Indoor Activities

Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum)
This museum contains zoological and botanical exhibits plus taxidermy, fosils, meteorites and prehistoric objects. Spread over several floors with almost everything behind glass there is plenty of space for kids to run around. A good wet/cold weather option, a bit like going to an indoor zoo with stuffed animals! On the left of the entrance is a Vivarium, an aquarium sort of exhibit which make a good place to start/end a tour. The coffee shop is reallly nice and spacious (no high chairs) and there is a great souvenir shop. There is a lift to all floors that even fits a double stroller.  All our toddlers loved it, no doubt older kids would find it educational, and our babies loved the Vivarium and all the lights. Plenty of room for strollers but a sling might be easier. It gets very warm so wear layers. Closed Tue, season tickets available.
Recommended by: Liza Rowan &  Julia Mayer
Address: 1010, Burgring 7
Transport: Ring trams 1, 2 , D or J; Bus 2A or trams 46 & 49, U3 Volkstheater
Age Group: All ages

Baby Cinema - 3rd District
The Village Cinemas in the 3rd District offer baby sessions every Wednesday at 10am. They show currrent Hollywood movies in English.  For the little guests they keep the lights dim and turn the volume down. The movie theatres themselves are comfortable and spacious and there are diaper changing facilities in the washroom. The person in charge of these sessions is Jasmin Peters, she speaks English and can be contacted by phone (01 242 40416) or email during office hours. A specific movie can also be requested if it is available. 
Recommended by: Fiona Tricario & Kim Chan
Address: 1030, Landstrasse Hauptstrasse 2a
Transport: U3 & U4 to Wien Mitte
Age Group: Mums & Babies

Made By You - Ceramics Painting
Made By You is a place to paint your own pottery. It's an excellent rainy day activity and the results make perfect keepsakes and gifts.  There are more than 200 designs to chose from such as cups, vases, plates, piggy banks etc. All the equipment is provided in the cost, the paints are non toxic and washable. Your piece will be glazed and placed in the kiln the same day and will be available to collect for upto 3 days. Birthday parties are available for age 6-10, no additional cost except for the pottery, drinks included. Pottery courses for adults are available.
Recommended by: Miranda Schneider
Address: 1040, Schleifmuhlgasse 9 and 1090, Nussdorferstrasse 18
Transport: 4th District via UBahn to Karlsplatz or 59A bus.  9th District by trams 5,33,37,38 or 40A bus
Age Group: All ages welcome although space is limited and there are many breakable things around so it's not ideal for an active baby or toddler. That being said a baby's little hand or foot print is a nice memento.

Haus des Meeres - Aquarium
The Haus des Meeres is located in a WW2 Flak Tower and houses an array of sealife including tropical fish, crocodiles, sharls, turtles, piranhas as well as spiders & snakes. There is also a tropical house with birds & monkeys. We went with 7 month olds and they were fascinated by the large tanks and brightly coloured fish. There is a lift to take you up the 4 floors however you need to go up several stairs to get to the sharks. The tropical house has 3 levels with a suspension bridge. You can access all 3 levels by stairs, but only the top and bottom levels by lift. It is warm in the building so dress in layers. There are lockers on the ground floor to leave coats, etc. if you are lucky enough to get an empty one.
Recommended by: Kirstie Walker
Address: 1060, Fritz Gruenbaum-Platz 1
Transport: 13A, 14A or 57A bus or U3 to Neubaugasse
Age Group: All ages. If you can do without a stroller then leave it below and use a carrier/sling for the really small ones.

Kindermuseum Zoom Ocean - Play/Explore Area
A VBC members’ favorite, ZOOM Ocean offers a unique realm of play and learning that is specially designed for children aged eight months to six years. Come explore the caves, catch fish, set the weather rotator in motion and send radio messages to the light tower. As of fall 2008 there are new places for preschool children to explore: the Famosa will drop anchor in the Arctic. On land, the children learn about the inhabitants of Greenland. On the wave slides, the children wind up in the underwater jungle, where they can take the submarine on a research expedition. It’s best to call and reserve in advance as dates can be booked out; especially in the cold months.
Recommended by: Anne Maloney
Address: 1070, Museums Platz 1, MuseumsQuartier
Transport: U2 Museumsquartier, U3 Volkstheater
Age Group: 0 to 6 years old

