As stated in the article on sex in Austria , prostitution is generally legal in all but one Austrian province Vorarlberg in the very west of the country. However, unlike Amsterdam or Hamburg, the Viennese seem to be unaware of this and have failed to get rid of the dirt around their red-light mile to establish the trendy scene that attracts "normal" tourists in addition to sex seekers in Hamburg and other cities in northern Europe. Since prostitution is in principal legal in Vienna, it is usually not covered as strip clubs, massage salons or escort services.
Taxi drivers, hotel receptionists and even ads in daily papers will know about brothels in any area of Vienna. In , the city of Vienna announced plans to approach the problem of illegal sex workers.
Issues arose mainly around hookers that work on streets , whereas those who make contact with potential clients in bars might still be illegal, but at least less of a problem for people who live in the area. The latter two areas are in the second district and the "low cost option" when it comes to hookers in Vienna. Since the opening of Eastern Europe in the last odd years, the number of business trips to and conferences in Vienna has steadily increased , resulting in a seemingly ever-growing red light scene.
The recent 20 years saw a rise in the number of registered , legal hookers in Vienna. As of , there were women registered as prostitutes with the city of Vienna, which means that they attend regular health checks and legal monitoring. Street prostitution in generally illegal in Austria , so by going to a brothel, clients could avoid ending up with an unchecked, illegal sex worker.
