Is Vienna Dog Friendly?

We’ve visited Vienna three times with Henry and have found parts to be dog friendly and others not so much. As with most cities with a bit of research, you can enjoy visiting with a dog in tow. Vienna is no different. I found that many bars and restaurants were welcoming to guests with a dog. Researching eating out was pretty difficult. Because most don’t mention either way if they were dog friendly, however polite enquiries were fruitful.

Dog at Hofburg

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The big draw to the city for me was the imposing imperial architecture, which makes for a great god walk. Many of the attractions were not dog-friendly. For this reason, leaving a well-behaved dog at accommodation is a must if you wish to see inside. There are quite a few good options for pet friendly places to stay on Booking.com.

Dogs at Pratter

There are a few dog-walking parks in Vienna, ideal for potty breaks or a run of the lead. Poo-bags were often free to use in the city. A pleasant touch. The major (nice) parks of the city were, however, not dog friendly. This included the park with the Strauss Monument, Belvedere Palace and Schönbrunn Palace. I can’t remember visiting a city where parks are so restrictive to dogs.

Rules & Regulations

Tube Rules

Vienna has lots of rules about muzzles and leads. I’d recommend getting a muzzle and lots of training before visiting. Places like bars, public transport and crowded areas both are required. It took the shine off our visit, constantly worrying if we would get caught out doing it wrong. We just followed others’ lead, which didn’t match the government rules.

Muzzle Dislike Vienna

All dogs, big or small, must be muzzled or kept on a lead in public places in Vienna, and dog owners have a legal obligation to muzzle their dogs in all heavily frequented places, e.g. on public transport, in restaurants or at events.

Source…
No Dogs Sign

In the end, Henry was glad to leave Vienna, as he’s not keen on the Hannibal Lecter look.

Dog-friendly Bars & Restaurants in Vienna

I was in the city for a short amount of time, but found it relatively easy to find a pet friendly restaurant or two.

Schweizerhaus A Dog Friendly Beer garden at Prater

A fantastic place for a meal out or beers at Prater amusement park is Schweizerhaus. Schweizerhaus has a fantastic pet friendly beer garden. It’s a place with history dating back to the 19th-century. They serve fantastic beers and options for Viennese cuisine.

Beer Garden Prater

Me and henry visited for a night out and noticed many other people out with dogs. The servers were happy to fill his bowl, too.

We met one of Henry’s friends from Facebook while visiting and had an epic evening out. The beer was flowing, and we enjoyed some delicious pork knuckle and bretzel. Overall, Schweizerhaus is a great place to visit with a dog.

Cafe Alex Vienna Near Messe Prater

Cafe Alex Vienna

Near our pet friendly accommodation was a pleasant cafe-bar, Cafe Alex. Cafe Alex has a pleasant terrace and serve reasonably priced beers and coffees.

Cafe Alex Dog Friendly

They were pretty dog friendly and even brought henry a bowl of their finest water for him. The staff were friendly and gave henry some fuss. Overall, a good place to visit if you are staying near to Messe-Prater underground station.

Steirerhof A Dog Friendly Restaurant

Steirerhof Restaurant Dog Friendly

A restaurant that we enjoyed visiting near our dog friendly accommodation was Steirerhof. Steirerhof Restaurant is near Pratter and has both inside and outside dining areas. We enjoyed a meal out on their terrace. They were perfectly fine with Henry visiting and even offered water for him.

Steirerhof Restaurant Food

They had options for Austrian beer, including Gosser, a rather refreshing drink. For food, I enjoyed their pork neck with dumpings and sauerkraut. This was hearty and delicious, especially the crispy bits.

Steirerhof Building

Their home is a lovely building and was rather impressive from the street. Overall, Steirerhof was a fantastic place for a hearty meal out with a dog.

Wiener Grill Haus

Viennese Cuisine in Vienna

A short walk from Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna is the dog friendly Wiener Grill Haus. Wiener Grill Haus is a lovely place with a shaded beer garden in their back garden, ideal for pets of a warm day. They also have bowls for dogs. As a bonus, the restaurant is near a Hadik Park, an ideal place for off the lead walkies.

