More about: Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna Tickets and Tours
The 17th century palace in which monarchs and emperors have lived is one of the greatest prides of Vienna and the whole country. Schoenbrunn is nicknamed "Vienna's Versailles", but it has nothing to envy its Parisian counterpart.
Vienna City Tour with Schönbrunn Palace Guided Tour
Enjoy a tour of Vienna with a guided visit to the wonderful Schonbrunn Palace.
Explore the city's landmarks with an expert guide and immerse yourself in the city's imperial past. Visit historical monuments and explore Schonbrunn Palace in depth.
Schönbrunn Palace is a bit far from the center of Vienna and, although it can be reached by public transport, it is always advisable that if you are going to hire an excursion, the transfer is included.
After the guided tour of the palace you will have free time to explore the gardens and surroundings on your own at your leisure, before returning to the starting point in the center of Vienna.
Some of the attractions you will see
- Vienna State Opera
- City Hall
- Imperial Palace Hofburg
Why I like this option
The main advantage of this option is that a local guide will accompany you throughout the tour and give you a guided tour of all the rooms of the palace. If you have read about the historical period when Empress Sissi ruled Austria, this tour will be of special interest to you; your guide will include additional information to what is available in the official audio guide of the palace and you will get a more realistic view of the history of this character.
Recommended if... you have only a few days to visit Vienna and want to maximize your sightseeing time, with everything taken care of.
Vienna Pass
Visit Schonbrunn Palace and other attractions with the Vienna Pass
With this tourist card you will be able to discover countless corners of the Austrian capital. You will have access to a tourist bus with free stops and free access to more than 70 attractions such as Schonbrunn Palace and the Schonbrunn Palace.
If you are a Vienna Pass holder, you are in luck: the Grand Tour of Schoenbrunn Palace is completely free of charge. If you do not know of its existence, this card is a city pass specially designed for travelers who come to Vienna to pay a fixed price and thus can access free or at a discount to the various museums and monuments of the city during the time they have active.
If you are visiting Schoenbrunn Palace, it is very likely that you will take advantage of this card, which will open the doors to more than 70 points of interest in the city.
Admission to Schoenbrunn Palace with dinner and concert
With this VIP experience to visit Schoenbrunn Palace you will enjoy not only the wonders of the Palace tour, but also an unforgettable evening in the surroundings including a traditional dinner and a classical music concert. It is important that you book these tickets well in advance, as this is an exclusive and highly demanded experience.
Please note when booking this option that the transfer to Schoenbrunn Palace is not included (you can easily get there and back by public transport) and that, in exceptional cases, the location of the dinner or concert may change without changing the quality of the experience.
When booking this experience you have access to a complete tour of Schoenbrunn Palace through all its rooms at the time of your choice. Your ticket includes the official audio guide of the palace available in all languages.
Dinner
The Enrenhof restaurant is located next to the main entrance of the palace and, depending on the time of year, you will be seated inside or on the terrace. Dinner will start around 18:30 and will include a choice of three courses from which you can request a vegetarian menu option.
The concert by the Palace Orchestra
Once dinner is over, you will enjoy an hour and a half concert in the Palace Orangery. The performance is given by the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra and the repertoire will focus on Mozart and Strauss. When booking, you can choose between VIP, category A, B or C seats depending on where you want to be in the auditorium.
Ana's Traveller Tip
If you visit in summer, protect yourself from the sun (there is no shade in the gardens) and bring a bottle of water if you don't want to pay the high prices at the bar in the gazebo.
What to see in Schoenbrunn Palace
When we talk about the castle or Schönbrunn Palace we refer to the whole complex in which the Palace and the gardens with their different areas are included.
While to visit the interior of the palace an entrance fee is charged (at different prices depending on whether or not you want to visit all the rooms), the main gardens are free (although to access some specific areas you will have to pay separately or buy the Classic Pass ticket that includes the complete tour inside the palace).
- The rooms and private apartments of Franz Joseph and Sissi: If you already know the history of the Empress of Austria, during the visit you will discover the less romantic side of it.
