Famous Austrian Films and TV Shows. Notable Movie Locations in Vienna, Austria

Vienna, Austria’s majestic capital, is more than just a hub of classical music and imperial history—it’s also a cinematic gem. With its cobblestone streets, ornate palaces, and hauntingly beautiful backdrops, Vienna has long captured the imagination of filmmakers and audiences alike. From noir thrillers and historical dramas to romantic comedies and Hallmark holiday specials, the city plays a starring role in countless films and TV shows. Whether faithfully shot on location or recreated elsewhere to mimic its charm, Vienna remains a popular setting for storytelling that blends elegance, nostalgia, and cinematic allure.

1. Filming locations in Vienna

Vienna has served as the backdrop for many iconic films—thanks to its old-world charm, imperial architecture, and moody atmosphere. Here are some of the most well-known movies set in Vienna:

Before Sunrise (1995)

Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Why it's famous: Probably the most iconic Vienna-set film. It follows two strangers who meet on a train and spend a romantic night walking and talking through Vienna. The city almost becomes a third character.
Filming locations: Westbahnhof, Zollamtssteg Bridge, Alt & Neu Recordstore, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Friedhof der Namenlosen (cemetery), Wiener Riesenrad (ferris wheel) at Prater, Kleines Café (Franziskanerplatz 3), Maria am Gestade church, Arena (concert venue), Schreyvogelgasse, Spittelberggasse, Café Sperl, Albertina Museuum and Albertinaplatz, Clubschiff Wien, Preßgasse

The Third Man (1949)

Director: Carol Reed
Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten
Why it's famous: A noir classic. The film is set in post-WWII Vienna and is famous for its shadowy cinematography, zither music, and the unforgettable Ferris wheel scene at the Prater. It's a must-watch for film buffs.
Filming locations: Palais Pallavicini, Zentralfriedhof (cemetery), Neuer Markt, Josefsplatz, Am Hof, Sankt-Ulrichs-Platz, Börsegasse, Ruprechtsplatz, Porzellangasse, Hotel Sacher, Salesianerkirche, Maria am Gestade (church), Schreyvogelgasse, Morzinplatz, Wiener Riesenrad (ferris wheel) at Prater, Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof, Hoher Markt, Reitschulgasse, Friedrichstraße, Minoretenplatz, Vienna sewer system.
The Third Man Sewer Tour is available via the Wien Kanal office in warmer months

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames
Why it's famous: Features a high-stakes action sequence at the Vienna State Opera. A great mix of modern spy thrills with historic Viennese architecture.
Filming locations: Wiener Staatsoper

A Dangerous Method (2011)

Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen
Why it's famous: About Freud and Jung, so naturally, parts of the film take place in early 1900s Vienna. It blends psychological drama with historical detail.
Filming locations: Café Sperl, Schloss Belvedere

Amadeus (1984)

Director: Miloš Forman
Starring: Tom Hulce, F. Murray Abraham
Why it's famous: While much of it was filmed in Prague (standing in for Vienna), the story is centered around Mozart’s life in Vienna. A sweeping, Oscar-winning period drama.
Filming locations: shot mainly in the former Czechoslovakia, especially Prague

Woman in Gold (2015)

Director: Simon Curtis
Starring: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds
Why it's famous: Follows the real-life legal battle over a famous Klimt painting stolen by the Nazis. Flashbacks to pre-war Vienna show the city’s Jewish heritage and tragic history.
Filming locations: Belvedere Palace, Wiener Staatsoper, Heldenplatz, Sankt-Ulrichs-Platz, Hotel Sacher, Rooseveltplatz, Domgasse, Akademie der bildenen Künste Wien (Academy of Fine Arts), Wien Museum MUSA, Holocaust Memorial at Judenplatz, Frankengasse

James Bond: The Living Daylights (1987)

Director: John Glen
Starring:
Timothy Dalton, Mariam D'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé
Why it's famous: This was Timothy Dalton's first James Bond movie. In the film Bond falls for a cellist in a Cold War plot involving defections and double agents. Parts of the storylines are set in Vienna.
Filming locations: Schönbrunn Palace, Volksoper, Prater amusement park, Sofiensäle on Marxergasse, Währinger Straße, Steinspornsbrücke, Gasometer, Antonigasse, Paulinengasse, Kreuzgasse, Maria-Theresien-Platz, Palais Schwarzenberg, Wiener Riesenrad (ferris wheel) at Prater, (note: the Bratislava scenes were filmed in Vienna)

