Good to know
Good to Know
- Austrians are often perceived as reserved, so you should be courteous and patient when meeting new people.
- In social settings, maintain a respectful distance; personal space is valued in Vienna.
- Austria's key cultural do's and don'ts can be summed up as: be on time, be polite, and be a little quieter and smarter dressed than you might be at home, helping you avoid awkward moments in restaurants, public transport, and traditional venues.
- Once you've established a relationship, it's common to be invited to someone's home where you'll experience traditional Austrian hospitality, including 'Kaffe und Kuchen' (coffee and cake), and a lot of 'Gemütlichkeit' (coziness).
- Vienna is a society that values order, politeness, and a certain sense of Gemütlichkeit—a feeling of coziness, friendliness, and good cheer.
Gifts
- Specifics
- Small gifts such as chocolates are suitable when invited to dinner; flowers should be given in an odd number, except 12; red carnations, lilies, and chrysanthemums should be avoided; and gifts should be nicely wrapped.
- When Visiting Home
- When invited to visit someone's home, guests are usually expected to bring flowers, chocolates, alcohol or a small gift appropriate for the occasion, with gifts should being moderate in price and not lavish or excessive.
Greetings
Formal
- Physical Greeting
- Handshakes are very common, generally when you first meet someone and certainly in business settings.
- Description
- Austrians expect formal greetings with titles, especially in business meetings, using professional titles like 'Doktor' or 'Herr' (Mr).
Common Phrases
- Formal Evening
- Guten Abend (Good evening)
- Formal General
- Guten Tag (Good day)
- Formal Goodbye
- Auf Wiedersehen (Goodbye)
- Formal Morning
- Guten Morgen (Good morning)
- Traditional Austrian
- Grüß Gott (May God greet you)
Informal
- Casual Hello
- Hallo (Hello)
- Casual Farewell
- Schönen Tag noch (Have a nice day)
- Casual Greeting
- Servus (Hi/Goodbye)
Dress Code
- Casual
- In casual settings, aim for quiet elegance and sophistication; Austrians usually favor dark, solid colors or simple patterns, and athletic gear and sneakers are frowned upon.
- Business
- For business, men usually dress formally with dark suits with a dress shirt and tie, while women favor conservative dresses or a skirt suit.
- Formal Events
- For the opera or theatre, people tend to dress up more, and you can never be overdressed for these occasions.
Punctuality
- Importance
- Punctuality is highly valued in Austria, with being on time for meetings, appointments, services and parties expected, and deadlines expected to be met with little leeway.
- Social Guidelines
- In social situations, one should arrive approximately five to 10 minutes before the designated time, and if you expect delay, inform your Austrian counterpart or they may leave or begin the event without you.
Private Visits
- Home Visits
- Austrian etiquette dictates that you should never show up at someone's home without warning; instead, you should always call ahead and make plans to visit someone in their home.
Public Behavior
- Photography
- Photography etiquette is strict; don't photograph people, especially kids, without asking, as privacy is taken seriously and laws protect it.
- Noise And Quiet
- Austrians generally appreciate a quieter environment, and noise levels should be kept down, especially in residential areas, on public transport, and in cultural venues.
- Public Transport
- It's generally not the done thing to eat anything when travelling by public transport, but particularly if it has an aroma, and eating food is actually forbidden on all subway trains.
Dining Etiquette
- Toasting
- The host of the event usually gives the first toast, with guests returning the toast later in the meal. To toast, people raise their glasses and maintain eye contact, typically saying 'Prost', 'Prosit' or 'Zum Wohl' (all meaning 'to your health').
- Starting Meal
- Do not begin eating until all people have been served and the host has indicated it is time to start, usually by saying 'Guten Appetit' or 'Mahlzeit'.
- Table Manners
- Austrians follow a particular set of manners when eating, including keeping one's hands on the table during meals, not gesturing with utensils and not placing elbows on the table while eating.
- Bill Etiquette
- If invited to dine out, the person who extends the invitation typically pays the bill in the restaurant, and struggles over the bill are not usually appreciated.
- Second Servings
- At a dinner party in someone's home, hosts will usually always offer a second serving to their guests, but they will also accept a polite 'Nein, danke' (no thank you).
- Restaurant Service
- Unless explicitly stated as self-service ('Selbstbedienung'), assume service is at your seat and it is rather impolite to go to the counter; table service is typically not included in your bill, and if you walk away without tipping, you're basically saying you were upset about the service.
Formality And Reserve
- Directness
- Austrians tend to be very direct, honest, and straight to the point, though this is tempered with subtle, often cynical humor.
- First Names
- First names are only used with friends, family, and people you know well.
- Overall Style
- Austrian etiquette dictates a certain level of formality in social situations, as most Austrians tend to be more reserved until they feel a level of connection with others, making formal greetings very much the norm.
- Communication Tone
- Austrian etiquette requires a certain level of reserve in conversation, with generally formal and polite communication style that becomes more warm and open with better acquaintance.
Sensitive Topics To Avoid
- History
- WWII and the Holocaust are still very sensitive topics in Austria.
- Identity
- Do not assume Austrians and Germans are the same, as there are distinct differences in culture, customs and values between the two countries, and some Austrians may have a sense of resentment towards Germans, so don't refer to an Austrian as a German or make comparisons.
- Safer Topics
- Safer topics include the weather, sports (especially skiing and football), recent cultural events, music, and travel, and Austrians appreciate hearing genuine compliments about their country, especially the scenery, architecture, or culture.
- Personal Questions
- Austrians regard privacy highly; it's important not to ask personal questions unless you know the person well, and topics like income, religion, and politics should be avoided in casual conversations.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this culture & etiquette research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Vienna
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.