Practical Information
Important practical informations for your visit to Vienna.
The currency in Austria is the Euro.
If you need to exchange money, we recommend you to visit a bank, not an exchange office (where fees are typically higher).
The bank closest to the conference venue is:
Erste Bank – Filiale Wieden
Wiedner Hauptstraße 20
1040 Vienna
Opening hours are Mon – Fri 9:00 – 16:00. Self-service zone is open 24 hours daily.
On Saturdays and Sundays, money change offices are open at the airport, at Westbahnhof railway station, and in Kärntnerstrasse. Cash dispensers (ATMs) are located next to most banks (watch for a green-blue “B” sign as shown in the picture), either directly in the street, or inside the lobby (accessible with your card). Maestro, MasterCard, Visa and DinersClub are generally accepted.
Opening hours
Shops are generally open Mon – Fri 9:00 – 19:00+ and Sat 9:00 – 18:00 (supermarkets typically open earlier). Shops remain closed on Sundays (with a few exceptions, notably at the airport and at the Wien Hauptbahnhof).
Main shopping areas
(all are relatively close to the conference venue):
The weather forecast for the VCI2025 is:
Partly sunny, partly cloudy, precipitation is possible, now seriously. Mid February means winter, and the average temperature is around 0 degree C, but of course excursions in both directions can occur.
Austria uses the standard european power grid of 230V AC at 50 Hz.
But nowadays portable devices typically use switching power supplies and thus don’t care. However, you still have to consider the physical layer in order to achieve connection. The F type wall socket used in Austria is shown below, which is quite common in central Europe – with Switzerland being an exception. It fits with the so called Euro plug, which is the typical plug for portable devices on the continent.
Guests from UK, Ireland, the US and Japan definitely need an adapter (this is a non-exhaustive list). It may not be so easy to find one in Vienna, so better bring one yourself.
You can safely drink tap water everywhere in Vienna.
When this is not allowed, it is explicitly posted (Kein Trinkwasser), typically at fountains where water is mostly circulating. However, there are some public drinking springs in the city where it is perfectly fine to quench your thirst.
Vienna’s tap water is delivered from mountainous regions about 100km to the southwest and has superior quality. Two underground pipelines to the city were already commissioned in 1873 and 1910, respectively.
If you buy bottled water, there are usually two choices: (highly) carbonated (prickelnd, mit Kohlensäure) or plain (still, ohne Kohlensäure). Sometimes, there is a third option which lies in between (mild, mit wenig Kohlensäure) and probably comes closer to the international standard of carbonated water.
In general, Vienna is a pretty safe city.
You can go anywhere at any time without restrictions. However, general precautions and a practice of common sense are always advisable, as pickpockets are attracted by (tourist) crowds and thus typically appear in the city center and in the proximity of sightseeing spots.
Medical infrastructure is excellent in Vienna, but it may become costly if you are unlucky and need serious treatment. Inside the European Union, medical expenses may be covered by mutual agreements between countries. If you are in doubt, we highly recommend you to take out adequate travel and health insurance.
Please note that neither the Organizing Committee nor the International Scientific Advisory Committee can take any liability for accidents, illnesses or injuries that may occur at or during the conference, no matter if those happen at the venue or outside. Moreover, the committees mentioned above accept no liability for any losses incurred by participants and/or accompanying persons, nor loss of, or damage to, any luggage and / or personal belongings.
