Vienna Walking Tour: Stephansdom, the Graben and the Hofburg

The route, stop by stop

The film opens on a corner of Am Hof, already walking. Narrow side streets take us to Stephansdom, and from the cathedral we reach the Graben by way of Peterskirche. Kohlmarkt runs from there to the Hofburg, and we go through the palace to Josefsplatz and up the outdoor stairs to the Albertina terrace. From the square below it, Neuer Markt and Kärntner Straße bring us back to the cathedral, and the last few minutes are a second stretch of the Graben, past the Plague Column once more. The film is 1 hour 4 minutes long, and the times below jump straight to each stop.

Am HofA corner of the square in Vienna’s first district, where the film opens.
▶ 0:07
The side streetsNarrow streets of parked cars and shop windows lead us towards the cathedral.
▶ 3:34
StephansdomThe cathedral comes up straight ahead and fills the frame, front and tower together. Its south tower was finished in 1433 and is 136 meters to the top of its cross.
▶ 7:50
PeterskircheA green dome over a small square just off the Graben.
▶ 15:16
The GrabenAround the corner the wide pedestrian street opens out, with the gilded Plague Column ahead of us.
▶ 15:46
The Plague ColumnThe gilded Trinity column in the middle of the Graben, given by Emperor Leopold I after the plague of 1679 and finished in 1693. A gilded, crowned coat of arms is on the base.
▶ 16:20
A fountain on the GrabenA statue of a saint with a child at his side stands over a fountain basin.
▶ 19:20
KohlmarktA short street of fashion houses and a jeweler, with the dome of the Hofburg straight ahead.
▶ 20:53
MichaelerplatzThe round square in front of the Michaelertrakt, the Hofburg wing finished in 1893, with its green dome.
▶ 24:51
The Roman remains on MichaelerplatzAn open excavation in the middle of the square. A panel in German and English says the remains were uncovered in 1990 and 1991 and include buildings from the suburbs of the Roman fortress Vindobona, a Renaissance garden wall and early 19th-century foundations.
▶ 25:41
The Hofburg wall fountainsTwo marble fountain groups on the palace front. Power at Sea, with its sea gods and eagle, is by Rudolf Weyr, and Power on Land is by Edmund Hellmer. Fiaker carriages wait along the facade.
▶ 28:18
The passage to JosefsplatzA vaulted passage through the palace, with signs pointing on to the Opernring and the Phantasienmuseum.
▶ 31:53
Josefsplatz and Joseph IIEmperor Joseph II rides on horseback at the center of the square. A banner on the National Library points to the Prunksaal.
▶ 32:41
The Albertina stepsOutdoor stairs climb to the Albertina terrace. When we filmed, the risers carried lettering for its Monet to Picasso collection.
▶ 38:35
Archduke AlbrechtThe equestrian statue on the terrace in front of the Albertina, by Caspar von Zumbusch, unveiled in 1899.
▶ 42:25
The State OperaBack down at street level, the Staatsoper is across the road.
▶ 46:05
Memorial against War and FascismAlfred Hrdlicka’s memorial, unveiled in 1988 and completed in 1991. Granite blocks form the Gate of Violence, and the bronze figure at their foot has barbed wire along its back.
▶ 50:15
Neuer Markt and the Donner FountainThe fountain was unveiled in 1739, with Providentia in the middle and figures for the rivers Enns, March, Traun and Ybbs around the rim. The Kapuzinerkirche on the same square, out of our shot, is the church of the Imperial Crypt, the Habsburgs’ burial place.
▶ 52:00
Kärntner StraßeThe main shopping street, which we follow north to the cathedral past shops and café terraces under umbrellas.
▶ 54:48
Stephansplatz and the Haas HausWe come out by the Stephansplatz U-Bahn entrance, beside the Haas Haus, Hans Hollein’s glass-and-stone building from 1990. A street performer in a panda costume stood by the entrance.
▶ 57:56
Stephansdom againA longer look at the front, the south tower and the roof, patterned with about 230,000 glazed tiles.
▶ 59:35
Back on the GrabenWe come round the corner onto the Graben for the second time, by the Café de l’Europe.
▶ 1:00:45
The Plague Column, once moreWe come back to the Plague Column and walk past its base, with the stone balustrade and the gilded crowned shield, then carry on among the shops of the Graben.
▶ 1:03:23

Open this route in Google MapsWalking directions from Am Hof through the main landmarks. Our film takes a few extra turns.

From Am Hof to the cathedral

The first thing in focus is a red-framed street plate on a corner: I. Stadt, Am Hof. The I is the first district, the Innere Stadt. ▶ watch at 0:07

A few minutes of narrow side streets bring us to Stephansdom. We give it only a first look here and save the longer one for the end.

Stephansdom in Vienna seen from below on Stephansplatz, its pale stone towers, Gothic windows and patterned roof under a blue sky with white clouds Our first look at Stephansdom. From our film, October 2025.

From the cathedral we work back through the side streets to Peterskirche and out onto the Graben. This is the first of our two passes of the Plague Column; the second comes in the last minutes of the film. ▶ watch at 15:46

A close view of the gilded Plague Column on the Graben in Vienna The Plague Column on the Graben, on an earlier visit, July 2023.

