Highlights: the Griechenbeisl and dear Augustin, Schönlaterngasse with the Basilisk House, Heiligenkreuzerhof, Hoher Markt, the Hohe Brücke over the Tiefer Graben, Am Hof, the Mölker Bastei with Harry Lime’s doorway. Starts after dark.
MEETING POINT | Fleischmarkt 11, in front of the Griechenbeisl
Private tour. You walk with your own people and your guide, never with strangers. More than ten?
When the shops close and the tour groups are back in their hotels, the old town belongs to its stories again. In the lantern light the lanes seem narrower and the courtyards deeper, and legends you would smile at by day suddenly sound believable. We begin at the Griechenbeisl, where dear Augustin is said to have sung before he ended up drunk in a plague pit in 1679 and survived. In the Schönlaterngasse hangs a replica of the lantern that gave the lane its name, the original is kept at the Wien Museum, and next door a house sign tells of the basilisk said to have lived in a baker’s well in 1212. Later we stand on the Hohe Brücke above the Tiefer Graben, where the Romans already crossed a stream, and at the end in front of the doorway in which Orson Welles as Harry Lime steps out of the dark, in the scene from “The Third Man” that everyone who has seen the film remembers.
Meeting on Fleischmarkt in front of the Griechenbeisl. Through the Schönlaterngasse with the Basilisk House to the Heiligenkreuzerhof, across the Hoher Markt, beneath which lie remains of the Roman camp of Vindobona, to the Hohe Brücke, an Art Nouveau bridge over the Tiefer Graben. On via the square Am Hof, where Harry Lime climbs down into the sewers through an advertising column in the film (the column was a prop), and the Freyung to the Mölker Bastei with the Pasqualati House, where Beethoven lived, and the doorway in Schreyvogelgasse. We finish with the view across the illuminated Ringstrasse to the University and the Votivkirche. With three hours we add Josefsplatz, another film location, and a glass of wine or a sausage to round off the evening.
Guide fee € 270 per tour for up to 2 hours (up to 10 guests) or € 350 for up to 3 hours. For two guests € 135 per person, for four € 68.
Included: private Austria Guide
Excluded: drinks and snacks along the way (as an option: wine bar or sausage stand)
We start when the lanterns come on: from 5 pm in winter, around 9 pm in high summer. You choose the time when you book, and we get in touch if it is too early for the season. During Advent we recommend our Advent tour of the Christmas markets, which also begins at dusk.
Dinner at the Griechenbeisl or a Beisl nearby, which we are happy to reserve, a glass of wine in a wine bar to round off the evening, and with three hours Josefsplatz and the Albertina with its sausage stand that stays open late into the night.
All prices net, valid for 2026. Admissions and tastings are set by the respective venues and may change at short notice. You select the add-ons in the booking request; the total is calculated there automatically.
No. We tell the legends with a wink and explain what is behind them. Add history, film and the quiet of the courtyards at night.
No. "The Third Man" is one chapter among several. If you know it, you will recognise the places; if not, you will want to watch it.
From about eight years; then the basilisk and dear Augustin are just right. With children we start earlier in winter, at 5 pm.
About two kilometres in two hours, with many stops and a few steps at the Mölker Bastei.
For private tours our cancellation terms apply: up to 14 days before the tour we charge 20% of the price as a flat fee for organisation, from 14 to 7 days before 50%, after that or in case of a no-show the full amount. If your plans change, please let us know as early as possible and we will look for a solution together. You will find all details in our terms and conditions.
Yes, our tours take place in any weather. When it rains we adapt the programme wherever possible and gladly plan a break somewhere dry. In case of a storm we will contact you before the tour and agree together on how to proceed.
You book online and pay conveniently by credit card, PayPal, Klarna, SEPA direct debit, WeChat Pay or Alipay, or you choose payment by invoice. After booking you will receive a confirmation by email.
"I would like to thank you very much for offering our guests such a fantastic program and for bringing Vienna closer to them in such a wonderful way! The feedback was really great and ALL participants were very impressed and enthusiastic. "
"We would like to thank Martha for organizing this unforgettable day. Our guests and we were absolutely delighted with the process and the charming manner. We got so much positive feedback. That would not have been possible without artemezzo, we felt we were in very good hands. "
"We would like to thank you for the wonderful city tour, everything went really well! The guide managed to satisfy our curiosity about this city with a quiet walk, the wonderful explanations, the stories about Vienna. Thank you very much for that and I will definitely be back on your next visit.
"Like. Martha Tretter took care of our VIP customers on a perfectly organized tour through Vienna's old town with highlights of the Viennese way of life and made the tour an entertaining and exciting event thanks to her expertise. We will be happy to contact artemezzo again. "
