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We've compiled the best of the best in District 1/Innere Stadt - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Opened in 2020, the Künstlerverein graces a Neoclassical palace and iconic Viennese building just steps away from the opera house and its sister, the famed Albertina Museum. Exhibits focus on modern and contemporary art, and the permanent collection features works by famous Austrians like Maria Lassnig and Arnulf Rainer, and leading international artists, including Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Anselm Kiefer, and Cindy Sherman.
One of the largest of the Hapsburg residences, the Albertina rests on one of the last remaining fortresses of the Old City. The must-see collection of nearly 65,000 drawings and almost a million prints is one of the most prized graphic collections in the world. All the Old Masters are showcased here: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt. The Batliner Collection includes excellent examples of French and German Impressionism and Russian avant-garde. The mansion's early-19th-century salons—all gilt boiserie and mirrors—provide a jewel-box setting. The excellent Do & Co restaurant, with a patio long enough for an empress's promenade, offers splendid vistas of the historical center, and the Burggarten is the perfect place to take a break.
You could spend an entire day at this ultra-high-tech museum, housed on several floors of an early-19th-century palace near Schwarzenbergplatz. This is a highly interactive experience; in "Facing Mozart," visitors animate a Mozart portrait using a technology called facetracking. Assuming the role of virtual conductor, you can conduct the Vienna Philharmonic (or a video projection of it, anyway) and have the orchestra follow your every command; the conductor's baton is hooked to a computer, which allows you to have full control over the simulated orchestra. For added fun, the stairs at the beginning of the tour are musical; each step produces a note. Other exhibits trace the evolution of sound (from primitive noises to the music of the classical masters) and illustrate the mechanics of the human ear (you can even measure your own frequency threshold).
The entrance to the Schatzkammer, with its 1,000 years of treasures, is tucked away at ground level behind the staircase to the Hofburgkapelle. The elegant display is a welcome antidote to the rather staid Imperial Apartments, and the crowns and relics glow in their surroundings. Here you'll find such marvels as the Holy Lance (reputedly the lance that pierced Jesus's side), the Imperial Crown (a sacred symbol of sovereignty once stolen on Hitler's orders), and the Saber of Charlemagne. Don't miss the Burgundian Treasure, connected with that most romantic of medieval orders of chivalry, the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Even if you're planning on a short stay in Vienna, you'll want to come here to visit one of the greatest art collections in the world, standing in the same class as the Louvre, the Prado, and the Vatican. This is no dry-as-dust museum illustrating the history of art, as its name might imply, but rather the collections of Old Master paintings that reveal the royal taste and style of many members of the mighty House of Hapsburg, which ruled over the greater part of the Western world in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The museum is most famous for the largest collection of paintings under one roof by the Netherlandish 16th-century master Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Many art historians say that seeing his sublime Hunters in the Snow is itself worth the trip to Vienna. Brueghel's depictions of peasant scenes, often set in magnificent landscapes, distill the poetry and magic of the 16th century as few other paintings have done. The Flemish wing also includes masterful works by Rogier van der Weyden, Holbein, Rembrandt, and Vermeer, while the Italian wing features Titian, Giorgione, Raphael, and Caravaggio. The large-scale works concentrated in the main galleries shouldn't distract you from the equal share of masterworks in the more intimate side wings.
There is also the remarkable but less-visited Kunstkammer, displaying priceless objects created for the Hapsburg emperors. These include curiosities made of gold, silver, and crystal (including Cellini's famous salt cellar "La Saliera"), and more exotic materials such as ivory, horn, and gemstones. In addition, there are rooms devoted to Egyptian antiquities, Greek and Roman art, sculpture, and numerous other collections.
One of the best times to visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum is on Thursday evenings, when you can enjoy a sumptuous gourmet dinner with a massive dessert buffet (€65) in the cupola rotunda. Just across from the seating area, take a leisurely stroll through the gallery chambers.
