For most of his life, Sigmund Freud called Vienna home. His work in the field of psychotherapy remains highly influential across a range of philosophies and disciplines, and his legacy was so significant that Vienna even became known as the “City of Dreams” for a time. During this 2.5-hour walking tour of Vienna we'll dive deep into Freud and his time, seeking out the places where Freud lived and worked. Along the way we'll paint a portrait of early 20th-century Vienna. (For a more art focused look at this period check out our Vienna Architecture Tour.)

Our time together will begin with a biographical sketch of this fascinating and innovative man. We’ll travel from his family’s immigration to Austria when he was just a boy, through his studies and eventual lecturing at the University of Vienna, up to the height of his career, when the Nazis came to power—marking the beginning of the end of his illustrious time in Vienna. As a Jew, Freud was not untouched by the anti-semitism that bubbled up as European politics became increasingly heated in the 1930s, chasing his family to eventually flee to London in 1938. For many of Austria’s Jews, however, such an escape was not possible. We’ll spend time discussing the trauma that so many Austrian citizens suffered during World War II and the attempts afterwards to come to terms with this dark period of history—a process which continues to this day.

Want to learn more about Jews in Vienna? Try our Jewish Vienna Walking Tour.

Our walk proper starts at the Sigmund Freud Museum, the city center apartment where Freud lived and worked for 47 years. Here, surrounded by walls steeped in stories, we’ll consider the history of psychoanalysis and stand in the waiting room that Freud’s patients once occupied. From there, we’ll visit the campus of the Vienna General Hospital, where Freud began his career. Passing by the Narrenturm—a looming 18th-century insane asylum and the first building created uniquely for accommodating mental patients—our narrative will contextualize the history and development of attitudes towards mental illness. 

After a stroll through Sigmund Freud Park, we’ll finish up our walking tour at Cafe Landtmann, one of Freud’s frequented local spots and a hub for turn-of-the-century intellectualism. When we finally part ways, we’ll have a better sense of the complexities of Freud’s personal and working life and how his influence is still intertwined with Vienna’s sense of identity today.