Albertina or Albertina Modern: Which to Visit
Updated September 18, 2026
Verdict
Visit the Albertina at the Hofburg if you are here for the palace, the state rooms and the historic collection — it is a ten-second walk from the Burggarten and it stays open until 21:00 twice a week. Visit Albertina Modern if contemporary art is the reason you came to Vienna at all. Only buy the combo if you will genuinely use the third house as well.
They share a name, a director and a ticketing system, and they are not the same museum. The Albertina occupies the Hofburg's southern tip, in the palace of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, and holds the historic collection and the state rooms. Albertina Modern opened in May 2020 in the Künstlerhaus on Karlsplatz and shows contemporary and modern work. If someone recommends 'the Albertina' without qualifying it, they mean the one at the palace.
| Criterion | The Albertina | Albertina Modern |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Albertinaplatz 1, at the Hofburg's southern tip | The Künstlerhaus on Karlsplatz |
| Adult admission | EUR 20.90 | EUR 17.90 |
| Senior 65+ and under 26 | EUR 17.50 | EUR 15.90 |
| Under 19 | Free | Free |
| Hours | Daily 10:00 to 18:00, Wednesday and Friday to 21:00 | Daily 10:00 to 18:00 |
| What it shows | The historic collection, the Habsburg state rooms, major loan exhibitions | Modern and contemporary work in the ground and lower floors of the Künstlerhaus |
| Vienna PASS | Included | Not on the pass's list of sights |
| Walk from the Hofburg | Inside the complex | About fifteen minutes, or U1/U2/U4 to Karlsplatz |
What each building shows
The Albertina is a Habsburg residence that became a museum: the state rooms are part of the visit, and the collection is built on works on paper, with the graphic holdings that made its reputation. It also runs the large loan exhibitions that draw the queues. Albertina Modern is a contemporary kunsthalle in a nineteenth-century exhibition hall, and its programme changes completely from one season to the next. Neither is a permanent-collection museum in the way the Kunsthistorisches is; check what is actually on before you choose.
Where each one is
The Albertina is at the Hofburg's southern corner, above the Burggarten, and you can reach it from the palace without crossing a road. Albertina Modern is in the Künstlerhaus on Karlsplatz — a building erected between 1865 and 1868, one of the earliest on the Ringstraße, designed in the manner of an Italian Renaissance villa. It reopened after a major renovation on 6 March 2020, and Albertina Modern opened its doors there on 27 May 2020. The Künstlerhaus Vereinigung still shows its own exhibitions upstairs, so the building holds two independent institutions.
Tickets: separate or combined
There is no two-house ticket. Read from the Albertina's own shop on 18 September 2026, the options are single admissions or a combo covering all three locations.
- Albertina — EUR 20.90 adult; EUR 17.50 for seniors 65+ and visitors under 26; free under 19.
- Albertina Modern — EUR 17.90 adult; EUR 15.90 for seniors 65+ and visitors under 26; free under 19.
- Albertina Klosterneuburg — EUR 9.00 adult; EUR 7.00 reduced; free under 19.
- Combo ticket, all three — EUR 29.90 adult; EUR 24.90 reduced; free under 19. That is EUR 8.90 less than buying the Albertina and Albertina Modern separately — but only if you also get to Klosterneuburg, which is outside the city.
The arithmetic on the combo
The Albertina plus Albertina Modern bought separately is EUR 38.80. The combo is EUR 29.90 and adds a third house. On paper it is the obvious buy. In practice, Albertina Klosterneuburg is a trip out of Vienna, and a visitor with two days in the city is unlikely to make it. If you will do two houses, the combo still saves EUR 8.90 — so buy it anyway and treat Klosterneuburg as a bonus you will probably not collect. If you will only do one, buy the single.
Which suits which taste
A visitor who has come to Vienna for the Habsburgs should do the Albertina and skip Albertina Modern without guilt: the state rooms belong to the same story as the Imperial Apartments across the garden, and the contemporary programme does not. A visitor who finds imperial interiors wearing after a day of them will get more from Karlsplatz. The one group who should do both are people spending three days or more in the city, because the two buildings together are the clearest illustration of what Vienna did with itself after 1918.
A note on passes
The Albertina is on the Vienna PASS's list of included sights. Albertina Modern is not — we checked the operator's own published sight pages on 18 September 2026 and it does not appear. The Vienna City Card does not include either, but discounts the Albertina to EUR 18.90. If a pass is part of your plan, that asymmetry is worth knowing before you build a day around Karlsplatz.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the Albertina and Albertina Modern?
The Albertina is the historic museum in the Habsburg palace at the Hofburg. Albertina Modern is a contemporary art venue in the Künstlerhaus on Karlsplatz, opened on 27 May 2020. Different buildings, different collections, separate tickets.
Is there a combined Albertina and Albertina Modern ticket?
Not for those two alone. The combo ticket at EUR 29.90 covers all three Albertina locations, including Albertina Klosterneuburg.
Is Albertina Modern included in the Vienna PASS?
No. The main Albertina is on the pass's list of sights; Albertina Modern is not.
Which is closer to the Hofburg?
The Albertina, which is part of the palace complex. Albertina Modern is about fifteen minutes away on foot, or a short ride to Karlsplatz.
Sources