The TU Ball 2027 is on Thursday 28 January in the Hofburg, Vienna's former imperial palace, from 20:30 until the final waltz at 05:00. Tickets cost €150 and go on sale online at 19:00 on Monday 9 November 2026. The dress code accepts a black suit with a bow tie, and any valid student card, a foreign one included, cuts the price to €55.
When is the TU Ball 2027? Thursday 28 January
The TU Ball 2027 is on Thursday 28 January, in the state rooms of the Hofburg on Heldenplatz. The halls open at 20:30 and the opening starts at 21:30. The final waltz is at 05:00 on Friday morning, eight and a half hours after the doors open. To compare it with the other balls of the winter, see our guide to the Vienna ball season 2027. For the weather and what else is on that month, see Vienna in January.
| At a glance | TU Ball 2027 | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Thursday 28 January | By tradition the last Thursday in January |
| Doors | 20:30 | The opening starts at 21:30 |
| Venue | Hofburg, Heldenplatz | About 22 minutes on foot from MINT, by our estimate |
| Tickets | €150, students €55 | Online from 19:00 on Monday 9 November 2026 |
| Dress code | Gown or black suit, bow tie | Floor-length gown; tails, tuxedo or uniform also fine; no necktie |
| End | 05:00 | No all-night U-Bahn on a Thursday |
Sources: TU Ball 2027, HTU Wien; TU Ball ticket shop; U4 timetable, Wiener Linien.
The TU Ball is the ball of TU Wien, Vienna's University of Technology. The ball committee of its student union, the HTU, organises it. The Hofburg lists it as the 46th TU Ball, for 3,400 guests. Its roots go back to the Techniker-Kränzchen, engineers' dances held regularly from the founding of the Polytechnic Institute, today's TU Wien, in 1815. Johann and Joseph Strauss studied there and dedicated a long series of waltzes and polkas to its students.
How much is a TU Ball 2027 ticket? €150, or €55 with a student card
For 2027 the Grand Ball Ticket costs €150, and anyone can buy it. Students with any valid student card, a foreign one included, pay €55, and so do school pupils and people doing military or civilian service. TU Wien staff pay €75.
TU Wien's own students and staff buy from a separate quota. Their account is checked when they order, and each can buy one ticket and one companion ticket. Table seats are sold separately, as an add-on in the online shop and at the ticket office. Their prices are not shown before the sale. No ticket is refunded once it is bought, so settle your dates before you pay.
How do you get TU Ball tickets? Online from 19:00 on 9 November
Buy them online in the ball's own ticket shop, where the sale opens at 19:00 Vienna time on Monday 9 November 2026. The shop warns that high demand may slow orders at the start. Tickets in your basket are held for 30 minutes, so finish the order within that time.
From 20 to 27 January 2027 there is also a ticket office, in meeting room AD on the ground floor at Resselgasse 1, 1040 Vienna. It is open on Monday from 09:00 to 19:00 and Tuesday to Friday from 09:00 to 16:00. There you can buy table seats or pick up tickets bought online. The office is closed on the day of the ball. Paid reserved tickets then wait at the ticket counter in the Hofburg, from 20:30 to 22:00. Questions go to tu-ball@htu.at or +43 1 58801 41929.
What is the TU Ball 2027 dress code?
The dress code is gender-neutral: a floor-length evening gown, tails, a uniform, a tuxedo, or a black suit with a bow tie, never a necktie. Tails means the white-tie tailcoat, Frack in German. The ball committee can refuse entry to anyone not dressed to the code. Gender-neutral means any guest may wear any item on the list. If you already own a black suit, you can wear it with a bow tie.
To hire an outfit in Vienna, at the prices listed in early November 2026:
- Lambert Hofer Junior, Müllnergasse 16 (9th district): tails for €250 with shirt, waistcoat, bow tie, patent shoes and studs, or a tuxedo for €160. Book the fitting by phone.
- Teller, Landstraßer Hauptstraße 88 (3rd district): a tuxedo for €100, or tails with shirt and waistcoat for €200, plus a €100 deposit. Fittings are Monday to Thursday, 10:00 to 18:00, with no appointment needed.
- Kleiderverleih Rottenberg, Porzellangasse 8 (9th district): a ball gown for €170 or full tails for €280, with cleaning and alterations included. A full tuxedo costs €190. From Christmas to Ash Wednesday it opens Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00, and Saturday, 10:00 to 13:00. Its number is +43 1 317 61 55.
The night: an opening at 21:30 and music in 8 halls
At 21:30 the TU Orchestra, the TU Choir and members of the Academic Wind Philharmonic Vienna (ABW) play the opening. The opening committee dances it, to a choreography directed by Ingeborg Knopf-Bousa. The committee is made up of couples who can waltz turning both left and right, chosen at an audition. For 2027 that audition took place on 29 October 2026, so it is too late to apply.
The eight halls each have their own music, and not all of it is for waltzing. This is the line-up as listed in early November 2026, and it may still change:
- Festsaal: Franz Lehár Orchestra and ptart-bigband
- Zeremoniensaal: Joe Hofbauer Quintet
- Rittersaal: Christian Plattner Jazz Party
- Hofburg Forum: a disco
- Geheime Ratstube: folk music from Wienerwald Dance Music
- 2nd Radetzky Apartment: Boston Heat
- Schatzkammersaal: Duo Horacek & Schöndorfer
- Metternichsaal: Corcovado Salsa Club
For lessons, Tanzschule Elmayer's Ball Express Courses run from 4 November 2026: three evenings over three weeks, 60 minutes each, at €220 a couple. That suits someone who lives in Vienna more than a visitor. Classes are in German, and the staff help in English.
