Everyone welcome

Inclusive hosts

Several venues in Vienna stand out for their inclusive approach and the magdas HOTEL is one. A social business, it offers people with a refugee background an opportunity to work and provides them with the means to become hosts themselves. Located close to the Stadtpark (city park), the hotel is committed to sustainability and accessibility – including offering rooms for people with mobility, hearing and visual impairments.

The mission of Vollpension is to combat social isolation and poverty among the elderly. It operates two coffee houses in the city and offers fabulous cakes. Small group events can be held here or pop-up cafes created as a way to bridge the gap between the generations and foster an understanding of the problems that come with ageing.

CAPE10 is a community space for everyone, including those affected by poverty and/or health problems, especially women, children and adolescents. But it is also home to a modern, barrier-free event location that can accommodate up to 320 people. Income generated from the event space is an important source of funding for its community outreach projects.

Straight to the meeting room

Mobility impairments are seldom an obstacle in Vienna’s wide range of venues. From ground-level meeting rooms, such as those at the Architekturzentrum Wien, the Reaktor or the SAAL of the Labstelle Wien, to elevator-accessible rooms such as the Ankersaal in the Kulturhaus Brotfabrik, Lighthouse10 in the House of the Sea or at the Technisches Museum Wien, accessible venues are open to everyone. Similarly, all of the meeting rooms at the HOFBURG Vienna are barrier-free and tactile guidance systems (eg on handrails) provide additional orientation. Organisers can also book rooms that can, among other things, be used as a retreat.

Taking the kids

To help parents struggling to combine family and career, requests for childcare at events is growing. For large congresses of 5,000 people or more, the Austria Center Vienna offers childcare during regular congress hours. Age-appropriate, multilingual childcare services provided by professionally trained staff are also available to organisers of smaller meetings for a fee. Special requests such as excursions and subject-specific content, extended care schedules and support for children with special needs can be arranged.

The Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center offers large flexible spaces with a room for childcare and bespoke arrangements can be made on an individual basis.

Making art an experience for everyone

Vienna is internationally renowned for its unique art and cultural offerings. Many institutions offer specialised guided tours or services for people with disabilities to ensure the art on display is accessible to everyone.

• The Belvedere is a place of exchange, working with focus groups and experts to develop inclusive services. Guided tours translated into Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS) and art viewings with a focus on multi-sensory communication are offered for blind, visually impaired and sighted visitors. Additionally, Smartify’s mobile audio tours have been expanded to include Austrian (ÖGS) and International Sign (IS) language video guides for the deaf.

• The Albertina offers services for the blind and visually impaired, the deaf and mobility-impaired, as well as visitors with trisomy 21. The entire Albertina Museum is barrier-free.

• Schönbrunn Palace offers video guides in ÖGS and IS as well as guided tours for blind and visually impaired visitors, including access behind barriers.

• The Wiener Konzerthaus is barrier-free and offers assistance to visually impaired guests.

For more information on Barrier-free cultural institutions, please click here