Best Museums Vienna

Vienna has many things to see and do if you come on vacation to visit it. But undoubtedly one of its greatest attractions is the large number of museums it has. Despite not being one of the largest cities on the continent, they have come to count more than 100 museums.

National history, classical art, modern art, architecture, natural history... In Vienna you will find a museum to suit your tastes and preferences. That is why in this article I am going to make a list reviewing the most popular and important ones so you can optimize your visit to the Austrian capital.

Also called Kunsthistorisches Museum, this museum has one of the largest art collections in the world, focusing mostly on classical works by the most renowned painters in the history of art. If you like the works of Velazquez, Rubens or Tizziano, this museum will leave you breathless.

Located a few steps from the Imperial Palace, the Museum of Art History was built in the mid-nineteenth century to house all the works that the Empire had, becoming consolidated with the largest collection of Bruegel in the world. Over time, its patrimony grew and today it keeps a careful and extensive collection of paintings that review the entire history of Western art and even has oriental and Egyptian samples.

Practical information

• Price: tickets to the museum cost around 20 € and accept discounts with the Vienna City Card and free access with the Vienna Pass.
• Location: the museum is located at Maria-Theresien-Platz, near the Volkstheater station which can be reached by subway, bus or streetcar.
• Hours: daily from 10 am to 6 pm, except for Mondays when it is closed.
• Recommended for: those interested in learning more about the history of Western art and seeing original exhibits.

The Albertina Museum is one of the most important museums in Vienna, as it brings together a huge collection of paintings ranging from classical works such as "The Hare" by Dürer, to studies and sketches of Bohemian artists such as Monet or avant-garde artists like Klimt.

Founded by Duke Albert of Sachsen-Teschen, this museum is part of the south wing of the Imperial Palace, one of the largest royal residences of the Habsburgs. It is noted for having original copies of artists of the Modern Age, highlighting the French Impressionism and Russian avant-garde. If you are interested in all this artistic period, the Albertina Museum will undoubtedly fascinate you.

Practical information

• Price: the entrance that gives access to all sections is approximately 25 € but you can get discounts with the Vienna City Card and free access with the Vienna Pass.
• Location: located at Albertinaplatz 1, on one side of the Royal Palace. You can get there by bus (Albertinaplatz) or streetcar (Karlsplatz).
• Hours: open daily from 10 am to 6 pm and Wednesdays and Fridays until 9 pm.
• Recommended for: all lovers of the modern era, avant-garde art and European artists of the mid-twentieth century.

One of the most relevant artistic expressions that Vienna has had has been the Modernism and if there is a museum in the city that best reflects this aspect is undoubtedly the Leopold Museum, a large building of four floors and almost 5,000 square meters covering much of European modernist art. Its founder, Dr. Rudolf Leopold, was a great art lover and managed to gather hundreds of samples that today are exhibited to the public.

Among the jewels of the museum, the great collection of Egon Schiele stands out, as well as original samples of Klimt, representations of Art Nouveau and Expressionism. If you want to get a closer look at all the characteristics and examples of modern Viennese art, this museum is ideal and is also one of the most visited in the city.

Practical information

• Price: general admission costs around 15€ but is covered by the Vienna Pass and Vienna City Card discounts.
• Location: the Leopold Museum is located at Museumsplatz 1, near the Volkstheater metro station.
• Hours: open every day of the year from 10 am to 6 pm.
• Recommended for: all tourists who want to visit one of the most important museums in the city and see the main examples of modern Viennese art.

If you like to visit museums when you are on vacation but don't always want them to be art galleries, I have prepared a museum that will not disappoint you. The Natural History Museum, also called Naturhistorisches Museum, is one of the largest displays of nature and living things in Europe. With almost 10 million samples, this museum aims to have a record of the entire history of the earth.

In its different sections you can see all kinds of stuffed insects, fossils, extinct animals or even some that today are in danger of extinction. It also has a valuable display of objects and utensils from the entire Paleolithic era, crowned with one of the jewels, the "Venus of Willendorf", dating back almost 30,000 years. An ideal museum to see with the family, especially if you are traveling with children as it is quite entertaining to see.

Practical information

• Price: tickets are priced at around 15 €. However, children under 20 years can enter for free, plus you can get discounts with the Vienna City Card.
• Location: located at Maria-Theresien-Platz, just a few steps from the Volkstheater metro, bus and streetcar stop.
• Hours: open daily from 9:00 am to 6:30 pm, except for Tuesdays when it is closed.
• Recommended for: People with a curiosity for natural history who want to see samples from all periods of mankind first hand.

Vienna is one of the European cradles of music, having welcomed composers of the renown of Mozart and Beethoven. In addition, its Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the most important in the world. It is therefore no surprise that it has one of the most interesting and popular museums dedicated to music.

The House of Music is one of the mandatory stops within the cultural offerings of Vienna and inside you will not only make a review of the entire history of music that has been experienced over the years, but you can interact with dynamic exhibitions in which you can listen and learn music in a different way. A fun and educational plan ideal to do with the family and enjoy the good music of the capital.

Practical information

• Price: general admission to the House of Music costs about 15 € but has discounts with the Vienna City Card and free access with the Vienna Pass.
• Location: the House of Music is located very close to the subway stop Karlsplatz, specifically in Seilerstätte 30.
• Opening hours: open daily from 10 am to 9 pm.
• Recommended for: Families who want to spend a fun time learning music in an interactive museum.

