Vienna in March is best before the 20th: in 2027 Easter falls on 28 March, and Austria's school holidays run from 20 to 29 March. Expect average highs of 11 °C, about five hours of sun a day and sunsets moving from about 17:40 to 19:20. March is the last cheap month before Vienna's prices jump: hotels earned €62.4 per available room in March 2025 against €98.4 in April, and March stayed well below April even in 2024, when Easter fell in March.
Is March a good time to visit Vienna in 2027?
Yes, above all before 20 March, as long as you bring a warm coat: March nights average 2.7 °C. To see how March compares with the rest of the year, read our guide to the best time to visit Vienna, month by month. Here is March 2027, week by week:
| March 2027 | Crowds (our read) | What is on |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 7 | Quiet | Eistraum ice rink until Sunday 7 |
| 8 to 14 | Quiet | Musikverein concert, Friday 12 |
| 15 to 19 | Quiet | Prater season usually starts |
| 20 to 29 | Easter school holidays | Easter markets expected, Easter Sunday 28 |
| 30 to 31 | After Easter | Schönbrunn's market ran past Easter in 2026 |
Sources: Eistraum 2027; Musikverein, 12 March 2027; Prater season; school holidays in Vienna 2026/27; Easter markets 2027; Schönbrunn Easter market 2026.
The quiet stretch ends on 20 March, when the Easter school holidays begin across all of Austria at once. They run until Easter Monday, 29 March. The date of Easter changes how many people visit in March and April. March 2025 had about 1% fewer overnight stays than March 2024, which had Easter in it. April 2025 had about 15% more than April 2024, partly because Easter came later.
March has stayed cheaper than April, even with Easter in it. Hotels earned €62.4 per available room in March 2025 and €98.4 in April. In 2024, when Easter fell on 31 March, the figures were €65.9 and €84.5. This is not a nightly price. It is what a hotel earns per room across all nights, booked or empty, before breakfast and VAT, so it rises with demand and with prices. The 2025 figures are provisional.
8 reasons to visit Vienna in March
- Fewer people: hotels were about 58% full in March 2025 and about 60% in March 2026, against about 77% in April 2025.
- More light: the day grows from about 11 hours on 1 March to almost 13 by the 31st, long enough for one of the day trips from Vienna in our guide.
- Skating: the Eistraum rink on Rathausplatz is announced until Sunday 7 March, daily from 10:00 to 22:00; check before you go.
- Schönbrunn: the palace park is free and open from 06:30 to 19:00.
- The Prater: its fairground season traditionally starts in mid-March, and in 2026 it opened on 15 March.
- Easter markets: Schönbrunn, the Freyung and Am Hof each hold one, and we expect them from about mid-March; the 2027 dates are not out yet.
- Opera: Wagner's Parsifal at the Staatsoper on Thursday 25 March and on Easter Monday, 29 March.
- Concerts: a Golden Hall subscription concert at the Musikverein on Friday 12 March at 19:30; check the Musikverein for single tickets.
5 downsides of Vienna in March
- Cool: 11.0 °C by day and 2.7 °C at night on the 1991 to 2020 average, with about 7 frost days.
- Wet days: about 9 with at least 1 mm of rain, and snow lies on the ground on about 3.
- No fountains: Schönbrunn's fountains stay off until mid-April, and in 2026 the paid gardens and the maze did not open until 27 March.
- Busier at Easter: school holidays across Austria run from 20 to 29 March 2027.
- A public holiday: on Easter Monday, 29 March, most shops close.
What a Naschmarkt base gives you in March: Schönbrunn in 5 stops
Our apartments are a minute from the Naschmarkt, Vienna's open-air food market, and our station is Kettenbrückengasse on the U4. Here is how far March's main sights are from that station:
- Schönbrunn is 5 stops on the U4, with no change: the free park, the palace and the Easter market in front of it, which opened on 25 March in 2026.
- The Prater is one U4 stop to Karlsplatz, then four stops on the U1 to Praterstern.
- The Staatsoper, for Parsifal, is about 15 minutes on foot by our estimate.
- The Musikverein, for the concert on 12 March, is about 18 minutes on foot by our estimate.
- Rathausplatz, for the Eistraum, is about 27 minutes on foot by our estimate.
We measure walking times on OpenStreetMap from Kettenbrückengasse. At the market itself, stalls may trade from 06:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and until 18:00 on Saturdays, but many close between 18:00 and 19:00, so shop before the evening. On Sundays only the restaurants open.
When is Easter 2027, and what closes on Easter Monday?
Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027. Good Friday, 26 March, is not a public holiday in Austria, but Easter Monday, 29 March, is.
- On Easter Monday most shops close and public transport runs a Sunday timetable.
- Summer time starts on the last Sunday in March, so the clocks go forward an hour on Easter Sunday, and sunset jumps from about 18:20 to about 19:20.
- Children up to 14 ride free on Vienna's public transport in the school holidays; check with Wiener Linien, the city's transport company, before you rely on it.
- At the Naschmarkt the stalls are shut on Easter Sunday and Monday, but the restaurants and bars may open from 09:00 to 21:00.