- The Great Gallery: A 40m long ballroom with baroque decoration and frescoes by Gregorio Guglielmi.
- The Salon of the Million: Part of Maria Theresa's apartments, it is characterized by a meticulous wooden decoration.
- The Antique Lacquer Room: Covered with black lacquer imported from Peking after the death of Francis of Lorraine.
- The Blue Chinese Room: In this room the abdication of Charles I took place in 1918.
What to see in the gardens
As for the garden area, this also includes the Orangerie where classical music concerts are held, a puppet theater or the museum of the floats, but what you can not miss is:
- The main gardens: they are located in front of the palace and are free of charge. Do not be in a hurry to walk through them and look at the statues and fountains that dot them; the walk is very pleasant.
- The gazebo in front of the palace: at the top there is a restaurant that is not exactly cheap, but after the climb you can enjoy a drink overlooking the extraordinary gardens. Get your camera ready.
- The labyrinth: 630 meters of plant path that will delight the little ones with a giant kaleidoscope made of mirrors.
- The garden of the crown prince: only visited in summer and is a small baroque garden named after Prince Rudolf, son of Franz Joseph and Sissi.
Where to buy tickets to Schönbrunn Palace
If you prefer to visit the Palace on your own, there are two ways to purchase tickets to visit Schoenbrunn Palace: at the ticket office and online.
At the ticket office
Doing it at the ticket office, regardless of the time of year, will mean long queues and the savings on the price will be minimal, so my recommendation is to buy tickets online in advance.
Online
In addition to detailing the options of combined tickets for Schoenbrunn Palace that, for me, are more worthwhile, I will give you some recommendations to buy online. You will find a multitude of options, always make sure that the company with which you book the tickets for Schoenbrunn Palace is trustworthy.
Choose an option that offers free cancellation with a minimum of advance notice to allow for unforeseen events. Most combined tickets include access to all rooms of the palace (Grand Tour), but it is worth checking because there may be exceptions.
The idea of buying online is to save time, so your ticket should guarantee queue-free access to the Palace. Note that the audio guide to visit the palace is free, is included with all ticket options and is available in several languages.
Ana's Traveller Tip
The Grand Tour ticket is the one that includes all the rooms of the palace; do not hesitate to choose it because it is worth it.
How to plan your visit to Schoenbrunn Palace
How to get to Schoenbrunn
The Schoenbrunn area is a bit far from the center, but you have several options to reach it easily from the main points in the center of Vienna. If you book a guided tour the transfer is probably included, otherwise you can reach it by subway (line U4), streetcar (lines 10 and 58) or bus (line 10A).
Opening hours
The Palace opens every day at 8:30 am (my recommendation is to go early in the morning to visit with less people), but depending on the time of year the closing can be from 17 to 18:30. The last entrance is always one hour before closing time, so don't rush the time during your visit.
When to go
Like all tourist attractions, it is best to visit in low season (winter) to avoid crowds. However, it is in spring when the gardens are at their best. In summer you will be hot and you will find more tourists visiting the palace, but don't miss it because of that.
Duration of the visit
I recommend reserving an entire morning to see the entire Schoenbrunn Palace complex. Although the recommended duration of the visit inside the palace is two hours, dedicating a morning to it will give you plenty of time to stop in the gift store and, above all, to walk around and photograph the gardens and the exterior of the palace.
Visiting with children
If you visit the complex with children, you will be pleased to know that on Saturdays and holidays you have a museum dedicated to them in the vicinity of the palace. In this Children's Museum, the little ones can play with the costumes of Sissi and Franz Joseph and discover what life was like for imperial children.
If you are interested in buying tickets for Schoenbrunn Palace, you will also be interested in
When I first visited Schoenbrunn Palace, I remember that what struck me most was the history of the emperors and monarchs who lived there.
Vienna is an imperial city and this palace is not the only place that tells stories of kings and intrigues; if you take a guided tour of the city center, you will surely continue to discover very interesting details about the city. In this article of Day Trips from Vienna you can consult the different options.