Are you familiar with the famous painting "The Kiss" by Klimt? Well, if you are in Vienna you are in luck because the original work is in the spectacular Belvedere Museum. This collection is located inside a spectacular baroque style building that Prince Eugene of Savoy ordered to build in the eighteenth century and currently houses much of the collection of Klimt and other renowned artists.

Currently, it has seven large thematic rooms where you can see not only modernist works such as those of Klimt, but also samples of the Middle Ages, baroque and neoclassical period. In addition, it has in the lower part with beautiful gardens from where you can enjoy the imposing facade of the palace.

Practical information

• Price: the price ranges from 15 € to 20 € and is covered by the Vienna Pass and the Vienna City Card discounts.
• Location: the Belvederee Museum is located at Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27, opposite the Schloss Belvedere streetcar station.
• Opening hours: open daily from 10 am to 6 pm.
• Recommended for: Klimt enthusiasts and all those who are curious about Viennese art.

Vienna is the cradle of Modern Art and of the culture that has marked the whole of Europe. But, if you want to change the subject and get to know a little more new art, the Mumok can become one of your favorite places since it has works of the most revolutionary modern artists in the world such as Andy Wharhol or Yoko Ono.

With almost 9,000 works, the Mumok has one of the most important collections of Contemporary Art on the continent, including photographs, sculptures, films and architectural samples. The building alone is impressive, formed by a huge mass of geometric concrete. If you want to see closely the most transcendental representations of Futurism, Pop Art, Actionism or Fluxus, in this museum you can find all this.

Practical information

• Price: general admission is around 15€ but it is covered by the Vienna Pass and you can access discounts with the Vienna City Card.
• Location: this museum is located at Museumsplatz 1, very close to the Volkstheater metro, streetcar and bus station.
• Hours: The museum is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm.
• Recommended for: all lovers of modern and contemporary art who want to see one of the largest exhibitions of European and international art.

It is often thought that art can only be inside galleries and paintings. But haven't you ever looked at a facade or a building and your mouth dropped open? Architecture is the perfect balance between science and art and that is why in Vienna a museum has been dedicated to it, the only one in the whole country, where you can see a sample of the limits of architecture and all that it is capable of doing.

This museum is not only for experts in the profession, but for everyone who wants to learn a little more. And I assure you that you will be surprised because to do so you will have such curious examples as the proportions of a Barbie doll or the structure of a Lego construction. Undoubtedly a didactic and interactive museum that is out of the more classic tours of museums in Vienna.

Practical information

• Price: the general price is about 10 € which can be more or less 5 € with the discounts of the Vienna City Card.
• Location: located in MuseumsQuartier, Museumsplatz 1, near the Volkstheater station.
• Hours: open daily from 10 am to 7 pm.
• Recommended for: Anyone looking for a different kind of museum and to learn more about architecture.

The Imperial Palace is a huge, must-see complex in Vienna. Of course, it can be crazy to try to see it all at once. That's why if you want to optimize your visit, I recommend you to go to one of the rooms you can't miss; the Empress Sissi museum.

Elisabeth of Bavaria, more popularly known as Empress Sissi, was the last empress of Austria and her tragic death aroused the curiosity of many to the point of making her the protagonist of a movie phenomenon in the 50's. But above all, she was a controversial woman who left a great legacy in her passage through the Empire.

Her museum is one of the jewels of all the rooms of the Imperial Palace Hofburg and keeps all kinds of engravings of Sisi, as well as reproductions of jewelry, photographs, paintings where you can see her slender body and even the dress in which she suffered an attack in Geneva that would end up taking her life. If you are interested in Vienna's imperial past, you will enjoy this museum.

Practical information

• Price: you can access with the general admission to the Imperial Palace which costs about 20 €.
• Location: the museum is located inside the Imperial Palace, at Michaelerkuppel, 1010, near the Herrengasse metro stop.
• Hours: daily from 10 am to 5 pm.
• Recommended for: all those who want to know a little better the imperial history of Austria and the historical figure of Elisabeth of Bavaria.

More than 50 years ago, Vienna became the setting for one of the most important films of the time, "The Third Man". A showcase for the ravages of World War II and the division of the city by the Allies. The film was so important for the history of the city that a thematic museum has been created to focus on this period.

The Third Man Museum is designed not only for fans of the film, but also for those who want to know a little better what Vienna was like in the 1950s and how it lived through the ravages of war and the division of the city. Around its 13 rooms you can see parts of the original cast of the film as well as real objects from the everyday life of that time.

Practical information

• Price: the price is usually around €10.
• Location: this museum is located at Pressgasse 25, near the Kettenbrückengasse subway stop.
• Hours: the museum is open every Saturday from 2 pm to 6 pm.
• Recommended for: all film lovers and people interested in learning more about post-war Vienna.

Vienna is a city brimming with culture. From the Middle Ages to the present day, the city has monuments and museums everywhere from every artistic period. That is why, if you come on vacation to the Austrian capital, you should know that many of the mandatory stops are museums.

In Vienna, virtually all museums are paid and that is why, if you intend to know more than one or two museums in your passage through the city, it is best to get the Vienna Pass, a card that will save you money and that will serve to enter the vast majority of museums in Vienna.

Its price is around 80€ but it will give you access to more than 60 tourist attractions among which are practically all the museums of the city.