Vienna International Airport receives direct flights from many overseas destinations: from some locations, a transfer via Frankfurt may be a better option. Overnight rail services are operated by ÖBB from a number of European capitals and which terminate at Wien Hauptbahnhof (on U-Bahn Line 1).
#1: Residents of some countries will require a Schengen visa. Visit https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/visa-policy/applying-schengen-visa_en#where-to-apply If you will need a letter of invitation, please request this at an early stage from ingsm25@gmail.com
#2: Residents of non-EU countries, if not equipped with a visa, may need an ETIAS (similar to the USA ESTA ‘visa-waiver’ system and requiring authorisation before travel). The introduction of ETIAS has again been delayed and the best information we have is that it will be implemented “mid-2025”. IF IT IS INTRODUCED BEFORE THE CONFERENCE, THIS MUST BE APPLIED FOR ON LINE BEFORE TRAVEL – latest information is available at https://etias.com/.
#3: Unfortunately, there is an additional requirement which likely will be in place earlier, requiring you to give biometric data (photo/fingerprints) upon arrival at the airport (or your first point of entry into the EU Schengen Zone) if this is your first visit to the EU since its introduction. This is known as EES (European Entry/Exit System).
Local transportation in Vienna is extremely cheap, efficient and safe, and will be used for travel between hotels and the IAEA, for trips into the inner city for dinner, and for the social programme. Delegates are strongly advised to obtain a 7-day ticket from the self-service machines at any U-Bahn station. This costs €17.10 at the time of writing, and is valid for seven days from the time it is first endorsed (use ‘Entwerter’ machine). Thereafter, it is an ‘honesty’ system and you just carry the ticket with you on any U-Bahn, bus or tram route within the central zone. Checks are rare but the penalties for being ticketless are severe.
This ticket should be for CORE ZONE 100 only.
Whatever time/day you arrive at Vienna International Airport, the 7-day ticket is NOT valid for the whole of your journey into the city. You are also strongly advised NOT to take the ‘City Airport Train’ (CAT) which is outrageously expensive and does not deliver you to a useful destination unless you have chosen a hotel somewhere in the area of Stadtpark.
Assuming that you will take either one of the recommended hotels, or a hotel near IAEA, use S-7 local train (usual destinations are Floridsdorf or Laa an der Thaya: 30-minute frequency xx.18 and xx.48; also some regional trains) from the airport. purchase a two-zone ride single fare (€4.50), just enter your destination station into the machine), Tickets purchased at the airport, need not be validated as they will be date-stamped by the issuing machine. The touch-screen machines offer four languages!
Train-ticket machines are located in three places in the airport: upon leaving customs turn to the right. There is one on the right at the top of the ramp down to the station (and an actual manned ticket office, but only open at times to suit themselves). There are more machines at the entrance level when you go through the two sets of automatic doors, and further ones on the platform.
S-7 arrives to Praterstern in approximately 30 minutes and the recommended hotels are nearby. Exit the station to the south and cross the tram/bus station and then the main road. The Classic Hotel Wien is straight ahead along Praterstrasse – 100 metres on the left. For Der Wilhelmshof, turn to your right, staying on that road until you see Kleine Stadtgutgasse as second turning on your left. The hotel entrance is 50 metres on the left-hand side.
For hotels near the Agency, transfer at Praterstern to U-1 (destination of train is ‘Leopoldau’), and your destination station will be ‘Kaisermühlen – VIC International Centre’. The hotels are on the main street to your right (facing the direction of travel). Exit from the rearmost platform to access a subway under the busy road.
Once in possession of your 7-day ticket, you need only carry it with you and present it on demand (rare). It is valid on U-Bahn (all) and on trams, buses and the S-Bahn within zone 100, which is huge – i,e, for all your journeys to and from IAEA, and trips into the inner city for dinner. You will also need it for the social outing on Wednesday. However, it will NOT take you all the way back to the airport. It is valid as far as Schwechat, two stops short. What you do is, before you set off, in Praterstern at an ÖBB machine, touch ‘national ticket, selection of destination: the next screen offers ‘from city boundary’. Touch that, and then scroll down to find ‘Schwechat’. Touch that, and find ‘Flughafen Wien’. Some machines offer you Flughafen Wien directly. Buy that ticket – again, it is already time-stamped.
If there is a ticket check on the S-Bahn, show that ticket AND your 7-day ticket and all will be well!
These hotels are within 200 metres of Praterstern station which is accessible directly from the airport by S-Bahn (S-7, interval 30 mins, departures approx. xxh10 and xxh40), and Praterstern also offers a direct link to the IAEA via U-Bahn Line 1 (alight Kaisermühlen – VIC and use the forward exit which opens directly to Gate 1). Both hotels are within a reasonable walking distance of central Vienna (but see information on TRANSPORTATION below).
Many other hotel choices are available, either in the old city, the environs of Stadtpark, or adjacent to the IAEA – for the latter area, you will find, ARCOTEL Kaiserwasser (https://kaiserwasser.arcotel.com/en/ ) and NH Danube City ( https://www.nh-hotels.com/en/hotels/vienna (https://www.nh-hotels.com/en/hotels/vienna/ ) both on Wagramerstraße and within sight of IAEA, but be aware that you will need to use the U-Bahn to access the centre of Vienna in the evenings.
Hotel costs ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE REGISTRATION FEE and must be settled directly with your hotel.
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