Wiener Grill Haus Dog Friendly

Wiener Grill Haus has a good drinks menu, including Austrian beers such as Schladminger and some tasty lemonades. Their food menu is great too with some delicious meaty options including wiener schnitzel and pork knuckle. Overall, Wiener Grill Haus is an excellent place to visit for beers or food with or without a dog.

Zattl Wirtshaus & Biergarten

Zattl Wirtshaus & Biergarten Beer

In Vienna city Centre, near to Schottenkirche and the nearby palaces is Zattl Wirtshaus & Biergarten. Their garden is rather green, thus a great shade to cool down on walkies. They also have dog water available for canine guests to the bar.

Zattl Wirtshaus & Biergarten Dog Water

They have an excellent beer and food menu including some delicious Viennese cuisine. Overall, Zattl Wirtshaus & Biergarten is a great pet friendly place to enjoy some shade with a beer in the summer.

Crossfield’s Austrian Pub

The Crossfield’s Australian Pub is near to the Albertina Art Museum and The Vienna State Opera, not too far from the Hofburg Palace. This place specialises in grilled food with an Australian twist. The restaurant was very welcoming and dog-friendly and highly recommend.

Dog-Friendly Restaurant Vienna

The decor was nice, and everything was Australian themed, including crocodiles on the wall and other stereotypical attire. The service was at the table and very efficient. Beers arrived quickly. Henry was lucky too; he enjoyed a bowl of water.

Crossfield's Australian Pub

For food we shared exotic option of the Mixed Meat Plate, a mixed grill with very interesting meats. First was the fillet beef steak, the most regular of the options. They cooked the steak perfectly, medium-rare. Next was the crocodile, the first for us. This was a pleasant surprise and enjoyed very much. Kangaroo steak was the next delight, a very lean cut that had a great flavour. Accompanying the meats was the latest sustainable protein of grasshopper.

Bergers Bar

Bergers Bar

Near to the Danube between the city centre and Praterstern is Bergers Bar. Burgers Bar is a small little sports bar that is dog friendly and serves great food. This included a delicious Viennese take of cheese on toast with spring onions. Beer is always on top or bottle, including the delightful Wieselburger Bier and many others. The bar has comfy inside seating with excellent table service. In the warmer months, they have a garden to enjoy sitting outside.

Hendricks – Café und Sportsbar

Hendricks Bar Beer

One of my type of places for a drink in Vienna was Hendricks – Café und Sportsbar. They are just outside the Patterson train station and have a pleasant terrace facing towards Prater. They were fine with us visiting with Henry our dog. As a bonus, they had a good choice of beers and were reasonably priced compared to other places in the city. Overall, a value dog friendly place near the underground and railways stations.

Sapori d´Italia

Sapori d´Italia Beer

Near Schwedenplatz underground station is Sapori d´Italia, an Italian restaurant. They had a lovely terrace for me and Henry to hydrate with a few beers and dog water. The owner was ultra friendly and made the dog welcome.

Zum Riesenrad – Cafe Restaurant

zum Riesenrad - Cafe Restaurant

Zum Riesenrad is a Cafe Restaurant next to the Ferris wheel at Prater Amusement park. We enjoyed a few visits here in the daytime while walking the dog. They were dog friendly and offered Henry some water. Zum Riesenrad has a range of drinks, including local beer and various coffee options. They also have a good food menu featuring Viennese cuisine. Overall, a nice place to visit in the daytime when the park is quiet.

Dog-Friendly Places to stay in Vienna?

There is an array of options for places to stay in the city, from budget hostels to luxury hotels. We have tried a few pet friendly places from both Booking.com and Airbnb and found they met our requirements.

Gorgeous flat next to Prater and Messe Wien From Airbnb

Dog Friendly Apartment Vienna

For our summer visit to Vienna, we were searching for budget friendly places and found dog friendly options on Airbnb much cheaper. We opted to stay at “Gorgeous flat next to Prater and Messe Wien” for 9 nights for a longer stay in the city.

Airbnb Dog Friendly

The location of the apartment was great and near to two underground stations. It was also within walking distance of Prater Amusement Park for dog walks and fun in the evenings. Also in the area were dog friendly bars and restaurants which we popped in during walkies.

Dog Friendly Apartment Vienna Austria

The apartment was in a nice block on the upper levels; they had no rules regarding the dog or the horror stores you read about on the internet. Thus we could happily leave henry relaxing and avoid the sun while visiting places that weren’t dog friendly.

