Vienna International Airport to Vienna City Centre (Stephansplatz)

There is a moment, arriving in Vienna, when the whole journey resolves into a single spire. Stephansplatz sits at the exact centre of the old town, beneath the soaring Gothic tower of St. Stephen's Cathedral — the Steffl, as the locals fondly call it — and from that one square the pedestrianised Graben and Kärntner Straße unfold like the pages of a well-loved book. It is where nearly every visitor drifts first, coffee not yet drunk, and where the real business of Vienna begins. The airport lies some 18 kilometres to the southeast, in Schwechat, and getting from there to this hallowed square is a small pleasure in itself, provided you choose your carriage wisely.

The thrifty traveller's overture

Let me be candid, as one Viennese to a guest: the cathedral will look no grander for the money you spend reaching it. The cheapest and most sensible passage is the S7 S-Bahn, boarded at the rail station tucked directly beneath the terminal. For roughly €4.10 — that fare already includes the little airport-zone supplement that catches out the unwary — it carries you to Wien Mitte, and here is the elegant part: the very same ticket lets you glide onward on the U3 underground to Stephansplatz, two stops and you are delivered to the cathedral's shadow. Plan on about half an hour door to platform, with departures every thirty minutes. It is unhurried, it is honest, and it leaves rather more in your pocket for a slice of Sachertorte.

Travelling in the grand manner

Yet Vienna has always understood that some arrivals ask for a touch of ceremony. The City Airport Train — the CAT — runs nonstop from beneath the terminal to Wien Mitte in a brisk 16 minutes, uninterrupted by the modest stops of the S-Bahn. A single fare is €14.90, or €24.90 for the return, and children under fifteen ride free — a civilised touch for families. From Wien Mitte you again take the U3 the short way to Stephansplatz. You pay, in truth, for the swiftness and the calm rather than any great saving of minutes over the S7; but if you have flown a long night and want your first Viennese experience to be a serene one, the CAT is a graceful indulgence. Trains leave every half hour, so there is rarely long to wait beneath the departures board.

By coach, and by the comfort of a waiting driver

Those who prefer the passing view to the tunnel's dark have the Vienna Airport Lines coach, VAL1, from the bus terminal just outside arrivals. For €11 single, or €20 return, it sets you down at Schwedenplatz and Morzinplatz on the Danube Canal — a genial spot, a short stroll or a single U-Bahn hop from Stephansplatz, and no bad introduction to the city's grain. Departures come every thirty minutes.

And should you arrive with heavy cases, or simply weary of platforms, two options carry you the whole way to your door. A private transfer — arranged in advance with ATAV or one of the local firms — costs a fixed sum from around €38, runs day and night, and puts a driver in the arrivals hall holding your name on a sign; there is a certain reassurance in that, when the city is still unfamiliar. A metered taxi from the rank outside arrivals will typically run somewhere between €36 and €50 into the centre, on demand at any hour. Neither is cheap beside the S7, but both spare you the changing of trains, and for a small party sharing the fare the sum grows friendlier.

A word before you set off

My counsel, offered over an imaginary Melange: for a lone traveller or a couple in no great rush, the S7 into the U3 is the connoisseur's choice — quietly efficient, agreeably cheap, and thoroughly Viennese in its lack of fuss. Reserve the CAT for the morning you want to feel a little pampered, or when small children make the free fares tell. Take the coach if the daylight and the canal appeal; take a taxi or transfer when luggage or lateness decide the matter for you. However you come, the reward is the same and it does not disappoint: you emerge from the U-Bahn steps, the light shifts, and there stands the great cathedral, patient as it has been for centuries, waiting to welcome you to the true heart of the city.