The Illusionist (2006)

Director: Neil Burger
Starring: Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti
Why it's famous: Set in Fin-de-siècle Vienna, in this award winning film a magician uses his craft to win back his childhood love, now engaged to royalty.
Filming locations: while set in Vienna, it was filmed in the Czech Republic

Mayerling (1968)

Director: Terence Young
Starring: Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason
Why it's famous: A dramatization of the tragic love story between Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Baroness Mary Vetsera, ending in a famous murder-suicide pact at Mayerling, near Vienna.
Filming locations: Schönbrunn Palace, Hofburg, Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof, Spanish Riding School, Hofburg Passage, Karlskirche, Naturhistorisches Museum, Palais Schwarzenberg, Blauer Hof (Laxenburg)

Sissi / Sissi Trilogy (1955–1957)

Director: Ernst Marischka
Starring: Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider
Why it's famous: Hugely popular historical-romantic films about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known for her beauty and tragic life. Part 1 of the trilogy is called Sissi. Part 2 is Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin (The Young Empress), and part 3 is Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin (The Fateful Years of an Empress). It is broadcast every year during Christmas in German speaking territories.
Filming locations: St. Michael's Church, Schönbrunn Palace,

2. Romantic Hallmark Movies set in Vienna and Austria

Hallmark is well-known for its huge back-catalogue of romantic movies. You can't escape them on your screen, especially around Christmas. The network has branched out into shooting its romance stories on international locations, and it was only a matter of time till Vienna came onto their radar. Here are a couple of flicks where the story plays in Vienna and was to some extent shot in the Austrian capital.

Christmas in Vienna (2020)

Director: Maclain Nelson
Starring: Sarah Drew, Brennan Elliott, Alina Fritsch
Plot: Jess, a concert violinist, travels to Vienna for a performance and finds both artistic inspiration and new love with Mark, a widowed diplomat and single father.​ The story plays during the Advent period, and therefore, the main characters visit several Christmas markets in the city.
Filming locations: Rathausplatz (City Hall Square) christmas market with ice rink, Schönbrunn Palace, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Wiener Riesenrad (ferris wheel) at Prater

My Sweet Austrian Holiday (2024)

Director: Leif Bristow
Starring: Britanny Bristow, Will Kemp, Richard Sheridan Willis
Plot: Charlotte, an American chocolatier, inherits her grandparents' shop in Vienna and faces challenges from a developer seeking to buy her out. Amidst this, she forms a connection with Henry, a fellow chocolate enthusiast.​
Filming locations: the Vienna scenes were mainly filmed in Budapest but there are shots of Vienna in the movie to establish the Austrian setting.

Love on the Danube trilogy

Films included in the trilogy: Love on The Danube: Royal Getaway (2024), Love on the Danube: Love Song (2024), Love on the Danube: Kissing Stars (2024)
Plot: The trilogy, set against the picturesque backdrop of a European river cruise on the Danube, includes three romantic tales.
Filming locations: There are scenes that play in Vienna. You can find a couple of shots filmed in Vienna, but many 'Vienna scenes' were actually filmed in Budapest.

3. Popular TV shows set in Vienna or in Austria

Vienna might not be as globally dominant on the TV map as London or New York, but it's definitely featured in a number of well-known series, both internationally and within the German-speaking world. Here is a list of recommendations for TV shows whose story is set (or largely takes place) in Vienna

Die Strauß Dynastie (Strauss Dynasty) (1991)

Genre: Historical drama
Plot: A dramatisation of two generations of the Strauss family of Vienna, whose dance music and operettas dominated much of Europe and beyond for most of the 19th century.
Filming locations: Laxenburg Castle, Schönbrunn Palace, Baden (Lower Austria)

Vienna Blood (2019 – present)