Baby Cinema - 9th District
The Votivkino holds babykino session every other Tuesday at 11am. Usually the mums & babies meet beforehand at the Votivkino cafe at 10;30 to enjoy a coffee and some free cake. At the cafe entrance (not the main cinema one, go round the side) someone will be waiting to help you with your stroller, the cafe has a diaper changing station and bottle warmer. In the cinema everything is prepared for Mum and baby:
* The temperature is a little higher than usual
* There is more light than usual
* The volume is not as loud as usual
* Your baby can crawl around as they always clean the floor especially for babykino
* It doesn't matter if your baby cries, everyone is in the same boat, and there are subtitles!
* They show a great selection of high quality, but not mainstream, movies in original language.
Recommended by: Christina Thomar
Address: 1090, Waehringerstrasse 12
Transport: Short walk from Schottentor UBahn & tram station.
Age Group: Babies (up to 12 months)

Fun4Kids Indoor Playground
Fun4Kids has a wide range of activities to keep kids amused including trampolines, giant inflatable fish and a huge multi-level cage structure with a varity of obstacles. A big hit is the coin operated racing cars and motorbikes, they are designed to appeal to all ages, parents can ride with younger children, older ones can go round a track on their own. There is a large cafe adjoining the play area and they also organise birthday parties.
Recommended by: Kirsty Weston
Address: 1100, Himberger Strasse 2
Transport: 67 tram from U1 Reumannplatz. Get off at Rothneusiedel stop, Fun4Kids is over the railway line.
Age Group: Toddlers & children

Technical Museum (Technisches Museum)
The Technical Museum is a great place for children of all ages. There are lots of hands-on exhibits that run the gamut from physics to transportation through the ages. My son's favourites are the antique steam locamotive, the OATMC helicopter and the Maerklin model trains. There is a creative playrooom called "Mini" for children age 2-6 at no extra cost. It has a real fire truck that they can climb into and pretend to drive, a minature crane and building blocks for tomorrow's construction workers and a car that future mechanics can take apart.
Recommended by: Miranda Schneider
Address: 1140, Mariahilferstrasse 212
Transport: Bus 10A, trams 10, 52, 58 or walk from S45 at Penzing
Age Group:  All ages but "Mini" playarea for age 2-6

Anitas Familienland Indoor Playground
This place is a large converted hall, it has a small area for very little ones and a ball pool and large area for older kids to play with toys such as stilts/ large balls etc. The toys in the small play area are rather worn but my son didn't seem to mind.  It's not the best play area by far, however if you live in the North of Vienna and are stuck for ideas this is work a try. Open in bad weather in the summer (check website) and all through the winter including Sundays and Public Holidays. No catering facilities.
Recommended by: Kirsty Riedl
Address: 1210, Pragerstrasse 142
Transport: 26 tram from Floridsdorf (U6)
Age Group: Toddlers and young children

Luna Park
Another of Vienna's excellent indoor playgrounds. It's bigger than Farbie and smaller than Bogipark and offers a ton of things for kids from small to big to do. There are trampolines, go carts, a carousel, ball pit, blowup bouncey castle, play area, slides, and more. You can also host birthday parties in one of their fantasy-themed rooms or the open area.
Address: 1210, Shopping City Nord, Ignaz Köck Straße
Transport: 3 Schnellbahn station Brünnerstraße, Trams 31 and 33, 431 Bus
Age Group: 2 to 12 years old

Minopolis - Kids Town
Minopolis is an indoor town built for kids (age 4 and over) with a variety of "stations" such as a hospital, fire station, bakery, supermarket, bank etc. At each station the kids can either do a job or play the role of customer. Minopolis has its' own currency, eurolinos, with each child geting a cheque for 110 eurolinos on arrival. They earn money doing jobs and can spend it in the shops or on other activities (eg a ride in a life size OBB train). Parents of children under 8 accompany them from station to station but once they enter thay are taken care of by Minopolis staff. My son spent 4 exhausting hours there during which time he was a fireman (twice) putting out 2 fires, a dustbin man, went for a ride one a train, did a spot of shopping at Hofer, cashes a cheque and opened a bank account, made a bread roll, bought it from the bakery and made his own pizza. Although is it expensive (Thu & Fri 8 euros per child & 4 euros per adult.  Sat, Sun and public holidays 12 euros per child & 6 euros per adult) it's well worth the money. The staff are well trained and generally have a pedagogic background, I was impressed at how they handled the younger kids plus most of them spoke English. The catering is also well thought out with standard kids fare plus a bagel station for those with more refined tastes!
Recommended by: Kirsty Weston
Address: 1220, Cineplexx Reichsbrucke, Wagramerstrasse 2
Transport: U1 Donausinsel, take the Hubertusdamm exit
Age Group: children age 4 to 12

