Welcome to Vienna, CEMSies!

Dear CEMSie, are you already planning to attend the CEMS Annual Events in the world’s most livable city from November 29 until December 1, 2019? Great decision! But you haven’t booked your flight or train ticket yet? Don’t worry, just keep reading. Your fellow CEMS colleague Laura has put together a few helpful inside tips on travelling to Vienna – you will also find some useful recommendations on where to stay and on the public transport system.

Before you start thinking about actually getting to Vienna, do this first: Download either the ÖBB Scotty or Qando apps – they will help you get around the city using public transportation. The subway runs until around 12:30am on weeknights and all night on weekends. Streetcars run until about 12:30am every night. For the night owls, night buses, taxis, and Uber are available to get you home at any hour!

Flights and train tickets

Are you thinking of flying to Vienna? Well, that sounds like a good plan, but it can get expensive.

Here’s a good inside tip: Make sure to also check for flights to Bratislava, as they are often cheaper than the ones directly to Vienna. From there, Vienna city center is just a bus ride (approx. 1.5h) away (check omino.com, flixbus.com, or getbybus.com for fares and timetables).

If you do fly directly to the Vienna Airport (Schwechat), you have a number of options to get to the city center:

• Uber (about 20-25€)
• Regular Airport Taxi (around 45€)
• City Airport Train (CAT), which is a fast train line to the city center (16 min). It costs € 11 (not recommended)
• Recommended: Take the S-Bahn train S7 (takes about 30 min). If you have a regular Wiener Linien (public transportation) ticket, it will only cost you an additional € 1.40 to your destination. You can buy your day/week pass in advance by downloading the Wiener Linien app “Wien Mobil”. The only thing you have to buy at the airport is the additional ticket to “Stadtgrenze” (city limit). ÖBB employees can help you find the right ticket at the airport!

Are you looking for a more environmentally friendly way to travel? No problem, the Austrian rail service is called ÖBB. Go to the ÖBB website (oebb.at) to find out about routes, timetables, and prices. When you’ve found your connection, check out the “ÖBB Vorteilscard Jugend” (available to anyone under 26 years of age). With this card, which costs € 19 and is valid for one year, fares within Austria are reduced by 50%, so it might work out to be cheaper to buy the card if you plan to travel round trip with ÖBB.

We do, however, also recommend checking bus transportation lines like Flixbus or Omio – especially when it comes to cross-border routes, there might be a cheaper option for you.

Accommodations

AirBnB is one reasonably inexpensive option for your stay.  You could also check the Facebook Group to see if you might be able to crash on a fellow CEMSies couch, or try couchsurfing.com for an authentic Viennese experience.

Where to stay? That depends on your preferences. If you want to do some sightseeing, it makes sense to stay close to the city center. I would personally recommend looking for a place close to one of the city’s five subway lines, that way you can get to most of Vienna’s tourist attractions and famous buildings within 30 minutes. Also, keep in mind that some CEMS Graduation events will be held in the Marx Halle, which is located next to a U3 subway station (Erdberg) – so you might want to choose a location that is close to the U3.

Stay tuned on the webpage – there will be more information about the city coming soon!

P.S.: Click here for a map of the public transportation network, including streetcars, buses, and subways. If you just need the subway lines, here they are!