Meidling (12th district)

The 12th district (Meidling) lies between Schönbrunn and the Wienerberg and is above all one thing: a residential district where people work. Meidling station is one of the most important transport hubs in the city, which makes the district a practical base.

The Meidlinger Markt is the heart of the district – smaller and much less touristy than the Naschmarkt, and with the customers it was made for. Around Meidlinger Hauptstraße is one of the longest pedestrian zones in Vienna.

If you visit Schönbrunn Palace, you're automatically at the district border; a detour into Meidling shows how quickly imperial Vienna turns into everyday Vienna.

A detail for language lovers: the “Meidlinger L” is a distinctive feature of the Viennese dialect in which the L is formed further back in the mouth – long heard as a marker of the working class and almost gone today. Architecturally, the district is shaped by the municipal housing of the interwar period and by the railway lines that split it in two.

Getting there: U4 and U6 (Längenfeldgasse), U6 (Niederhofstraße, Bahnhof Meidling), numerous S-Bahn (commuter rail) lines.