Genre: Historical crime drama
Plot: A period crime drama set in 1900s Vienna, mixing murder mysteries with Freudian psychology and classic Viennese atmosphere. A young psychoanalyst (student of Freud) teams up with a gruff inspector to solve crimes using emerging psychological theories.
Filming locations: Vienna University, Votivkirche Area, Stephansplatz, the Belvedere, and more

Kommissar Rex (Inspector Rex) (1994 – 2004; reboot 2008 –2 015)

Genre: Police procedural
Plot: A German Shepherd helps solve crimes alongside Vienna detectives. Hugely popular in Europe, Australia, and even Latin America.
The concept of the show became so popular with audiences that later several foreign versions were made of the series. Polish version: 'Komisarz Alex' [pl] (English title: Inspector Alex), set in Łódź (2012 – resent); Russian version: 'Muhtar's return' (2004 – 2019, broadcast on Russia-1 and NTV); Portuguese version: 'Inspetor Max' [pt] (2004 – present); Lithuanian version: 'Inspektorius Mažylis' (2014); Slovak version: 'Rex' set in Bratislava (2017); Canadian version: 'Hudson & Rex' (2019 – present).
Filming locations: locations for the series are situated in Vienna, or in a studio or outside Vienna in Austria.

Freud (2020, Netflix)

Genre: Psychological thriller / mystery
Plot: A fictionalized and dark reimagining of young Sigmund Freud entangled in murder and mysticism an set in 1880s Vienna. While investigating several disappearances and murders in Vienna, young Sigmund Freud and a psychic medium become entangled in an occult conspiracy.
Warning: don't take it too seriously for historical accuracy!
Filming locations: while the story takes place in Vienna, the TV show was actually filmed in the Czech Republic, specifically in Prague.

Vier Frauen und ein Todesfall (Four Women and a Funeral) (2005 –)

in German
Genre: dark comedy crime show
Plot: Four women have the unusual hobby of attending every funeral in their small hometown. Maybe the deceased did not die by natural causes-- and most times s/he didn't.
Filming locations: filmed mainly in the Salzburg region, in Feistenau, and in Zell am Moos (Upper Austria region).

Altes Geld (Old Money) (2015)

Genre: Dark satire / drama
Plot: When Rolf Rauchensteiner, patriarch of a rich Viennese dynasty, discovers that he will die soon unless he receives a new liver, he decides that his inheritance will go to whoever finds him a new liver. This creates havoc in the dysfunctional family. Set in modern-day Vienna it's a satirical take on Austria's elite and power circles.
Filming locations: Vienna and Austrian locations

Sisi: Austrian Empress (2021 -)

made by RTL+
Genre: historical drama
Starring: Jannik Schümann, Dominique Devenport, Désirée Nosbusch
Plot: This is one of the 2 TV shows made recently about the Austrian empress Elisabeth, also known as Sisi. "Sisi" follows the extraordinary life of empress Elisabeth of Austria. Modern, honest, and authentic. Told from the perspective of her closest confidants, the series takes a new look at the empress' life and reveals a multi-layered woman.
Filming locations: while the story plays in Austria, the series was filmed in Latvia and Croatia.

The Empress (2022 -)

made by Netflix
Genre: historical drama
Starring: evrim Lingnau, Philip Froissant, Melika Foroutan
Plot: This is the other one of the 2 TV shows made recently about the Austrian empress Elisabeth. Two young people meet. A fateful encounter - the proverbial love at first sight. He is Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, she is Elisabeth von Wittelsbach, Princess of Bavaria and the sister of the woman Franz is to marry.
Filming locations: while the story plays in Austria, the series was filmed in the Czech Republic and Croatia.

Sources: Wikipedia, IMDB, local newsreports, Movie Tourist Blog.

From internationally acclaimed films like Before Sunrise and The Third Man to contemporary TV dramas such as Vienna Blood and Sisi, Vienna continues to inspire creatives around the world. Whether you're a cinephile tracing filming spots through the city or simply curious about how Vienna is portrayed on screen, these productions offer a unique way to experience its spirit. Through romance, mystery, history, and adventure, Vienna remains a character in its own right—inviting viewers to explore its streets, stories, and timeless cinematic presence again and again.

Check out the most well-known Austrian film festivals on our art events page.