Therme Wien

What to expect

Therme Wien is the thermal spa inside Vienna’s city limits, in Oberlaa in the 10th district (Favoriten). It is big: Wikipedia puts it at about 75,000 m² in total, with close to 4,000 m² of water, a 3,000 m² sauna area, a medical centre and a gym, and around 3,000 to 3,500 visitors on an average day. It opened in its current form in September 2010, next to the old Oberlaa spa centre, and is run by VAMED Vitality World, which also operates Therme Laa and St. Martins.

Don’t expect mountains or a resort hotel. This is a modern, busy city bath with landscaped gardens, glass halls and a lot of different pools, and you can get there on the metro. The building is divided into themed zones: the thermal landscapes, the SaunaStein sauna area, the ErlebnisStein children’s area, the quiet “Stein der Ruhe” and an outdoor “Garten der Inspiration”.

The water

The water is real thermal water, and it smells of sulphur. A hot sulphur spring was found in Oberlaa during an oil test drilling in 1934, then sealed again. The city went looking for it in 1965, and treatments started in 1969. In 2009 a second spring was drilled; Therme Wien says it rises at 117°F47°C from about 900 m (2,950 ft).

The spa’s FAQ says all pools are filled with thermal water except the plunge pools and the Kneipp walk in the sauna area. Temperatures listed by the operator:

• Thermal pools 1 and 2 (indoor and outdoor): 97°F and 93°F36°C and 34°C, with massage jets and a large whirlpool.
• Brine pool (outdoor): 97°F36°C, salty enough to float in.
• Quellwasserbecken (spring-water pool, outdoor): 97°F36°C, up a flight of steps.
• Grotto pool, bubble pool and the pool of silence (Stein der Ruhe): 97°F36°C.
• Active pool: 90-93°F32-34°C.
• Sports pool: 25 m long, 1.5 m deep, 75-82°F24-28°C.
• Children’s adventure pool, diving pool and toddler pool: 93°F34°C.

Most pools are 1.35 m deep. The diving pool is 4 m deep with platforms at 1, 3 and 4 m.

Sauna culture

Therme Wien’s FAQ is blunt: there are no textile saunas in the sauna areas. The bath rules require swimwear everywhere else. You wear a swimsuit in the pools and take it off when you enter SaunaStein, then sit or lie on a large towel in every sauna.

What makes SaunaStein different is the choice of three separate areas: a women-only sauna, a men-only sauna and a mixed sauna. Each has its own plunge pool at 64°F18°C and an outdoor warm bubble pool at 97°F36°C. The mixed area adds a 93°F34°C warm pool, a fireplace room, a sauna bistro and a large sauna garden with old trees. Saunas range from a 194°F90°C Finnish sauna to a 149°F65°C bio sauna and several steam rooms. Entry is from age 14. Phones should be on silent, and the bistro asks you to wear a bathrobe.

Getting there

The spa is at Kurbadstraße 14, 1100 Vienna.

• By metro: take the U1 to the Oberlaa terminus, which opened in 2017. Therme Wien says the trip from Stephansplatz takes about 15 minutes and is step-free.
• By car from the centre: follow Laaer-Berg-Straße south to Kurbadstraße, turn left and follow the “P” signs to the spa garage.
• From Vienna Airport: about 18 km (11 miles), roughly 25 minutes by car.

The garage has 600 spaces and a 2.10 m height limit. Spa guests who validate their ticket at the exit desk pay €6.50 for up to 3.5 hours, €1 for each extra hour, or €9 for 6 hours or more. Street parking nearby is short-term on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., so the garage is the easier option.

When to go

Therme Wien is open every day of the year except December 24. Because it is in the city, it fills on weekends, on cold or rainy days and in the Vienna school holidays. Weekday mornings are the quietest. The After-Work ticket from 6 p.m. is a good option on a weekday evening.

Maintenance closes single items for a day or two at a time rather than the whole spa. In October 2026, for example, several steam rooms and one slide were shut on listed dates. Check the revision page before a special trip.

Prices and booking

Prices valid from September 1, 2026:

• Up to 3 hours: €31 with a locker, €35 with a changing cabin. After 3 hours you pay by the minute up to 6 hours.
• Day ticket (6 hours or more): €40 with a locker, €44 with a cabin.
• Sauna supplement: €15.
• After-Work ticket from 6 p.m.: €35.50, with a filled rental bath bag or a €5 food voucher.
• Relax! day package: €109, with a reserved lounge.
• Children: child rates apply from 3 to 7, youth rates from 8 to 13; up to 2 is free. On Mondays one child aged 3 to 7 per adult enters free.

Online tickets use dynamic pricing and guarantee entry even when the spa is full; the website advertised 3-hour tickets from €26.35. Bring your own towel and flip-flops, or rent them. Food and alcohol brought from outside are not allowed.

Where to stay nearby

There is no hotel at Therme Wien, so you stay in Vienna. Anywhere along the U1 line works, from the old town around Stephansplatz to the hotels near the main station (Hauptbahnhof), which is on the way.

Nearby stops worth adding

Kurpark Oberlaa, the large park next to the spa, was laid out for the 1974 garden show and is a pleasant walk before or after a soak. If you want a more historic thermal town, Baden bei Wien and the Römertherme Baden are about 35 km (22 miles) south.

Safety notes

• Sulphur water: the operator itself advises against warm immersion baths with acute fever, severe heart disease, poorly controlled high blood pressure, in pregnancy and in several other conditions. Ask a doctor if any apply.
• Heat: 97°F36°C pools and 194°F90°C saunas add up. Drink water and take breaks.
• Children: under-14s must be supervised by someone aged 14 or older. Watch the diving pool area closely.
• Valuables: use the lockers. The spa is large and busy.