Kohlmarkt and the palace squares

Kohlmarkt takes us from the Graben to the Hofburg, and on Michaelerplatz, in front of the palace, Roman Vienna lies open to the sky. You need no ticket to look down into it. ▶ watch at 25:41

The open Roman excavation behind a metal railing on Michaelerplatz in Vienna, with the green-domed curved front of the Hofburg beyond and pedestrians on the paving Roman Vienna, open to the sky on Michaelerplatz. From our film, October 2025.

From the palace we cross Josefsplatz, and a few minutes later we are climbing the outdoor stairs of the Albertina to its terrace.

The bronze equestrian statue of Archduke Albrecht on its granite plinth on the Albertina terrace in Vienna, seen from below against a blue sky with clouds Archduke Albrecht on the Albertina terrace. From our film, October 2025.

Below the terrace, with the State Opera across the road, stands Alfred Hrdlicka’s Memorial against War and Fascism. Its bronze figure is a Jewish man kneeling to scrub the street.

Part of Alfred Hrdlicka’s Memorial against War and Fascism on Albertinaplatz in Vienna The Memorial against War and Fascism, on an earlier visit, July 2023.

What the camera doesn’t tell you

For a city center this grand, the old town felt elegant and calm. It was warm for October, T-shirt weather, and that surprised us.

We went inside neither the cathedral nor the Albertina, so the hours and prices on this page come from their own sites. Back at the cathedral, we gave it the longer look we had saved from the start. ▶ watch at 59:35

We could have stopped there. We kept walking instead, back onto the Graben, and that is where our favorite moment of the day came: a sand sculptor kneeling at work on the paving, and his dogs, a big one and two puppies, all shaped out of sand. ▶ watch at 1:00:45

A sand sculpture of a large dog with two puppies, one resting on its back, on a green mat on the paving of the Graben in Vienna, with the sculptor’s tools and bag beside it The sand dogs on the Graben, near the end of the walk. From our film, October 2025.

The old center is small enough that the walk ends almost where it began, on the Graben, a short way from the corner of Am Hof where that first street plate came into focus. The last thing in the frame, as the film fades out, is the front of Peterskirche. ▶ watch at 1:04:36

Planning the loop and the cathedral

Walk it as a loop.The stops sit close to one another, and the film comes back round to the Graben, near Am Hof where it starts.
Check the cathedral’s sightseeing hours.Visitors are let in Monday to Saturday from 9 to 11:30 am and 1 to 4:30 pm, and from 1 to 4:30 pm on Sundays and holidays. Services can change that, so if you want to see inside, build the walk around those hours.
Choose your tower.The south tower is a climb of 343 steps and the north tower, with the Pummerin bell, has a lift. Both run from 9 am to 7 pm, with the last climb at 6:15 pm and the last lift at 6:30 pm.
Time the catacombs.You can see them only on a guided tour. Tours leave at 10, 11 and 11:30 am and 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 pm Monday to Saturday, and at 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 pm on Sundays and holidays.

What it costs

Walking the route, Albertina terrace included	Free
Stephansdom inside, either tower, or the catacomb tour	€8 each (€3 children)
Stephansdom all-inclusive ticket, valid one year	€29 (one child under 14 free with each ticket)

Cathedral prices are from stephanskirche.at, the cathedral’s own site, as shown in October 2026. The page gives no year beside them.

Where to stay for this walk

The whole route stays inside the 1st district, the Innere Stadt, so the simplest base is there too. A few suggestions, all close to the walk:

Closest to the startAround Am Hof and the GrabenThe film opens on a corner of Am Hof and finishes on the Graben, so both ends of the walk are a short stroll from your door.

By the cathedralAround StephansplatzThe walk passes the cathedral twice, and the Graben and Kärntner Straße both lead off the square.

At the far end of the loopAround the State OperaWhere the walk comes down from the Albertina terrace and turns up Kärntner Straße, on the southern edge of the 1st district.

If you want to go in

Stephansdom, inside and up the towersThe all-inclusive ticket also covers the Dom Museum Wien and a smartphone audioguide.Official site ↗
Sisi Museum and the Imperial Apartments, HofburgThe living quarters of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth. The Sisi Museum is closed for a redesign until 19 November 2026, and prices change when it reopens, so check its site before you buy.Official site ↗
The AlbertinaThe museum at the top of the steps. Open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, and to 9 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.Official site ↗

Questions people ask

Can you walk from Stephansdom to the Hofburg?

Yes. The Graben and Kohlmarkt lead from one to the other. In the film we reach Michaelerplatz about 17 minutes after the cathedral, with a detour by Peterskirche.

How much does it cost to go inside Stephansdom?

A sightseeing visit is €8 for adults and €3 for children up to 14, as listed on the cathedral’s own site in October 2026. Visiting hours are Monday to Saturday 9 to 11:30 am and 1 to 4:30 pm, and Sundays and holidays 1 to 4:30 pm. We didn’t go in on this walk.

Can you go up the towers of Stephansdom?

Yes. You climb the south tower on foot and take a lift up the north tower, home of the Pummerin bell. Both are open daily from 9 am to 7 pm.

What is the memorial on Albertinaplatz?

The Memorial against War and Fascism by Alfred Hrdlicka. It was unveiled, still unfinished, in 1988 and handed over complete in 1991. The part of Albertinaplatz where it stands was renamed Helmut-Zilk-Platz in 2009.

Do you need a ticket to see the Roman remains on Michaelerplatz?

No. They lie open in the middle of the square and you look down into them from the edge, as we do in the film at 25:41.

Facts and prices checked October 2026. Opening hours and ticket prices change, so check official sites before you go.