St Stephen’s to the Hofburg, Vienna: free self-guided audio walk
Quick answer. A free self-guided audio walk through Vienna’s old town: 6 stops, about 3.1 km, about 40 minutes of walking plus about 43 minutes of listening. Start on Stephansplatz below the glazed-tile roof of St Stephen’s Cathedral, then visit two churches where the Baroque painter Andrea Pozzo fooled the eye: the Franciscan church and the Jesuit church. Cross the old town to Maria am Gestade, the Gothic church that once stood on a branch of the Danube, pass Am Hof and the Freyung on the way to the Minoritenkirche, and finish at the Hofburg, the Habsburgs’ winter residence.
- Stops:
- 6
- Distance:
- about 3.1 km
- Walking:
- about 40 min
- Listening:
- about 43 min
St Stephen’s to the Hofburg, Vienna: how long does the walk take?
About 83 minutes in all: about 40 minutes on foot over about 3.1 km, plus about 43 minutes of audio at the 6 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
St Stephen’s to the Hofburg, Vienna: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: St Stephen’s Cathedral, Franciscan Church, Jesuit Church, Maria am Gestade, Minoritenkirche, and Hofburg Palace. The longest stretch between two stops is about 0.9 km, about 12 min on foot.
Christmas markets: walk the old town
In the weeks before Christmas 2026, markets fill the old town’s squares, and this walk passes Stephansplatz, Am Hof, and Freyung. Its audio guides tell the story of the squares and the buildings around them, not of the stalls.
Market dates 2026
Stephansplatz
November 6 – December 26
Audio guide nearby: St Stephen’s Cathedral
Am Hof
November 13 – December 23
Audio guide nearby: Maria am Gestade
Freyung
November 14 – December 23
Audio guide nearby: Minoritenkirche
Maria-Theresien-Platz
November 20 – December 26
Audio guide nearby: Hofburg Palace
Rathausplatz
November 13 – December 26
Audio guide nearby: Minoritenkirche
Official dates: wien.info · checked on October 19, 2026
Route and map
Opens Google Maps with walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
The Viennese call it the Steffl: a Gothic cathedral on Stephansplatz whose roof of about 230,000 glazed tiles forms the Habsburg double-headed eagle.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Franciscan Church · about 0.4 km, about 5 min on foot
Stop 2
Saint Hieronymus on quiet Franziskanerplatz, where Andrea Pozzo’s 1707 high altar mixes carved figures with painted columns, dome and clouds.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Jesuit Church · about 0.5 km, about 7 min on foot
Stop 3
The church of the Jesuits and the old university, remodelled by Andrea Pozzo, whose painted dome rises over a ceiling that has no real dome.
about 8 min of audio
Next stop: Maria am Gestade · about 0.9 km, about 12 min on foot
Stop 4
Mary at the Shore, one of Vienna’s oldest churches, with a slender Gothic tower; it once stood beside a branch of the Danube.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Minoritenkirche · about 0.8 km, about 11 min on foot
Stop 5
A Gothic hall church of the Friars Minor on a quiet square, with a wall-sized mosaic copy of Leonardo’s Last Supper inside.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Hofburg Palace · about 0.5 km, about 7 min on foot
Stop 6
The Habsburgs’ winter residence until 1918, entered from Michaelerplatz below the green dome of the Michaelertrakt and its Labours of Hercules.
about 7 min of audio
How does this self-guided walk work?
The audio guides on this page stay free: open any stop to listen in your browser.
Live Walk Mode uses your location to narrate places as you walk. It opens in the Mappu app at the first stop, St Stephen’s Cathedral.
Live Walk Mode: 2 hours for 50 credits (€4.99 Starter pack)
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: straight-line distance between stops plus 30%, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
Plan more days in Vienna
These day-by-day Mappu itineraries include Vienna. The day links open the days that visit stops on this walk.
Route checked by Mappu on October 19, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.