Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in Austria
- Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the festival dates on the festival's website or with a local tourist information office. For more information about these and other events, visit the official tourism sites for Austria, Vienna, and Salzburg.
- This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout Austria. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn't a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
- See upcoming holidays and festivals across Europe
2019
Late November–December 26: Christmas markets
December: Perchtenlaufen (winter processions), Alpine regions
December 6: St. Nikolaus Day (parades, children set a boot outside the house and receive presents)
December 8: Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Mariä Empfängnis; closures)
December 24: Christmas Eve (Der Heilige Abend, when Austrians celebrate Christmas; closures)
December 25: Christmas (closures)
December 26: St. Stephen's Day (Stefanitag; closures)
December 31: New Year's Eve (Silvester, a.k.a. Altjahrstag; fireworks), throughout Austria, but particularly Vienna
2020
January 1: New Year's Day (closures)
January–February: Fasching, a.k.a. Fasnacht (carnival season in western Austria; balls, parades)
January–mid-February: Vienna Ball Season (2,000 hours of dancing)
January 6: Epiphany (Dreikönigstag; closures)
January 23–February 2: Mozart Week, Salzburg (Mozartwoche)
March 19: St. Joseph's Day (closures in some areas, including Tirol)
April 4–April 12 (likely): OsterKlang Wien (Vienna Easter Music Festival)
April 4–April 13: Osterfestspiele Salzburg (Salzburg Easter Music Festival)
April 12–13: Easter Sunday and Monday (Ostersonntag and Ostermontag; closures)
May 1: May Day (maypole dances; closures)
May 4: St. Florian's Day (closures in Hallstatt and the rest of Oberösterreich)
May 15–June 21: Vienna Festival of Arts and Music
May 21: Ascension (Christi Himmelfahrt; closures)
May 29–June 1: Whitsun Festival, Salzburg (Baroque music concert series)
May 31–June 1: Pentecost and Whit Monday (closures)
June 14: Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam, religious processions; closures)
Late June (3 days): Danube Island Festival, Vienna (music)
Late June: Midsummer Eve celebrations
July: Tyrolean Festival Erl, Tirol
July 9–August 9: ImPulsTanz Festival (Vienna International Dance Festival)
July 10–August 17 (likely): Carinthian Summer, Carinthia (traditional and contemporary music festival)
July 14–August 25 (likely): Innsbruck Festival of Early Music
Mid-July–August: Salzburg Summer Festival
July 22–August 23: Bregenzer Festspiele (Bregenz Festival; theatre and opera performances, orchestra concerts)
July 24–August 1: La Strada Street Theatre Festival, Graz (urban dance)
August 15: Assumption (Mariä Himmelfahrt; closures)
August 20–23: Saalfelden Jazz Festival
August 22–August 30 (likely): Schubertiade Festival, Schwarzenberg (classical music)
Mid-August–September: Grafenegg Music Festival (classical music)
September 3–7 (likely): Ars Electronica Festival, Linz (arts and technology festival)
September 23–27: St. Rupert's Fair, Salzburg (Ruperti-Kirtag, traditional festival, procession, fireworks, closures)
September 24–October 11 (likely): Wiener Wiesn-Fest, Vienna (Oktoberfest-like celebrations in the Prater)
September 26—27 (likely): Vienna Wine Hiking Days (vineyards open to public for hiking and sampling)
Mid-September–early October: Wiener Wiesn-Fest, Vienna (Oktoberfest-like celebrations in the Prater)
Early October (various weekends): Almabtrieb processions, Alpine regions (cows come down from the mountains dressed in their finery)
October 7–18 (likely): Salzburg Kulturtage (series of affordable concerts)
October 10: Referendum Day (closures in Carinthia)
Mid–October: Salzburg Kulturtage (series of affordable concerts)
October 26: Austrian National Day (Nationalfeiertag; closures)
November 1: All Saints' Day (Allerheiligen; closures)
November 11: St. Martin's Day (children go door to door for goodies, like trick-or-treating; closures in Burgenland)
November 15: St. Leopold's Day (closures in Vienna, Melk, and elsewhere in Niederösterreich)
Late November–December 26: Christmas markets
December: Perchtenlaufen (winter processions), Alpine regions
December 6: St. Nikolaus Day (parades, children set a boot outside the house and receive presents)
December 8: Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Mariä Empfängnis; closures)
December 24: Christmas Eve (Der Heilige Abend, when Austrians celebrate Christmas; closures)
December 25: Christmas (closures)
December 26: St. Stephen's Day (Stefanitag; closures)
December 31: New Year's Eve (Silvester, a.k.a. Altjahrstag; fireworks), throughout Austria, but particularly Vienna