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COST OF LIVING

Eight ways to save money living in Vienna

From cut price summer camps for school age children to swimming pools and opera tickets for just a couple of euros, find out how you can save money in Vienna while enjoying all the Austrian capital has to offer.

Published: 17 May 2021 11:02 CEST
Swimming in the Danube river is free!  (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP)
A man jumps into the "Old Danube" river in Vienna, Austria. Temperatures in Vienna could hit 36 degrees Celsius before Saturday, in what could become Austria's longest heatwave. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP)

Vienna’s restaurants, cafes, swimming pools, sports venues, music venues and events are opening up soon after a long closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. You can already visit its museums and world famous art galleries.

But how can you enjoy the best the city has to offer on a budget?

Public transport for just one euro a day

One thing you don’t have to worry about in Vienna is spending a lot of money on public transport.

With the yearly Wiener Linien Jahreskarte, transport all over the city costs just €1 per day. 

READ MORE: 365 Ticket: Everything you need to know about Vienna’s cheap annual metro pass

Cheap child care

Summer holidays are coming up, but you don’t need to shell out a fortune to keep your school aged children entertained or to send them to a summer camp.

The City of Vienna summer camps are ridiculously good value at just €50 a week, including lunch and snacks, dropping to €25 a week for siblings. The camps, located at various locations across the city, offer a range of activities and outings with themes such as nature, cultural experiences, creativity, science and technology.

The most popular even offer swimming courses .

Entrance to the Albertina Modern art museum is included in the Bundes Museencard (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Culture on a shoestring 

If you are living on a very low income but love culture, the Hunger auf Kunst und Kultur initiative means you can get free access to museums, art exhibitions, theatre and music performances. The card can also be used in Styria, Burgenland, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Lower Austria as well as Vienna.

If you do not meet the strict requirements for the card, there is a chance to visit many federal museums in Austria with the Bundes Museencard, currently offered for €19 instead of €59. This includes a single visit to the Albertina, Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Belvedere, Vienna’s Imperial Treasury, the Welt Museum, MAK or Museum of Applied Arts, the Mumok modern art museum, the Theatre museum, the Austrian National Library and the Imperial Wagenburg museum in Vienna.

It also includes a visit to Ambras Castle in Innsbruck. It also includes family favourites the Technisches Museum and the Natural History museum.

Mexican citizens can also currently visit the Aztec exhibition at the Welt Museum free of charge. 

Hunt out cheap food options

If your food delivery habit has got out of control during lockdown, the app ‘Too Good To Go’ can help you save money. It means restaurants, bakeries and delicatessens do not have to throw out unused (but perfectly good) food at the end of the day, but can offer it at a huge discount to paying customers, meaning you can save money and cut down on food waste. 

No need for a posh gym

Join a running, yoga or hiking group. Under the new rules when lockdown ends on 19th May, up to 10 people from different households can meet. There is no need to join an expensive gym for exercise classes, Vienna has hundreds of free exercise groups where people can motivate each other to burn off those corona calories.

Groups such as Open Yoga Vienna offer free yoga outside, or YouTube video workouts when the weather doesn’t allow for outdoor fun. Join Meetup to find more like-minded exercise nuts.

In addition, there are green outdoor workout gyms all over the city, with those along the Danube Canal and the Prater giving the perfect opportunity to flex your pecs in the sun. 

Get your biked tuned up for the summer – for free! (Photo by ALEXANDER KLEIN / AFP)

Free bike tune-ups

Does your bike need a service? The Green Party in Vienna organises popup bike repairs all over the city.

Go to the Grüne Radrettung Facebook page to find out more. It’s also possible to hire a bike in Vienna for just one euro an hour from the city’s bike rental service. 

Swim for cheap – or even for free

Swimming in Vienna’s many public pools is very cheap, and will soon be possible again from May 19th. Marvel at the glass roof of Vienna’s oldest swimming pool Jörgerbad or enjoy views across the city from Krapfenwaldbad, set in the Vienna Woods. Swimming is free for infants (children aged under seven), while children aged between seven and 14 pay just one euro for a swim.

Even adults pay only three euros for a dip. If you don’t even want to pay that much, swimming in the Danube (Donau) is free, the water quality is good and there are lots of great places to sunbathe along the river.

You can watch a performance at Vienna’s State Opera house for just a couple of euros (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Enjoy world-class opera performances for a couple of euros

Famously, standing tickets at Vienna’s State Opera House allow even those on the tightest budgets to enjoy the city’s world famous opera performances for just €2 to €10 per ticket.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic the standing area has temporarily been converted into a seating area, while the prices remain the same, meaning you can watch the performances at rock bottom prices while seated in relative comfort.

