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Where to go in December / Austria in December / Vienna / December

Austria · City

Vienna
in December.

Illustration of Karlskirche across its reflecting pool in Resselpark
Karlskirche, ViennaDestination view, not month-specific.

Is December a good time?

Temperature unit

Cold days.
A steady visitor season.

December averages 44°F afternoons, with about 8 rain days.

Afternoons
44°F
Rain days
8
Visitor demand
100%of December peak

Historical Wien regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day.

Overall match

5.4/10 · scores & priorities

What matters most?

Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%

#12 of 12 months here · Balanced mix

Weather4.8/10Fair
CrowdsSteady all yearsimilar all year; overnight stays do not measure queues
CostPriceyfor Europe; Austria-wide price level

Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.

Plan your December

What to expect.

What should I pack?

Afternoons around 44°F (6°C): a warm coat; nights around 31°F (0°C): a winter coat, hat and gloves. Bring rain gear: about 8 days with at least 1 mm of rain. About 8 hours of daylight.

A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights & daylight Show detailsHide details

About 8 hours of daylight.

Sunrise 07:38Sunset 16:0131°F44°F00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00

The sun rises about 07:38 and sets about 16:01 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 31°F (0°C); afternoons reach about 44°F (6°C). Expect rain on about 8 days in a typical December.

Typical afternoon
44°F (6°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Decembers
Night low
31°F (0°C)
average daily minimum
Daylight
8h 23m
on the 15th, computed from latitude

Early, middle or late?

Early or late December?

Early and late December have similar afternoon averages. The afternoon high averages 43°F on the 1st, versus 44°F on the 31st.

Early December 1 December

43°F

Typical afternoon high

29% historical wet-day frequency

Mid December 15 December

43°F

Typical afternoon high

25% historical wet-day frequency

Late December 31 December

44°F

Typical afternoon high

28% historical wet-day frequency

Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.

Public holidays · 2026: 8 Dec Immaculate Conception; 25 Dec Christmas Day; 26 Dec St Stephen's Day.

Daily calendar & holiday datesDecember 2026 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar

December 2026 calendar

Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2026.

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
143°243°343°443°543°643°
743°843°943°1043°1143°1243°1343°
1443°1543°1643°1744°1844°1944°2044°
2144°2244°2344°2444°2544°2644°2744°
2844°2944°3044°3144°

Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event

Afternoons warm from about 43°F (6°C) in the first week to 44°F (7°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 24–31%. Local schools are out 24–31 December 2026. Christmas markets: typically 13 November – 26 December 2026.

Schools here are off 24–31 December 2026 (Christmas holidays). Public holidays: 8 Dec Immaculate Conception; 25 Dec Christmas Day; 26 Dec St Stephen's Day. Elsewhere in December 2026, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: France 39%, Germany 29%, Italy 35%, Spain 32%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)

Crowds and cost

Visitor season

Will it be busy?

Steady all year. December averages 100% of December's overnight stays per day. Overnight demand varies little across the year.

Overnight stays across Wien do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights.

Hotel price season

Will it be cheaper?

Well above usual. Estimated from national hotel prices and local visitor demand; no measured regional room rate is available.

Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.

What's on Christmas markets, typically 13 November – 26 December 2026: evenings and weekends are crowded; city hotels fill on December weekends. Official site.

Austria as a whole
Above EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 110 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.

Year-to-year variation

How much does December vary?

Across the recorded years

In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 40°F (4°C) and 48°F (9°C); in 13 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 44°F (6°C). Rain days ranged from 4 to 13; half the years had 6–12.

Rain days in each December

Historical rain days; exact figures in the table below. 2011: 7 rain days720112012: 7 rain days72013: 4 rain days42014: 12 rain days122015: 4 rain days42016: 6 rain days62017: 8 rain days82018: 13 rain days132019: 6 rain days62020: 10 rain days102021: 13 rain days132022: 11 rain days112023: 12 rain days122024: 8 rain days82025: 6 rain days62025
Rain days
8
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 13 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
3 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no December in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
3 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded DecemberHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
Historical monthly averages, not daily extremes.
YearAfternoon highRain days
201145°F7
201240°F7
201344°F4
201443°F12
201548°F4
201642°F6
201744°F8
201843°F13
201945°F6
202043°F10
202142°F13
202242°F11
202346°F12
202444°F8
202543°F6

Checked against 6 local weather stations. How we check

Compare dates

November, December
or January?

Historical regional averages. Overnight demand vs December peak, measured as average stays per day.
Typical conditionsNovDecJan
Afternoons50°F44°F41°F
Rain days789
Overnight demand81%100%51%

November: Warmer afternoons than December. November guide →

January: Cooler afternoons than December. January guide →

Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues.

Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with December Show comparisonHide comparison

Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. December stays as your reference.

Hotel stays vary little through the year. March to October have a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than December.

Your comparison

December or November?

Overnight stays vary little through the year.

National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest a little above usual. No measured regional room rate is available.

Read the November guide →
December compared with another month
Typical conditionsDecemberNovember
Afternoons44°F50°F
Nights31°F37°F
Rain days87
Visitor seasonSteady all yearSteady all year
Overall / 105.45.8
Month rank#12#10
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
All 12 months. Scores and ranks follow your priorities. Explore the whole year.
MonthOverallRankHighLowRain daysWeatherVisitor season
January5.6#1141°F29°F94.6Steady all year
February6.1#946°F30°F75.3Steady all year
March6.6#854°F35°F66.6Steady all year
April7.0#664°F42°F77.9Steady all year
May7.4#470°F49°F108.6Steady all year
June7.5#280°F57°F88.6Steady all year
July7.3#583°F60°F108.1Steady all year
August7.5#382°F60°F88.3Steady all year
September7.6#173°F53°F88.8Steady all year
October6.8#762°F45°F77.4Steady all year
November5.8#1050°F37°F75.6Steady all year
December5.4#1244°F31°F84.8Steady all year

Near here

Nearby places in December

Nearby regions, nearest first. Distances are centre to centre, as the crow flies; they are not road distances or journey times.

Elsewhere in Europe

Better December weather than Vienna

Vienna's weather ranks 13 of 41 city regions this month. These city regions outside Austria have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with Vienna.

All of Austria in December · Everywhere in December

How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details

Hotel stays are steady all year here: this month is 100% of the busiest and 27% above average. That counts overnight stays, not how busy the sights are.The figures cover the whole Wien region, suburbs included. That means about 66,000 overnight visitors on a typical December night across the region, 13% of them from Austria itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 23,000 more: 36 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.

Climate suitability (HCI:Urban, 0–100)59
How our weather was checked6 open weather stations in this region, January and July: afternoon highs typically within 1°F (0.3°C), night lows within 2°F (1.2°C).
Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day32
Busiest month hereDecember · 32
Visitors as share of people present3.1%
Rank among Europe's regions this month95th percentile
Domestic share of nights13%
Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights36
Visitor share if every platform night were extra4.2%
National hotel-price seasonAustria historical 2024–2025 index: A little above usual (+6% vs its average month). Not a local room quote.
Population used2.0 million
Statistical regionAT13 · Wien

Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national. Full method · this region's data.