Vienna

Is Vienna safe?

Vienna is a very safe city, and for most visitors the worst thing that happens is a lifted wallet. Austria's Federal Criminal Police Office counted 22 completed murder victims in Vienna in 2025, down from 31 a year earlier, in a city of about 2 million people. That is about 1.1 per 100,000. Only 15 people died on the city's roads in the same year.

Police registered 194,625 offences in Vienna in 2025, almost unchanged from 2024 and still below the 205,000 of 2016. As the only Austrian city of more than a million people, Vienna has more crime per head than the rest of the country, and the police solve 44.6% of cases against 53.6% nationally.

We score Vienna 85, a little ahead of Berlin and Prague. It beats both on traffic and night safety. Our Austria page covers the rest of the country, including the Alps.

Pickpockets and where they work

Police recorded 5,448 pickpocket and distraction thefts in 2025, 7.8% fewer than the year before. That is about a quarter fewer per head than in Berlin. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says thieves use a variety of distraction methods and that people should be particularly careful on international trains and when taking luggage off trains and coaches.

The places to keep your bag closed:

• Stephansplatz, the Graben and Kärntner Straße, the pedestrian heart of the old town.
• The U1 and U3 U-Bahn lines, which carry most visitors through the centre.
• Westbahnhof and the Hauptbahnhof, especially on platforms for trains to Budapest, Munich and Venice.
• Schönbrunn Palace, the Naschmarkt and the Prater on busy weekends.
• Christmas markets, above all the big one on Rathausplatz.

Scams are minor. Sellers in Mozart costumes around St Stephen's Cathedral push tickets for tourist concerts that are real but overpriced. Taxis use meters and are generally honest; Uber and Bolt also operate. Validate a paper ticket before you travel on public transport, because inspectors fine passengers without a valid ticket on the spot.

The places police watch at night

The centre is calm at night, and most districts visitors stay in are quiet after dark. In the European Commission's 2023 survey of city residents, 78% in greater Vienna said they feel safe walking alone at night in the city, against 62% in Prague and 60% in Berlin and Budapest. Problems cluster in a few places away from the sights:

• Praterstern, the transport hub by the Prater, where a weapon-ban zone has been in force since 2019.
• Reumannplatz and Keplerplatz in Favoriten, a weapon-ban zone since Easter 2024 after a run of knife attacks. Police said reported violent crime there fell about 10% in May to July 2025.
• Yppenplatz in Ottakring, a market square that became the third zone in August 2025.
• The Gürtel under the U6 line, near Westbahnhof and Josefstädter Straße, a strip of late bars and some street drug dealing.

None of this is a reason to avoid Vienna. It is a reason not to hang around these places late at night. Knives were the weapon used most often in violent crime in Vienna in 2025, with 1,168 cases, and youth crime is rising: the number of suspects under 21 went up 10.7%.

The U-Bahn runs all night on Fridays, Saturdays and the nights before public holidays, and night buses cover the rest of the week. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns that drinks in bars can be stronger than at home and that spiked drinks have been followed by robbery and assault.

Terrorism

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Austria, a step above its wording for Czechia or Hungary. On 2 November 2020 a gunman killed four people in central Vienna, and in February 2025 a knife attack in Villach in southern Austria killed one person. Austrian police have disrupted several plots since. Expect visible police at big events, stations and Christmas markets, and follow their instructions.

Traffic, air and water

Vienna's roads are among the safest of any big European city. The Interior Ministry counted 15 road deaths in 2025, about 0.7 per 100,000 people, and Vienna was one of only two Austrian states where the toll did not rise. The main hazards are trams, which cannot stop quickly, and cyclists on shared paths along the Ring.

Fine particle pollution is within the EU limit but above the WHO guideline. Tap water comes by pipeline from springs in the Alps and is some of the best in Europe. Emergency care is excellent; EU visitors should bring an EHIC.

The New Danube, a flood-relief channel dug in the 1970s and 1980s, protects the city from Danube floods. Summer heatwaves are now the main natural hazard, with occasional storms and flash floods in the outer districts.

How we scored it

Traffic safety (94) and natural hazards (90) are Vienna's strongest factors, and violent crime (88) is low for a capital. Theft and scams (74) is the weakest, because pickpocketing in the centre and on the U-Bahn is common. Walking at night (83) follows the EU's 2023 survey of residents, which we use for every European city. If you combine Vienna with Budapest, expect more scams in Budapest's nightlife than anything you meet here.