Vienna scams: what to watch for

If you only read one line: never buy anything from a person who walks up to you on the street in Vienna. Legitimate sellers here sit behind a counter, a booth or a website. The cons below are ranked by how often a short-stay visitor meets them, not by how much money they cost.

The scams cluster where visitors stand still: the cathedral square, the Ring boulevard, the two main stations and the shopping streets between them. The U-Bahn interchange at Karlsplatz is the single busiest spot for pickpockets because crowds funnel through narrow passages. Trams 1 and 2 circle the Ring past the opera, the museums and the parliament, and tram D runs from the Ring out to Belvedere; all three are pickpocket routes at rush hour and in the evening.

The Fiaker stands sit at Stephansplatz, Heldenplatz and Michaelerplatz. Ticket touts work the pavement outside the Staatsoper and the Musikverein, and around Stephansplatz in the hour before a concert. None of this makes the districts unsafe to walk; it means you keep your hands on your bag in crowds and keep walking when someone starts a conversation.

Carry only the cash you need for the day and leave the rest in the hotel safe. Vienna is still a cash-friendly city, so a small amount of euro coins and notes is useful, but a fat wallet is the thing pickpockets are looking for. Split cards and cash between two places on your body.

For tickets, the official channels are the venue box office, the venue's own website and the federal museums' own shops. If someone on the street offers you a seat at a concert that starts in an hour, the price is either inflated or the ticket is not valid. The same applies to palace tickets: buy from the palace's own site, not from a reseller with a laminated sign.

Before you get into a Fiaker, ask the driver for the total price and the route, and confirm whether the price is per carriage or per person. If the answer is vague, walk to the next stand. In restaurants, ask for the itemised bill and read the service line; a service charge is normal in Austria, so a second tip on top is your choice, not an obligation.

If you are approached by someone with a clipboard asking you to sign a petition for a children's charity, do not sign and do not hand over a card. This is a well-known street con in European tourist centres. Keep walking and keep your bag closed.

At night, central Vienna is busy and well lit. The U-Bahn runs through the night on Fridays, Saturdays and before public holidays, and night buses cover the rest of the week. Use a licensed taxi from a rank or a ride app rather than an unmarked car that offers you a ride.