Ostermarkt Schloß Schönbrunn

If you're in Vienna during the weeks before Easter, the Schönbrunn Ostermarkt is the one seasonal market you shouldn't skip. Set in the palace's grand Ehrenhof, it's the largest Easter market in the city — and the 2025 edition got a serious makeover. Instead of the old circular or row layout, the stalls now form a "market village" with small alleys that invite wandering, making the whole thing feel more intimate even though it's three times bigger than before. A 12-meter Easter portal marks the entrance, and a 3.5-meter floral egg covered in real blossoms is the obvious photo magnet.

Food-wise, you'll find traditional Easter fare: ham, Kaiserschmarrn (those fluffy torn pancakes), handmade chocolates, and — a personal highlight — hot potatoes, which you usually only see at the Rathausplatz Christmas market. New "Genusswiesen" (culinary meadows) with seating let you settle in with your snacks and soak up the spring sun. Be prepared to queue at popular stands, and bring cash; there are ATMs on-site but lines can get long.

Beyond eating and shopping for hand-painted eggs and crafts, there's plenty to keep families busy: a nostalgic Ferris wheel, a children's train, a straw labyrinth, a wooden-circus craft workshop, and even two boules courts. It's busiest on weekends and late afternoons — go on a weekday morning if you want the place more to yourself.