You must register first here before booking your tickets, and there are testing and mask requirements in place.

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For members

RENTING

‘Betriebskosten’: What are the extra costs renters must pay in Austria?

Renting an apartment in Austria means you’ll have to budget not only for the rent, but other somewhat hidden monthly costs and expenses.

Published: 30 April 2024 11:29 CEST
'Betriebskosten': What are the extra costs renters must pay in Austria?

Understanding operating costs or the specific expenses landlords or property agencies charge renters, is crucial for staying on top of your monthly payments when renting a place in Austria. These extra costs, known in German as Betriebskosten, are strictly regulated by Austria’s Tenancy Act. 

Here are the operating expensses that are chargeable to tenants, according to the MieterHilfe Public Association:

  • Water/wastewater and costs of leak testing, plus excess consumption due to burst pipes, but does not include disproportionate additional consumption for commercial operations;
  • Rubbish removal (and also clearing out floors and cellars);
  • Clearing out abandoned property;
  • Pest control, with costs such as extermination and periodic inspection or removal of pigeon droppings. Installation of pigeon screens is not included;
  • Sweeping fees (chimney sweep);
  • Electricity for lighting and communal facilities, such as the stairwell, but also replacement of light bulbs, fuses or switches;
  • Insurance premiums for fire, liability and water damage;
  • Insurance premiums for glass breakage and storm damage provided that more than half of the tenants have agreed to this being passed on;
  • Management fee (there is a set administration fee per square metre of usable space and building construction year)
  • House cleaning, including wages and social payments if there is a caretaker, plus materials; 
  • Public charges, unless there is a prohibition on passing them on – offsetting of property taxes is permitted;
  • Ongoing operating costs for communal facilities (lift, heating, playground, green areas, common rooms, etc.).

However, costs such as maintenance and repair work can never be charged under operating expenses.

The same goes for any ‘disproportionate additional costs or consumption due to commercial operations ‘, which refers to costs that are significantly higher than what would be considered normal for residential use or costs that are incurred due to the operation of a business within the rented property. 

READ ALSO: Tenant or landlord – Who pays which costs in Austria?

Vienna’s association for tenants MieterHilfe has a calculator that uses average values to show whether the Betriebskosten you pay are comparatively low, medium or high. The association notes, however, that even low values could be considered unauthorised billing in some cases. In contrast, high values could be correct – the calculator only shows if you are paying too much compared to other properties in the city.

You can check the values HERE. You will need to know either the total usable area of the building or the usable area of the flat and the operating cost share—this information is usually shown in a payment statement you receive from property management. 

What if I believe I am being unfairly charged?

If you think you are paying too much, but the charges are legal – such as for water electricity etc, then you would need to raise this issue with property management. They could take measures to save on operating costs, such as replacing old light bulbs with more energy-efficient ones or setting lights to a timer instead of a traditional light switch, for example.

There are many possible reasons for high or low values, according to the City of Vienna. For example, you may pay comparatively low for water one year because of a small number of residents, while the following year, there are leaking sanitary facilities and a burst water pipe that raises costs.

Buildings with many communal areas and green spaces often tend to have higher operating costs, especially for water, electricity, and housekeeping. 

However, things are different if you think you are being unduly charged—that is, there are charges in the operating costs that do not belong there, such as unapproved construction repair.

READ ALSO: Renting in Austria – The key things foreign residents need to know

If you are unsure of the costs, there is a significant deviation from average prices for no particular reason, or you believe that you are being charged for something not legally admissible as an operating cost, you could have a free check carried out by MieterHilfe or a tenant protection organisation. 

If there is a suspicion of unauthorised billing that cannot be dispelled between tenants and the property management company, this will be clarified at the arbitration board. The arbitration board is an independent body that mediates disputes between tenants and landlords. It is a point of contact before the courts in case of difficulties or legal disputes, and its decision is legally binding.

Property management companies and landlords must settle the operating costs for the previous year by 30 June at the latest and disclose them to tenants. This deadline is set to ensure that tenants have sufficient time to review their cost statements and raise any concerns before the new rental year begins. All expenses must be itemised in the statement, providing transparency and allowing tenants to see exactly what they are being charged for.

They are obliged to provide tenants with a detailed summary of the statement and the invoice documents. If the operating costs per square metre exceed €2, a more detailed review is recommended, according to the City of Vienna.

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