This is Mozart's only still-existing abode in Vienna, with three floors of displays about his life and the masterworks that he composed here. Equipped with an excellent audio guide and starting out on the third floor of the building, you can hear about Mozart's time in Vienna: where he lived and performed, who his friends and supporters were, and his passion for expensive attire—he spent more money on clothes than most royals at that time. The second floor deals with Mozart's operatic works. The first floor focuses on the 2½ years that Mozart lived at this address (he moved around a lot in Vienna), when he wrote dozens of piano concertos, as well as The Marriage of Figaro and the six quartets dedicated to Joseph Haydn (who once called on Mozart here, saying to Mozart's father, "Your son is the greatest composer that I know in person or by name"). For two weeks in April 1787, Mozart took on a 16-year-old pupil from Germany named Ludwig van Beethoven. Concerts are staged here, and there are activities for children.
Save on the entrance fee by purchasing a combined ticket for Mozarthaus Vienna and Haus der Musik for €20.
Standing today as a symbol of architectural overconfidence, the Neue Burg was designed for Emperor Franz Josef in 1869 as a "new château" that was part of a much larger scheme meant to make the Hofburg rival the Louvre, if not Versailles. The German architect Gottfried Semper planned a twin of the present Neue Burg on the opposite side of the Heldenplatz, with arches connecting the two with the other pair of twins on the Ringstrasse, the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) and the Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History). But World War I intervened, and with the empire's collapse the Neue Burg became the last in a long series of failed attempts to bring architectural order to the Hofburg. Today the Neue Burg houses four specialty museums: the Imperial Armor Collection, the Collection of Historical Musical Instruments, the Ephesos Museum, and the Ethnological Museum.
The centerpiece of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, one of the grandest Baroque libraries in the world, is the spectacular Prunksaal—Grand Hall—which probably contains more book treasures than any comparable collection outside the Vatican. The main entrance to the ornate reading room is in the left corner of Josefsplatz. Designed by Fischer von Erlach the Elder just before his death in 1723 and completed by his son, the Grand Hall is full-blown high Baroque, with trompe-l'oeil ceiling frescoes by Daniel Gran. Twice a year, special exhibits highlight some of the finest and rarest tomes, well documented in German and English. From 1782, Mozart performed here regularly at the Sunday matinees of Baron Gottfried van Swieten, who lived in a suite of rooms in the grand, palacelike library. Four years later the baron founded the Society of Associated Cavaliers, which set up oratorio performances with Mozart acting as conductor. Across the street at Palais Palffy, Mozart reportedly first performed The Marriage of Figaro before a select, private audience to see if it would pass the court censor.
Vienna's soaring centerpiece, this beloved cathedral enshrines the heart of the city—although when first built in the 12th century it stood outside the city walls. Vienna can thank a period of hard times for the Catholic Church for the cathedral's distinctive silhouette. Originally the structure was to have had matching 445-foot-high spires, a standard design of the era, but funds ran out, and the north tower to this day remains a happy reminder of what gloriously is not. The lack of symmetry creates an imbalance that makes the cathedral instantly identifiable from its profile alone. Like the Staatsoper and some other major buildings, it was very heavily damaged in World War II, but reconstruction loans have been utilized to restore the cathedral's former beauty. Decades of pollution have blackened the exterior, which is being painstakingly cleaned using only brushes and water, so as not to destroy the facade with chemicals.
It's difficult now to tell what was original and which parts of the walls and vaults were reconstructed. No matter: its history-rich atmosphere is dear to all Viennese. That noted, St. Stephen's has a fierce presence that is blatantly un-Viennese. It's a stylistic jumble ranging from 13th-century Romanesque to 15th-century Gothic. Like the exterior, St. Stephen's interior lacks the soaring unity of Europe's greatest Gothic cathedrals, much of its decoration dating from the later Baroque era.
