Christmas Lights in Vienna 2026

Chandelier-shaped Christmas lights hanging over the Graben in Vienna next to the Plague Column at night

The Christmas lights in Vienna 2026 include the chandeliers over the Graben, Imperial Lights in Schönbrunn Palace Park from 6 November and the Rathausplatz Christmas tree from 13 November, plus a 3 km walk through the lit shopping streets.

A row of chandelier Christmas lights with light garlands over the Graben in Vienna at dusk

1. Graben chandeliers and the shopping-street lights

The Graben, the wide pedestrian street between Stephansplatz and Kohlmarkt, is lit with Christmas lights in the style of grand ceiling chandeliers, each about 350 kg, which were being hung again in October 2026. They are part of a scheme of more than two million LEDs in 32 shopping streets, run on green electricity and coordinated for more than two decades by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce (WK Wien).

The first streets light up in early November and the others follow, as they do not all start together. By 2 November the date of the 2026 central switch-on had not been announced; in 2025 it took place on Friday 21 November at 17:00 on Neuer Markt. Two district switch-ons are already set for Friday 20 November 2026: Servitengasse at 17:00 and Hütteldorfer Straße at 17:30. In 2023 the lights went off at 23:00 or midnight depending on the street, and most were switched off between 6 and 15 January.

The red line on the map below is a 3.0 km walk through the lit streets of the centre, about 40 minutes without stops: from Schwedenplatz along Rotenturmstraße to Stephansplatz, along the Graben and Kohlmarkt to Michaelerplatz, back along the Graben and down Kärntner Straße past the State Opera to Karlsplatz.

Photo (December 2024): Graben Christmas lights by VasuVR (CC BY 4.0)

2. Imperial Lights at Schönbrunn Palace

Visitors in front of a large peacock light installation at Imperial Lights in Schönbrunn Palace Park, Vienna

2. Imperial Lights at Schönbrunn Palace

Imperial Lights is a ticketed light garden in the park of Schönbrunn Palace, from 6 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, in its second season after a first edition in 2025. The walk leads through the area around the Crown Prince Garden and beyond, with baroque light installations, imperial regalia and new garden installations. New for 2026 is an installation of more than 5,000 self-illuminating roses in the Meidlinger Senke, a hollow in the park.

It opens daily from 16:30 to 22:00, with last entry at 20:30, and is closed on 24 December. Tickets are for a time slot, and late entry is not allowed. The organisers allow 60 to 90 minutes for the walk, which is entirely outdoors and mostly on gravel paths, and the lighting can include strobe effects.

The entrance is at the Meidlinger Tor, 250 m from Schönbrunn U4 station, and trams 10 and 60 and bus 10A also serve the park. Schönbrunn lies 4.9 km south-west of Stephansplatz.

Imperial Lights tickets >

Blue-lit Christmas tree and trees decorated with white and red lights in the Rathauspark, Vienna

3. Christmas tree and Herzerlbaum on Rathausplatz

The Christmas tree on Rathausplatz, in front of the City Hall, is a 31 m spruce from Damüls in Vorarlberg, more than 200 years old, with about 1,000 red and gold baubles and 2,000 lights. A different Austrian province gives the tree each year, a tradition since 1959. It is lit for the first time on the evening of Friday 13 November 2026, when the Wiener Christkindlmarkt opens, together with the Weihnachtswelt and the Herzerlbaum in the Rathauspark.

The Herzerlbaum, or Heart Tree, is lit by a large heart that flies 75 m from a 13 m tower every half hour from dusk to 21:00. The Weihnachtswelt in the northern part of the park has 17 Christmas stations, and a nostalgic Ferris wheel is lit up beside it. The market runs to 26 December 2026, daily from 10:00 to 22:00; more in the guide to the Christmas Markets in Vienna.

Rathaus U2 station and trams 1, 71 and D stop by the square, 1.1 km west of Stephansplatz.

Photo (December 2020): Christmas lights in the Rathauspark by C.Stadler/Bwag (CC BY-SA 4.0)

More Christmas lights confirmed for 2026

Curtains of white Christmas lights hanging over the Kohlmarkt shopping street in Vienna

4. Golden-rain curtains on Kohlmarkt

Kohlmarkt, the shopping street between the Graben and Michaelerplatz, is hung with curtains of lights in a golden-rain look. It was on the list of lit streets in 2025 and lies on the walking route, which runs along it to Michaelerplatz and back.

Photo (December 2019): Kohlmarkt Christmas lights by Palickap (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Shoppers on Kärntner Straße in Vienna under Christmas lights strung across the street

5. Kärntner Straße, Annagasse and Neuer Markt

On Kärntner Straße, between Stephansplatz and the State Opera, the lights hung for 2026 are inspired by classic crystal chandeliers; the first went up on 13 October 2026. In Annagasse, a side street, the lights show the notes of the first bars of Silent Night, and on Neuer Markt 48 Sisi stars, modelled on Empress Elisabeth's diamond hair stars, hang among lit trees.

