exhibition on the theme of “Dialogue”. Submitted works are displayed and the winners selected by an expert jury are announced. The opening takes place on 22 September 2026, 6–9 pm, at Lazarettgasse 27. Admission is free.

“Oberwasser” presents work by five artists inside the Favoriten Water Tower. The opening on 13 October includes a tower tour at 7:30 pm, followed by three further exhibition days through the closing event on 16 October.

Free guided walks and cycle tours explore Vienna’s changing housing, public spaces, green areas and transport. Each tour has its own meeting point and duration. The calendar lists the remaining published dates for the season. Registration through the city’s booking calendar is required.

Vienna Running Collective meets every Friday at 7 am at kilometre zero of Prater Hauptallee by Praterstern for a fartlek session. Drills start at 6:45 am; there is no sign-up or membership fee. The October dates follow the published weekly schedule. The map pin marks the entrance to the avenue as a guide; confirm the meeting spot with the group.

The art and antiques market at Am Hof offers rarities, paintings, historical prints, coins and other collectables on Fridays and Saturdays. It is held in the historic city centre and runs during the day until mid-November.

At the weekly flea market next to Naschmarkt, around 400 private and commercial sellers offer antiques, second-hand goods, and curiosities. In September 2026, it takes place on all four Saturdays starting at 6:30 AM; entry is free. Saturdays, 6:30 am–3 pm; closed on public holidays. This ongoing market is listed here through the end of 2026.

RunTogetherNow holds a free, open running session in the Prater on Mondays at 5:30 pm. Meet at Rustenschacherallee 3–5. New runners are explicitly welcome.

Bernd Watzka reads humorous and satirical poems centred on his eccentric Viennese character Herlicek. The free series travels through parks, inns, cafés and a district hall across several Vienna neighbourhoods.

The Austrian National Library joins Austria Reads with free tours and research training. On four evenings, Six feet under explores the library and its normally hidden book storage. Five separate sessions on 21 October cover the library, AI, women’s movements and historic news. Meet at the Centre for Information and Media Literacy in Neue Burg, reached through the middle gate at Heldenplatz. Places are limited, so free registration through the linked Eventbrite calendar is required.

Meidling’s first literature festival runs on selected dates from 1 October to 14 November, with readings, shared reading sessions and workshops at venues across the district. The programme includes children’s literature with Michael Roher, readings with Hamed Abboud and Rotraut Schöberl, and a youth workshop with Kid Pex. All events are free, with registration required because places are limited. Each programme entry lists its venue.

Crime Night brings more than 30 authors to Viennese cafés and other venues for readings from their crime fiction. Admission is free; visitors should check the individual programme for start times, participating venues and possible reservation rules.

The pumpkin festival at Siebenbrunnenplatz offers crafts, face painting and pumpkin carving for children. A torchlight procession leaves for Reumannhof at 5 pm, and the free neighbourhood event closes with pumpkin soup back on the square.

At “Murder on Board”, Kornelius Taxenbach reads from his Vienna crime novel “Der tote Panther” aboard Badeschiff Wien. Film clips from an earlier book presentation accompany the reading on screen. The free event is for ages 16 and up and requires registration.

WIENXTRA’s neighbourhood tour opens at VHS Kulturgarage with movement and creative activities for children. Halloween crafts and face painting are followed by an interactive Suli Puschban concert from 5 to 6 pm.

Upper Belvedere opens free of charge on Friday evening. Short tours connect works in the collection with democracy, political participation and Austria’s State Treaty. The evening is part of Democracy Week. A free timed ticket is required; booking opens on 16 October. Individual tour times have not yet been published.

The first Utopia Days bring workshops on solidarity, care, climate justice and urban life together with art, games, music and vegan food. Saturday opens at 11 am in Nordbergstraße; Sunday opens at noon in Romanogasse. Many activities use German and English, with some discussions in one language only. Attendance is free and donations are welcome. Sunday’s Zeile mit Schlag workshop is still unconfirmed and is therefore not a confirmed programme entry. Overall closing times have not been published.

The Am Himmel Pumpkin Festival combines a farmers’ market with more than 200 pumpkin varieties and seasonal food. Families can carve pumpkins and make kites; the three-day festival on the meadow takes place in all weather.

The 19th Gürtel Connection brings more than 60 live acts and DJs to 14 venues along Lerchenfelder Gürtel. A voluntary donation grants access to the shared charity programme; starting times and line-ups vary by venue.

At the Vienna Safety Festival, emergency and aid organisations present their work on City Hall Square. The free programme runs from 9 am to 4 pm on both days.