One particularly masterly work should be seen by everyone: the stone pulpit attached to the second freestanding pier on the left of the central nave, carved by Anton Pilgram between 1510 and 1550. The delicacy of its decoration would in itself set the pulpit apart, but even more intriguing are its five sculpted figures. Carved around the outside of the pulpit proper are the four Church Fathers (from left to right: St. Augustine, St. Gregory, St. Jerome, and St. Ambrose), and each is given an individual personality so sharply etched as to suggest satire, perhaps of living models. There is no satire suggested by the fifth figure, however; below the pulpit's stairs Pilgram sculpted a fine self-portrait, showing himself peering out a half-open window.
As you stroll through the aisles, remember that many notable events occurred here, including Mozart's marriage in 1782 and his funeral in December 1791.
The bird's-eye views from the cathedral's beloved
Vying with St. Stephen's Cathedral for the honor of the emotional heart of the city, the opera house is a focus for Viennese life and one of the chief symbols of resurgence after World War II. Its directorship is one of the top jobs in Austria, almost as important as that of the country's president, and one that draws even more public attention. The first of the Ringstrasse projects to be completed (in 1869), the opera house suffered disastrous bomb damage in the last days of World War II—only the outer walls, the front facade, and the main staircase survived. The auditorium is plain when compared to the red-and-gold eruptions of London's Covent Garden or some of the Italian opera houses, but it has an elegant individuality that it shows off beautifully when the stage and auditorium are turned into a ballroom for the great Opera Ball.
The construction of the opera house is the stuff of legend. When the foundation was laid, the plans for the Opernring were not yet complete, and in the end the avenue turned out to be several feet higher than originally planned. As a result, the opera house lacked the commanding prospect that its architects, Eduard van der Nüll and August Sicard von Sicardsburg, had intended. Even Emperor Franz Josef pronounced the building a bit low to the ground. For the sensitive van der Nüll (and here the story becomes a bit suspect), failing his beloved emperor was the last straw. In disgrace and despair, he committed suicide. Sicardsburg died of grief shortly thereafter. And the emperor, horrified at the deaths his innocuous remark had caused, limited all his future artistic pronouncements to a single immutable formula: "Es war sehr schön, es hat mich sehr gefreut" ("It was very nice, it pleased me very much").
Renovation could not avoid a postwar look, for the cost of fully restoring the 19th-century interior was prohibitive. The original design was followed in the 1945–1955 reconstruction, meaning that sight lines from some of the front boxes are poor at best. These disappointments hardly detract from the fact that this is one of the world's half-dozen greatest opera houses, and experiencing a performance here can be the highlight of a trip to Vienna. If tickets are sold out, some performances are shown live on a huge screen outside on Karajanplatz. Tours of the opera house are given regularly, but starting times vary according to rehearsals; the current schedule is posted under the arcades on both sides of the building. Under the arcade on the Kärntnerstrasse side is an information office that also sells tickets to the main opera and the Volksoper.
If the teachers here had admitted Adolf Hitler as an art student in 1907 and 1908 instead of rejecting him, history might have proved very different. The Academy was founded in 1692, but the present Renaissance Revival building dates from the late 19th century. The idea was conservatism and traditional values, even in the face of a growing movement that scorned formal rules. The Academy includes a museum focusing on Old Masters. The collection is mainly of interest to specialists, but Hieronymus Bosch's Last Judgment triptych hangs here—an imaginative, if gruesome, speculation on the hereafter.
Opposite the Bohemian Chancery stands the Altes Rathaus, dating from the 14th century but displaying 18th-century Baroque motifs on its facade.
In the Middle Ages, the ruling Babenberg family built its castle on what is today's Vienna's oldest square, the Am Hof (which translates to "at court"). The Mariansäule—or Marian Column—was erected in 1667 to mark victory in the Thirty Years' War. The onetime Civic Armory at the northwest corner has been used as a fire station since 1685 (the high-spirited facade, with its Hapsburg eagle, was "Baroqued" in 1731). The complex includes a firefighting museum that's open on Sunday mornings. Presiding over the east side of the square is the noted Kirche Am Hof, formerly a Jesuit monastery and now a Croatian church. At No.13 is the fairly stolid 17th-century Palais Collalto, famous as the setting for Mozart's first public engagement at the age of six. In Bognergasse, to the right of the church, is the Engel Apotheke (pharmacy) at No. 9, with a Jugendstil mosaic depicting winged women collecting the elixir of life in outstretched chalices. At the turn of the 20th century, the inner city was dotted with storefronts decorated in a similar manner; today this is the sole survivor. A fantastic permanent light installation, Olafur Eliasson's "Yellow Fog" transforms the square into a supernatural wonder for an hour at sunset each day.