How do you get to the TU Ball and home again? 22 minutes on foot
From our apartments by the Naschmarkt, the Hofburg is about 22 minutes on foot by our estimate. On the Thursday night, the last U4 from Karlsplatz towards Kettenbrückengasse leaves at 00:30. From 01:03 to 04:33, the N60 night bus leaves the Burgring every 30 minutes.
If you would rather not walk, the U4 takes 2 minutes from Kettenbrückengasse, our station, to Karlsplatz. The U1, U2 and trams D, 1, 2 and 71 stop there. Check the onward connection in the WienMobil app. Near the Hofburg, the U3 station Herrengasse is about 5 minutes' walk away. The bus and tram stops on the Burgring are a few steps from the building.
Thursday 28 January is a weeknight, so the U-Bahn does not run all night, as it does before a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. The first U4 of the morning leaves Karlsplatz at 04:57. Until then, the N60 night bus leaves the Burgring, beside the Hofburg, at 3 and 33 minutes past each hour. It first goes round the Ring road, back to the stop Oper, Karlsplatz. It reaches Kettenbrückengasse 17 minutes after the Burgring. Check when the next bus leaves before you decide to wait for it, since the walk takes about 22 minutes by our estimate. By the final waltz at 05:00, the U4 is running again. These are the current Wiener Linien timetables. Check the WienMobil app on the night.
There is also a ball breakfast at Café Schrödinger in the TU Wien Freihaus building on Wiedner Hauptstraße. It starts in the small hours (from 02:00, says the organiser). The café is about 17 minutes on foot from the Hofburg and 12 from our door, by our estimates. That puts it almost on the walk from the Hofburg to our apartments.
Where to stay for the TU Ball: 2 nights from Thursday 28 January
Our Mini MINT is 35 m² for up to 2 guests, a minute from the Naschmarkt, at the U4 station Kettenbrückengasse. A bed in the 1st district would be nearer the Hofburg. From ours, the N60 stops at Kettenbrückengasse, and the ball breakfast is nearly on the way home. A Double MINT, Double MINT with Balcony or MINT Artisan takes up to 3 guests. Four adults need the Penthouse Maisonette, or two apartments in one booking. Check-in is from 15:00, in time to dress before the halls open at 20:30. Stays are two nights or more. If you arrive on Thursday, the apartment is still yours on Friday morning: nobody has to check out at 11:00 after a 05:00 finish. On Friday 29 January the same palace holds the Hofburg Ball der Wiener Wirtschaft. For Thursday 28 and Friday 29 January, check these two nights and book.
Frequently asked questions
Can I go to the TU Ball if I am not a student? Yes: the Grand Ball Ticket costs €150 and anyone can buy it online from 19:00 on 9 November 2026. TU Wien staff pay €75, and anyone with a valid student card pays €55.
Can I wear a normal tie to the TU Ball? No: a black suit is only allowed with a bow tie, and the dress code rules out a necktie. The ball committee can refuse entry to anyone who does not meet the dress code.
Can I get a refund for a TU Ball ticket? No: tickets already bought are not refunded. Settle your travel dates, and the nights around the ball, before you buy.
Where do I collect a reserved TU Ball ticket on the night? Paid reserved tickets wait at the ticket counter in the Hofburg from 20:30 to 22:00 on 28 January. The ticket office at Resselgasse 1 is closed that day.
Is the TU Ball the same as the Ball der Industrie und Technik? No: the Ball der Industrie und Technik is the Techniker-Cercle's ball, at the Musikverein on Saturday 23 January 2027, and men wear tails there. The TU Ball is TU Wien's ball, in the Hofburg on Thursday 28 January.
Do I need to know how to waltz for the TU Ball? No: not every hall plays waltzes, and there is jazz in the Rittersaal, a disco in the Hofburg Forum and salsa in the Metternichsaal. The opening at 21:30 is danced by the opening committee, couples chosen at an audition, not by the guests.
Why is the TU Ball on a Thursday? By tradition the TU Ball falls on the last Thursday in January. On a Thursday night the U-Bahn does not run all night, and the N60 night bus takes over from 01:03.
Sources
Our team checks the dates, prices and figures on this page by hand against official sources.
- TU Ball 2027, TU Ball 2027 in German and the 2027 ticket shop, HTU Wien (organiser)
- Ball calendar 2027, Hofburg Vienna
- U4 timetable and N60 night bus timetable, Wiener Linien
- Ball der Industrie und Technik 2027: date and dress code, Techniker-Cercle
- Tails and tuxedo hire and English page, Lambert Hofer Junior
- Formal wear hire and prices in English, Teller Herrenmode
- Ball gowns, men's evening wear and hours and contact, Kleiderverleih Rottenberg
- Ball Express Courses, Tanzschule Elmayer
Last updated: November 2026. Christian, Host & Founder, MINT @Naschmarkt.