- Holy Saturday, 27 March, should be a normal market day, with the flea market open until 15:00 at the latest; check before you go.
When do the Vienna Easter markets open in 2027?
In 2026 the Freyung and Am Hof markets ran from 20 March to Easter Monday, and Schönbrunn's from 25 March into late April. None of the three has published its 2027 dates yet. With Easter on 28 March 2027, we expect them from about mid-March to Easter Monday, 29 March, but that is our reading of the 2026 pattern, not an announcement.
In 2026 Schönbrunn had 88 stalls, 24 of them selling food, open daily from 10:00 to 19:00 in front of the palace. It is the one for children, with a straw maze, puzzle trails, two carousels, a Ferris wheel and a little train, and it is 5 U4 stops from us.
The Freyung had 45 stalls, 8 of them selling food, open daily from 10:00 to 20:00, and a pile of about 40,000 painted eggs. It is about 30 minutes on foot from us by our estimate.
Am Hof had more than 50 traders, opening at 11:00 from Monday to Thursday and at 10:00 from Friday to Sunday, until 20:00, with food and drink until 21:00. Entry is free, and it is about 28 minutes on foot from us by our estimate.
If the Freyung and Am Hof are the main reason for your trip, a base nearer to them saves the half-hour walk.
Where to stay in Vienna in March: 1 minute from the Naschmarkt
For two or three guests, our Double MINT with Balcony is 55 m² and sleeps 3, from €215 a night. For four, choose the Penthouse Maisonette, 85 m² with two bedrooms, from €375, or the MINT Artisan, 65 m², from €185. Every stay is at least two nights, with check-in from 15:00 and check-out by 11:00. We store luggage free before check-in and after check-out, so a late flight on Easter Monday still leaves you the day. You can check dates and book direct.
Frequently asked questions
What is the weather like in Vienna in March, and does it snow? On the 1991 to 2020 average, March has daytime highs of 11.0 °C and nights around 2.7 °C, with about five hours of sun a day and about 9 days with at least 1 mm of rain. Snow falls on about 2 days and lies on the ground on about 3.
Is Vienna busy or expensive at Easter? The Easter school holidays, 20 to 29 March 2027, are the busy part of March, with Easter Sunday on the 28th. March as a whole is still cheaper than April: in 2024, when Easter fell on 31 March, hotels earned €65.9 per available room in March against €84.5 in April.
When is Easter 2027, and is Good Friday a holiday in Austria? Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027, Good Friday is 26 March and Easter Monday is 29 March. Easter Monday is a public holiday, when most shops close, but Good Friday is not.
When do the Vienna Easter markets open in 2027? The 2027 dates have not been announced yet. In 2026 the Freyung and Am Hof markets opened on 20 March and Schönbrunn's on 25 March, so with Easter on 28 March 2027 we expect them from about mid-March, though that is our reading, not an announcement.
Which Easter market in Vienna is best: Schönbrunn, Freyung or Am Hof? For children, Schönbrunn: in 2026 it had 88 stalls, a straw maze, carousels, a Ferris wheel and a little train. For an evening out, Am Hof served food and drink until 21:00 in 2026, and the Freyung builds its pile of about 40,000 painted eggs every year.
Are the Schönbrunn gardens and fountains open in March? The palace park is open and free all through March, from 06:30 to 19:00, but the fountains do not run until mid-April. In 2026 the paid gardens and the maze opened on 27 March, and the 2027 date has not been published yet.
When does the Prater open for the season? The Prater fairground traditionally opens in mid-March, and in 2026 its season started on 15 March. The 2027 date is not announced yet, so check before you plan a day around it.
Sources
Our team checks the dates, prices and figures on this page by hand against official sources.
- Sunrise and sunset at our address, March 2027, calculated with sunrise-sunset.org
- Wien Tourismus: hotel revenue per available room, 2023 to 2025; monthly statistics for March 2025, April 2025 and March 2026; Easter markets 2026; the Naschmarkt
- Climate data 1991 to 2020, GeoSphere Austria
- School holidays 2026/27, Federal Ministry of Education
- School year 2026/27, Bildungsdirektion Wien
- Public holidays, Arbeitsruhegesetz section 7, RIS
- Summer-time directive 2000/84/EC, EUR-Lex
- Wiener Eistraum 2027, organiser
- Opening times, Schönbrunn Palace and Park
- Easter and spring market at Schönbrunn, organiser
- Easter market Am Hof, organiser
- Easter markets 2026, vienna.at
- Easter market Am Hof, mamilade.at
- Visiting Vienna: Easter in Vienna 2027; Easter market dates
- Prater season start 2026, ORF Wien
- The Prater season, ganz-wien.at
- Parsifal, Wiener Staatsoper
- Golden Hall subscription series 2026/27, Musikverein
- City of Vienna: Naschmarkt opening hours; Naschmarkt flea market
- Wikipedia: U4 station list; U1 station list
Last updated: October 2026. Christian, Host & Founder, MINT @Naschmarkt.