Pet Friendly Airbnb

This apartment had a comfy bed, a big lounge and a functional kitchen with a washing machine for laundry. The bathroom was good too, with a nice shower. Overall, this was a good value and comfortable dog friendly Airbnb in Vienna.

Hotel Odeon a cheap place to stay

Bathroom

The Hotel Odeon in the Praterstern area of Vienna is a dog-friendly and cheap place to stay. This place is a cross between a hotel and hostel and set over multiple floors, with a bathroom on each floor. The hotel has a reception area with a bar that we utilised on both visits, getting Austrian beers for the room or a nice quiet drink in the bar area.

Austrian Beer

The hotel advertised online as being dog friendly but with an extra charge for deep cleaning. This was 10 euros, so didn’t break the bank. The hotel allowed the dog in all areas and they allowed us to leave him in the room, as he doesn’t bark when left alone. The dog attended the bar and outside smoking area on multiple occasions and even got a fuss from some staff. There were some parks which were for dogs and there were poo bags dispensed for free at various locations.

The hotel, as with most in Europe, was no-smoking, so had a comfy outside smoking area. There was a laundry room for visitors to enable them to get clothes clean, ideal for backpackers to refresh their wardrobe. One of the primary reasons we returned was the hotel’s willingness to look after luggage after check out. Ideal for us, so we didn’t have a dog and backpacks while touring Vienna for the entire day. We always had a drink while collecting luggage before moving on.

A good place to rest your head just outside the city and ideal for those travelling with a dog in tow. Also good for visitors that want to attend the iconic Prater Theme Park at night. To enquire about availability or book a room, visit Booking.com. Alternatively, there are loads of options for accommodation in Vienna from cheap hostels, Airbnb or to high-end hotels. More Vienna Accommodation…

25Hours Hostel

dog-friendly Hostel in Vienna

The 25hours hostel in the museum quarter is pet-friendly according to www.thisis.dog on their site. This hotel seems a unique place, including the signage. The sign outside says, “We are all mad here.”

Sightseeing Dog Walk Photos

Despite many of the pleasant parks in the city being out of bounds for dogs, Henry enjoyed some nice sightseeing dog walks. Our visit was summer, so had to limit the city centre walks to shaded areas or later in the evening to prevent paws getting burned.

Hofburg Entrance Dogs

Out of the three most famous palaces in Vienna, The Hofburg is the only one you can have a proper mooch around with a dog. Thus, Henry enjoyed quite a few and saw plenty of others doing the same.

Dog Hofburg Palace Vienna

The courtyards of The Hofburg Palace are fantastic for walking. This is because they provide some brilliant shade to keep cool and the tourist numbers seemed to drop after 5pm.

Hofburg Dog Walk

The grassy areas of Heldenplatz had none of the dreaded no dogs’ signs and we met a few other pets enjoying the area. Unfortunately, the nearby Volksgarten don’t allow canine visitors.

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien Dog

Maria-Theresien-Platz seemed a nice place for walkies as they have some grass and some iconic buildings to see. We met a few other dogs there, and Henry seemed to get lots of attention. As a bonus, later in the day, it has some good shade.

Dog Vienna Parliament Building

The famous ring road is a good option for a dog walk, especially when you get the shade from the iconic buildings like the Austrian Parliament.

Pet Shops

Pet shop Vienna

Due to broken dog-lead, we needed to find a pet shop. There were a few options in the city. We found a very nice one towards the rear of the museum quarter.

For dog food, Henry loves the grain free options from DM stores. There were lots of these throughout the city, meaning it was straightforward getting some.

So, Is Vienna Dog Friendly?

Walkies Pratter

We enjoyed visiting Vienna with the dog and found the sightseeing walks fantastic. We found plenty of dog friendly bars and restaurants to relax. Finding pet friendly accommodation was straightforward on both Airbnb and booking.com.

However, Henry wasn’t a fan of the muzzle rules, however he needs more training and maybe a new fitted muzzle if we return to Vienna. All the pleasant parks in the city were dog unfriendly, unfortunately. Dog parks were usually out of the way and some were not that pleasant. Thus, I don’t think it’s as dog friendly as billed.

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