Getting around Vienna: U1, airport and station to Keplerplatz

How is the network organised?

Wiener Linien runs five U-Bahn lines – U1, U2, U3, U4 and U6 – together with the trams and buses. A U5 is under construction but not yet in service. The S-Bahn belongs to the national railway, ÖBB, and within the city it can be used with the same tickets.

The U-Bahn runs daily from early morning until around midnight, and right through the night on Friday and Saturday nights and on nights before public holidays; at other times night buses take over. Trams are most useful along the Ringstraße, where lines 1, 2, 71 and D all stop at Oper/Karlsplatz. In Favoriten, lines 6 and 11 run along Quellenstraße, one block south of the Viktor-Adler-Markt.

What kinds of ticket are there?

Visitors have three kinds to choose from. A single ticket is valid for one journey in one direction; you may change as often as you need but not break the journey. Time tickets come as 24 hours, 7 days or 31 days, each with a start you choose yourself. The former 48- and 72-hour tickets have not been sold since 1 January 2026. The Vienna City Card combines travel with discounts at sights.

Tickets are sold at the machines in U-Bahn stations, at Wiener Linien ticket offices and in the WienMobil app. Paper tickets must be validated before the first journey: in the blue validators at the entrances to U-Bahn stations, or on board trams and buses. Digital tickets are personal and cannot be passed on. Inspectors check on board and at U-Bahn exits, so keep your ticket until you arrive. Children up to the age of six travel free, as do under-15s on Sundays, public holidays and during Vienna’s school holidays.

The U1 and its key stops

The U1 is the red line. With 24 stations it runs from Oberlaa in the south to Leopoldau in the north and is Vienna’s longest U-Bahn line. Its first section, between Reumannplatz and Karlsplatz and including Keplerplatz, opened on 25 February 1978. Counting from Keplerplatz towards Leopoldau:

• Südtiroler Platz–Hauptbahnhof (1 stop): long-distance and regional trains
• Karlsplatz (3): change for U2 and U4; State Opera, Karlskirche
• Stephansplatz (4): change for U3; St Stephen’s Cathedral
• Schwedenplatz (5): change for U4; Danube Canal
• Praterstern (7): change for U2; the Prater
• Donauinsel (9) and Kaisermühlen-VIC (10): Danube Island, United Nations buildings, Donaupark

Heading south, Reumannplatz is one stop away and the Oberlaa terminus, beside the Therme Wien spa, is six. The U6 is the only line the U1 does not cross. For a way of turning these stops into a visit, see Vienna in three days.

From Vienna Airport to Keplerplatz

The simplest route is via Hauptbahnhof. ÖBB Railjet and Intercity trains run non-stop from the airport station, Flughafen Wien, to Wien Hauptbahnhof; ÖBB gives the frequency as half-hourly. Change there to the U1 towards Oberlaa, and Keplerplatz is the next stop. One Vienna Airport Bus line also runs to Hauptbahnhof, and others stop at Morzinplatz/Schwedenplatz and at Karlsplatz, both of them on the U1.

One thing to know until the end of October 2027: the central S-Bahn line between Praterstern and Hauptbahnhof is closed for modernisation. The S7 from the airport runs only as far as St. Marx, the City Airport Train operates as a bus to Wien Mitte, and the REX 7 regional express is diverted via Hauptbahnhof. The route through Hauptbahnhof therefore stays open. The airport lies outside Vienna’s core fare zone: a city ticket is valid only as far as the zone boundary, and the City Airport Train and the airport buses have their own tickets. Check current timetables with ÖBB and Wiener Linien before you travel.

From Wien Hauptbahnhof to Keplerplatz

The U-Bahn station at the main station is called Südtiroler Platz–Hauptbahnhof and is linked to the concourse by a pedestrian passage. On the U1 platform, take the direction Oberlaa: the next stop is Keplerplatz. The two stations are less than a kilometre apart, so with light luggage you can also walk it along Favoritenstraße.

Keplerplatz station lies beneath the Favoritenstraße pedestrian zone and has exits at both ends of the platform; a lift runs from the middle of the platform up to Keplergasse. The exit at the outbound end leads to Gudrunstraße and the Keplerkirche. Domenig House stands in the pedestrian zone between the station and the Viktor-Adler-Markt, and Günther Domenig’s curved stainless-steel façade makes it easy to spot. If you are still weighing up where to base yourself, Where to stay in Vienna compares the districts.