Vienna in June

May and September give you perfect weather without the summer crowds. Temperatures hover around 20°C, cafe terraces open up, and you can walk the Ringstrasse without sweating through your shirt. Hotel prices drop 30% compared to peak summer months. December transforms Vienna into a Christmas market wonderland. Schönbrunn Palace hosts the most beautiful market, with handmade ornaments and glühwein served in ceramic mugs you can keep. But book accommodation early — the city fills up with Germans escaping their own Christmas markets. Skip July and August unless you love sharing St. Stephen's Cathedral with tour groups. The opera house closes for summer break anyway, and half the city decamps to the lakes. April works if you don't mind occasional rain, and October offers that golden light that makes every Habsburg building look like a painting.