It's almost time: the official Easter vacations in Vienna run from April 12 to 21, but the city starts its egg hunt at the end of March. Whether you are looking for the Easter market with the most imperial flair, the most original handicrafts or the ideal Easter program for your little ones - here you will find the best tips for your visit to Easter Vienna.

By the way: Most stores are closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday (April 20 and 21). However, the museums and sights are still open to you - and with the Vienna Welcome Card at a particularly low price.

Visit the Schönbrunn Palace Easter market

Colorful Easter eggs and pretty handicrafts make the best Easter gifts. If you prefer walking in the fresh air while shopping and tasting regional delicacies or eggnog products, you should definitely stop by the traditional Viennese Easter markets. The Easter market in front of Schönbrunn Palace is a real Viennese institution: from March 27 to April 21, you can go on a tour of discovery through the stands of numerous exhibitors and experience exciting attractions. How about a ride on the Ferris wheel, the mini train or the carousel, for example? 

Tip for Schönbrunn fans: make sure you have your Vienna Welcome Card to hand when booking Schönbrunn attractions - you'll get lots of great discounts.

Buy Easter eggs in the city center

There are also lovingly decorated market stalls to discover in the first district: The Altwiener Ostermarkt on Freyung even boasts the largest egg mountain in Europe. From April 3 to 21, there are around 40,000 painted Easter eggs to admire. You can also take part in classic Easter traditions such as palm bush tying and ratcheting. Just three alleys away, around 50 exhibitors will get you in the Easter spirit: from April 4 to 21, the Am Hof Easter market will be selling all kinds of arts and crafts, jewelry, leather goods and ceramics. You can also sample a wide selection of delicacies.

Store for homemade Easter decorations

Not far away, in the 9th district, the VinziRast Easter market will take place on April 5 and 6. Every single one of the handmade Easter gifts is unique: you can buy bags, jewelry, wooden toys or pretty Easter decorations. If you feel most at home among blooming flowers, we can recommend the Easter market in the Hirschstetten flower gardens: From April 3 to 6 and from April 10 to 13, regional delicacies and homemade Easter items such as hand-painted eggs and atmospheric Easter candles await you here. And if you have a specific question about miniature plants or the perfect garden soil, you can go directly to the stands of the Bonsaiclub and the Sonnenerde company on the second weekend in April.

Celebrate Easter with young and old

The city's Easter markets also offer all kinds of fun activities for younger visitors. The program at the Kalvarienbergfest in Hernals is particularly sophisticated. From April 4 to 20, kids can paint eggs, decorate themselves with glitter tattoos and have their faces painted. Not only will the Easter Bunny be dropping by, but also Punch and Judy and the magician. Traditional Easter traditions await you on the holidays, such as Easter rattling on Good Friday and the Easter bonfire on Holy Saturday. 

During the Easter vacations, you can also register your children for an event from wienXtra's varied program: The activities are either free or very affordable and range from craft workshops and plays to children's discos.

Tip for all those with a sweet tooth: At the Chocolate Museum, you can not only take part in the museum tours, but also build your own chocolate Easter nest and take part in the Easter puzzle rally.

But beware: the museum is closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

Tired from all the adventures? Don't worry, you don't have to walk all the way back: With the Vienna Welcome Card, you can use all public transport operated by Wiener Linien.

Want to make the most of your time in Vienna and experience as much as possible? Then we have just the thing for you: You can find more cool events in April in this article.