Photo (January 2013): Kärntner Straße at night by Guillaume Speurt from Vilnius, Lithuania (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Red Christmas light decorations on the facades of Rotenturmstraße in Vienna at dusk

6. Red balls over Rotenturmstraße

Oversized red balls, each about 100 kg and 4 m across, have hung over Rotenturmstraße for many years. The street links Stephansplatz with Schwedenplatz, where the walking route starts, and the 2026 installation was scheduled for 20 October.

Photo (December 2018): Rotenturmstraße Christmas lights by Palickap (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Hochstrahlbrunnen fountain on Schwarzenbergplatz in winter, Vienna

7. Light installations on Schwarzenbergplatz

Christmas Magic at Schwarzenbergplatz, a new Christmas market in 2026, brings light installations around the Hochstrahlbrunnen fountain and into the gardens of Palais Schwarzenberg, where a ballroom decorated with lights hosts live music. It runs from 13 November to 26 December 2026, 1.1 km south of Stephansplatz.

Photo: Hochstrahlbrunnen on Schwarzenbergplatz by SchiDD (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Lit Christmas tree and carousel in the courtyard of Schönbrunn Palace at night, Vienna

8. Christmas tree at Schönbrunn Palace

In the main courtyard of Schönbrunn Palace, a 22 m spruce about 80 years old from the Vienna Woods stands over the Christmas market, decorated and staged together with the Christmas lighting. The market, with twinkling lights and more than 90 stalls, runs from 6 November 2026 to 6 January 2027; Schönbrunn and Hietzing U4 stations are about 600 m away.

Light fountain and the lit Laxenburg sign at the Illumina light garden in Schlosspark Laxenburg

9. Illumina in Laxenburg

Illumina is a ticketed light garden on a 3 km path through Schlosspark Laxenburg, 15.9 km south of Stephansplatz in Lower Austria, from 13 November 2026 to 10 January 2027. It has a laser and water show on the castle pond, projections on the Franzensburg and a Talking Tree. It opens from 16:30 (17:00 from 7 January) to 22:00, last entry 19:30, closed on 24 December; a shuttle runs from Wien Hauptbahnhof from Friday to Sunday.

Illumina tickets >

Photo (December 2022): Illumina light garden in Laxenburg by C.Stadler/Bwag (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The vaulted nave of the Votivkirche in Vienna with its hanging chandelier

10. Light of Creation in the Votivkirche

Light of Creation is a 30-minute immersive light and sound show inside the Votivkirche, in six chapters from the first light to the blossoming of life. It is not a Christmas show and runs all year, with evening performances through Advent except on 24 December. Visitors are seated, the church is unheated in winter and children under 6 are not admitted. The church stands near Schottentor U2 station, 1.3 km north-west of Stephansplatz.

Photo: Votivkirche nave by Zairon (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Map and walking route of the Christmas lights in Vienna

The 10 places with lights confirmed for 2026 carry the same numbers as above. The red line is a 3.0 km walking route along Rotenturmstraße, the Graben, Kohlmarkt and Kärntner Straße, about 40 minutes on foot without stops: from Schwedenplatz, past Stephansplatz to Michaelerplatz, back along the Graben and on to Karlsplatz. Five places sit off the edges of the map, with their distance from Stephansplatz: Schwarzenbergplatz 1.1 km south, Light of Creation 1.3 km north-west, Imperial Lights 4.9 km south-west, the Schönbrunn tree 5.1 km south-west and Illumina 15.9 km south. A red ring marks a ticketed light trail or show.

Open the full-size map >

The map is © 2026 Christmas Markets and can be shared and adapted under CC BY 4.0 with a credit to Christmas Markets and a link to this page. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles © OpenFreeMap. Walking route calculated on OpenStreetMap data.

Christmas lights in Vienna not yet announced for 2026

These Christmas lights in Vienna return most years, but by 2 November 2026 no 2026 dates had been published for them.

Central switch-on. The mayor and WK Wien switch on the shopping-street lights each year: on Friday 21 November 2025 at 17:00 on Neuer Markt, on Friday 15 November 2024 and on 16 November 2023.

Thaliastraße. In the 16th district, the lights of Thaliastraße and its Christmas tree were switched on together for the first time on 21 November 2025; in 2024 the street lights came on on 15 November.

Shopping streets outside the city centre. In 2025, 17 of the 32 lit shopping streets were outside the 1st district, among them Mariahilfer Straße, Neubaugasse with 3D moons and stars and 25-point Herrnhut stars, Josefstädter Straße with 120 blue balls and Döblinger Hauptstraße with 30 trees lit in warm white.