Family Fun, Indoorspielplatz und Kreativcenter
This is a new indoor plaground in the 22nd District. Trampolines, inflatable bouncy equipment, mechanical cars, etc. are among the fare. The Pizzeria Filipo provides the accompanying snacking and dining option.
Recommended by: Angela Reinisch
Address: 1220, Breitenleestrasse 77
Transport: U1 to Kagranerplatz, the 24A bus to ÖBB-Gartenanlage, and a short walk.
Age Group: Toddlers and children

Bogipark Indoor Playground
Bogipark claims to be the largest indoor playground in Austria (3500m2). There is a resticted area for children under 4 which includes giant Lego blocks, a little climbing area and a slide into a ball area. The restaurant is right next to the toddler area so ideally your toddler will play whilst you enjoy a coffee. The rest of the facilites are mostly for the over fours. There are giant climbing areas with slides; fenced off trampolines which kids can use for 2 minutes at a time. There is a magic cave with special effects including a back-lit translucent pane that kids (& parents) can shadow dance behind. There is a labyrinth, a climbing wall, a "volcano" to climb and Kasperl (Punch & Judy) shows at the weekend. There is stroller parking at the entrance plus lockers for coats, bags and shoes. Birthday Parties are also available.
Recommended by: Annie Krabina Linder
Address:  1230, Gutheil-Schoder Gasse 17
Transport:  Car parking for 120 or use Max Hegele Weg. Badner Bahn to Gutheil-Schoder Gasse or U6 to Schopfwerk (10 min walk)
Age Group: From toddlers to age 12

DSCHUNGEL WIEN Theaterhaus für junges Publikum
Theatre for Young Audience, established in 2004 in the MuseumsQuartier Wien, is an open centre and platform for arts and culture and a unique example of a theatre for young audiences with a national and international reputation.
Recommended by: Marina Case
Address:  MuseumsQuartier Museumsplatz 1, A-1070 Wien
Age Group: All Ages
Current program for babies 6-12 months: Die BABYhütte. Please click here for the timetable and more info

Outside Vienna

Farbie Indoor Playground
Farbie is a huge indoor playground (equivilant to 5 tennis courst) including a large area for tiny tots. This area has a padded floor, a slide into a ball pool, wendy houses, giant Lego and large foam shapes. This is probably one of the better equipped indoor playgrounds for the under 3's.  For older children there is a bouncy castle, giant inflatable slide and caterpillar. There ia also a large "cage" on two levels witha variety of obstacles, trampolines & slides to keep kids amused for hours. Bobby cars and scooters are scattered around for all to use. For adults there is a large cafe area overlooking the play area. Good changing facilites plus mini loos and sink for older kids. They also offer birthday parties.
Recommended by: Kirsty Weston
Address:  Shopping City Sud, Nordring 2 (above Conrad, opposite Toys'R'Us), 1224, Vosendorf
Age Group: Mobile babies through to 10 year olds

Vienna Airport
Despite it having no specific childrens activities on offer, a trip to the airport is always a treat for a 3 year old. We normally take the S7 from Wien Mitte which gets you to the airport in 25 minutes and costs only 1.70 euros if you already have a travel pass. If you don't mind spending a bit more you can travel on the double decker CAT train which only take 15 minutes. Once at the airport we head for the cafe/restaurant at the top of the escalators next to the British Airways check-in desk. The main attraction is the floor to ceiling window overlooking Terminal One and is an ideal spot for observing the hustle and bustle of a busy airport. Buy some refreshments and grab a table by the window.  Your child will happily watch the planes and airport vehicles whilst you enjoy a coffee. Obviously this is more likely to appeal to vehicle obsessed boys (are there other varieties?) than girls. Even if you don't make a special trip, stopping for an hour or so when you drop off or collect someone from the airport may make your little ones day.
Recommended by: Kirsty Weston
Transport: S7 or the CAT from Wien Mitte. Bus from Schwedenplatz, Sudbahnhof, Westbahnhof and UNO City
Age Group: Toddlers and young children

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