How long should I spend at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna?
Updated September 18, 2026
Quick answer
About forty minutes inside, plus five minutes' walk each way from the Hofburg. Twenty-five minutes is enough to walk the route and see the three famous tombs; an hour is easy if you read the inscriptions. It is one continuous route through ten vaults and you cannot get lost in it.
The crypt is bigger than people expect and quicker than they fear. There are 107 visible sarcophagi across ten interconnected vaults, but the route is linear and most of the tombs are read at a glance — the time goes on the handful you stop at.
What the forty minutes covers
Ten interconnected vaults, added by successive rulers from 1633 onwards, walked in sequence. The route used to require backtracking through everything you had already seen. A project in 2003 opened previously unused doors so that it no longer does, and air-conditioned the whole crypt at the same time — which is why a visit today is shorter and more comfortable than older guidance suggests. Across the vaults: 107 metal sarcophagi and five heart urns, ranging from puritan plain to full rococo. Around 150 Habsburgs by the Capuchins' count, or 145 bodies plus four urns by Wikipedia's, including twelve emperors.
Where the time actually goes
Three stops account for most of it.
- Maria Theresa's double sarcophagus — 10 minutes — She and Francis Stephen under a lid weighing around 1,700 kg, in the domed chamber she built in 1754 — the only part of the crypt with natural light. It is the one people photograph.
- Franz Joseph, Elisabeth and Rudolf — 10 minutes — Three graves side by side in the chamber Franz Joseph built in 1908 for his sixtieth jubilee. For many visitors this is the whole reason to come.
- Everything else — 20 minutes — The Founders Vault with Matthias and Anna of Tyrol, the Leopold Vault, the Children's Columbarium and the New Vault. More than a quarter of the people buried here were five years old or younger.
Hours, and the walk
Open daily 10:00 to 18:00, with last admission at 17:30. Adult admission is EUR 15 and the reduced rate is EUR 13, covering Vienna City Card, Vienna PASS, Flexi Pass and Kulturpass holders among others. The address is Tegetthoffstraße 2, on the Neuer Markt. From the Michaelerplatz entrance of the Hofburg it is about five minutes: along the Kohlmarkt, right at the Graben, down to the Neuer Markt. Budget ten minutes of walking into the visit. The 17:30 last admission is later than the Hofburg's 16:30, which makes the crypt the natural end of an imperial afternoon rather than a competitor for the morning.
It is a church, and that affects the pace
A dozen Capuchin friars still act as guardians and caretakers of the crypt alongside their parish work, and it is a burial place rather than an exhibition. Practically, that means quiet, no eating, and a pace set by the people around you rather than by an audio guide. It also means the atmosphere does a lot of the work — visitors routinely spend longer than they intended because the rooms are not designed to move you along. And it is still in use. The most recent entombment was on 7 October 2023: Archduchess Yolande of Austria, who died at 100 years and 5 months. There is one space left.
Building it into the day
The best sequence is the Hofburg first and the crypt second, because the crypt is the ending of the story the palace tells. A workable afternoon: the palace route until about two, lunch on the Kohlmarkt, the crypt at three, and you are out by four with the whole first district still open. Our [Sisi sites route](/best/sisi-sites-in-vienna) strings the pieces together. One addition worth the extra half hour: the Augustinerkirche on Josefsplatz, inside the Hofburg, holds 54 Habsburg hearts in the Loreto Chapel, with a 30-minute crypt tour at EUR 5. Bodies here, hearts there, organs at St Stephen's — three buildings within ten minutes of each other, and doing all three is the clearest account of Habsburg burial you can get.
Frequently asked questions
How long to spend at the Imperial Crypt in Vienna?
About forty minutes inside, plus five minutes' walk each way from the Hofburg. Twenty-five minutes covers the route and the three famous tombs.
What time does the Imperial Crypt close?
18:00 daily, with last admission at 17:30 — later than the Hofburg's 16:30, which makes it a good end to the afternoon.
How far is it from the Hofburg?
About five minutes on foot: along the Kohlmarkt from Michaelerplatz, right at the Graben, down to the Neuer Markt.
Is the route difficult to follow?
No. It is one continuous route through ten vaults, and since a 2003 project it no longer requires backtracking. The crypt is also air-conditioned and accessible to disabled visitors.
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