The Palaces of Vienna: Which Are Worth Visiting
Updated October 2, 2026
Vienna was the capital of an empire for six hundred years and the aristocracy built accordingly, so the city has more palaces than any visitor can use. Three of them matter, a handful more are worth an hour, and the rest are offices. This page ranks them by what they actually give you, and ends with what to pick depending on how long you have.
- #1
The Hofburg
The winter residence, and not one building but eighteen wings over seven centuries.
The seat of the Habsburgs from 1278 to 1918 and still the seat of the Austrian president. A thirteenth-century castle underneath, a baroque riding school, a nineteenth-century museum wing, and seven different operators selling tickets inside it. The palace day ticket at EUR 20 covers the Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum and the Silver Collection; the Imperial Treasury, the State Hall, the Albertina, the Weltmuseum and the Spanish Riding School are all separate. It is also the only one of the three where the courtyards are a free public route.
- #2
Schönbrunn Palace
The summer residence: 1,441 rooms, a park, a zoo and a hill with a view.
In Hietzing, the 13th district, on the U4. The 1,441-room baroque palace was the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers and takes its name from an artesian well — schöner Brunnen, beautiful spring. Its history and gardens span over 300 years and it has been a major attraction since the mid-1950s. Franz Joseph died here on 21 November 1916. The grounds are the difference: the Gloriette on the hill, the maze, the palm house and the world's oldest zoo. Allow a half day at minimum, and more if the weather is good.
- #3
The Belvedere
Two baroque palaces, a formal garden, and Klimt's The Kiss.
Not a Habsburg palace at all — it was built as the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy, designed principally by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt and completed in the early eighteenth century, on the south-eastern edge of the historic centre. Two palaces with a formal baroque garden between them. The Upper Belvedere holds the permanent collection, including the most important group of Klimts anywhere and The Kiss; the Lower Belvedere runs special exhibitions; Belvedere 21 handles contemporary work. If you want one art museum in Vienna and you are not a specialist, this is it.
- #4
The Albertina
A Habsburg palace at the Hofburg's southern tip, now an art museum.
The palace of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, on the Hofburg's southern corner above the Burggarten, and the one palace on this list you can add to a Hofburg day without travelling. EUR 20.90 for an adult, free for under-19s, and open until 21:00 on Wednesdays and Fridays — those late evenings are the quietest museum hours in central Vienna. The state rooms are part of the visit; the collection was built on works on paper and now includes major modern painting.
- #5
The Liechtenstein garden palace
A private princely palace in the 9th district, open by arrangement.
The Gartenpalais Liechtenstein on Fürstengasse, in Alsergrund, owned by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein and sitting at the southern end of the Liechtensteinpark. It housed the Liechtenstein Museum until 2011 and was renamed to distinguish it from the Stadtpalais Liechtenstein in the first district. Access is not the walk-up arrangement of the others — check what is open before you travel. For anyone who has done the big three and wants baroque interiors without a crowd, it is the reward.
- #6
The city palaces of the first district
Dozens of them, mostly closed, and worth noticing as you walk.
The Innere Stadt is full of aristocratic town palaces — Palais Ferstel, which holds Café Central; Palais Mollard on Herrengasse, which holds the Globe and Esperanto Museums; Palais Herberstein on Michaelerplatz, built to echo the Hofburg's Michaelertrakt. Most are offices, banks or embassies and cannot be visited. They are not a destination, but knowing what the doorways are turns a walk down Herrengasse into something other than a walk down a street.
Frequently asked questions
Which palaces in Vienna are worth visiting?
The Hofburg, Schönbrunn and the Belvedere, in that order. The Albertina is a fourth if you are already at the Hofburg, since it is part of the same complex.
Hofburg or Schönbrunn if I only have one day?
The Hofburg. It is in the city centre, the courtyards are free to walk, and you avoid an hour of travelling. Schönbrunn needs a half day of its own.
Is the Belvedere a Habsburg palace?
No. It was built as the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy, designed principally by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt and completed in the early eighteenth century.
Where is Klimt's The Kiss?
In the Upper Belvedere, which holds the most important collection of Klimt's work anywhere.
Can I do two palaces in one day?
You can, but the Hofburg alone absorbs a day and Schönbrunn and the Belvedere are on opposite sides of the city. Two in a day means seeing neither properly.
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