Vienna will be showcasing its culinary diversity in 2026
From farm-to-table dining options to Michelin-starred restaurants, Vienna’s vibrant gastronomy scene is set to take a bite out of the spotlight in 2026. With the theme “Vienna Bites. Cuisine, Culture, Character,” the Vienna Tourist Board is serving up the spotlight on the city’s culinary offerings.
“Food has become ever more important and Vienna has a lot to offer,” Florian Wiesinger, team manager, B2B Marketing Communications for the Vienna Tourist Board tells Travel Courier. “We believe that Vienna has the perfect offering to savour great food, but then also to go beyond that to find even more context and even more stories, even more things that are really unique to the destination.”
From classic Viennese dishes like Wiener Schnitzel and Sachertorte, to putting the spotlight on how the city produces its own wine and locally sourced ingredients, the destination is inspiring travel advisors to serve up the perfect pairing: highlights of the destination with unforgettable culinary delights.
“It’s traditional places, ranging from the classical coffee house to the casual Beisl, which is kind of a Viennese version of a bistro. Vienna is also growing with fine dining options. Vienna is now home to 10 Michelin-starred restaurants,” he shared. “It’s all about gastronomy. You will savour everything that Viennese cuisine has to offer. We’re also taking a look at how Vienna is also a food producing city. Vienna has notable production in agriculture and it blends in with the whole gastronomy scene because many of the restaurants work closely with the farms. Not only do you get to eat great food, you know it’s also handled in a very sustainable way.”
Interestingly, he says within 30 minutes on public transit, travellers can be transported from the city centre to a scenic vineyard.
“It’s not about taking a day trip, it’s about half an hour away, and you can take a couple of hours and be right back in the city at a museum,” he shared.
A delegation from and representing Vienna were in Toronto recently to showcase the world class destination. Photo by Vito Amati
Travellers can also take part in a number of cooking classes and try their hand at making some famous dishes for themselves.
“It’s a very hands-on approach to experiencing one of the most popular and famous dishes, Wiener Schnitzel,” he shared. “An interesting story to be told, the roots of traditional cuisine in Vienna, we now call it Viennese kitchen, but many of the dishes have their roots in neighbouring countries and parts of the former empire… with the Schnitzel actually having its roots in Milan, in northern Italy, and the goulash coming from Hungary although it’s quite different from what you would get served in Hungary.”
As for the Canadian market, Wiesinger noted that there’s been a significant increase in visitors.
“We are stunned by the numbers we have seen last year and also this year,” he notes. “Last year arrivals from Canada were up by 30% — we believe there was still a bit of post-pandemic recovery in place. However, looking at this year’s numbers from January until August, arrival numbers from Canada are up 11% compared to the very strong last year so there seems to be a taste for our city in the Canadian market.”
In addition to the recent Canadian sales mission with stops in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to connect with the travel trade, the Vienna Tourist Board has training programs for agents, the Vienna Experts Club International, and offers general resources and FAM trips to help travel professionals become experts.
“Membership is free, if you sign up you will get the latest news from Vienna. Plus the added benefit is that when you come to Vienna even on your private time, you will have access to all of the major museums plus various discounts across the city,” he adds. “We really want to make it easy for people who sell Vienna to stay up-to-date.”
Florian Wiesinger of the Vienna Tourist Board and Armando Mendonça of AMpm Canada draw a lucky prize winner & Eszter Almási of Vienna Airport engages with the travel trade in Toronto. Photos by Vito Amati