From March through November, there is an art and antiques market every Friday and Saturday from 10 to 5. Am Hof also hosts one of Vienna's celebrated Christmas and Easter markets.
Built during the 14th century and presenting the most unified Gothic interior in the city, the church is something of a fraud—the interior dates from the late 18th century, not the early 14th—though the view from the entrance doorway is stunning: a soaring harmony of vertical piers, ribbed vaults, and hanging chandeliers that makes Vienna's other Gothic interiors look earthbound by comparison. Napoléon was wed here, as were Emperor Franz Josef and his beloved Sisi. Note on the right the magnificent
This architectural jewel of the Inner City was built between 1708 and 1714 by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. He and his contemporary, Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, were the reigning architectural geniuses of Baroque-era Vienna. They designed their churches and palaces during the building boom that followed the defeat of the Turks in 1683. Both had studied architecture in Rome, and both were deeply impressed by the work of the great Italian architect Francesco Borromini, who brought to his designs a freedom of invention that was looked upon with horror by most contemporary Romans. But for Fischer von Erlach and Hildebrandt, Borromini's ideas were a source of triumphant architectural inspiration, and when they returned to Vienna they produced between them many of the city's most beautiful buildings. Alas, narrow Wipplingerstrasse allows little more than an oblique view of this florid facade. The rear of the building, on Judenplatz, is less elaborate but gives a better idea of the design concept. The building first served as the offices of Bohemia's representatives to the Vienna-based monarchy, and still houses government offices today.
The intimate Burggarten in back of the Neue Burg is a quiet oasis that includes a statue of a contemplative Franz Josef and an elegant statue of Mozart, moved here from the Albertinaplatz after the war, when the city's charred ruins were being rebuilt. Today the park is a favored time-out spot for the Viennese; an alluring backdrop is formed by the striking former greenhouses, now the gorgeous Palmenhaus restaurant and the Schmetterlinghaus. Enchantment awaits you at Vienna's unique Butterfly House. Inside are towering tropical trees, waterfalls, a butterfly nursery, and more than 150 species on display (usually 400 winged jewels are in residence).
One of the most important theaters in the German-speaking world, the Burgtheater was built between 1874 and 1888 in the Italian Renaissance style, replacing the old court theater at Michaelerplatz. Emperor Franz Josef's mistress, Katherina Schratt, was once a star performer here, and famous Austrian and German actors still stride across this stage. The opulent interior, with its 60-foot relief Worshippers of Bacchus by Rudolf Wyer and lobby ceiling frescoes by Ernst and Gustav Klimt, makes it well worth a visit.
See pianos that belonged to Brahms, Schumann, and Mahler, along with collections of a variety of ancient and antique instruments in this Neue Burg museum. Also here is Anton Karas's zither, on which he played the theme to The Third Man.
The Postgasse, to the east of Schönlaterngasse, introduces this unexpected visitor from Rome, built in the 1630s, some 50 years before the Viennese Baroque building boom. Its facade is modeled after the Roman churches of the 16th century. The interior illustrates why the Baroque style came to be considered the height of bad taste during the 19th century (and it still has many detractors today). "Sculpt 'til you drop" seems to have been the motto here, and the viewer's eye is given no respite. This sort of Roman architectural orgy never really gained a foothold in Vienna, and when the great Viennese architects did pull out all the decorative stops at the Belvedere Palace, they did it in a very different style and with far greater success.
The tiny Ephesos Museum contains a small but exceptional collection of Roman antiquities unearthed by Austrian archaeologists in Turkey at the turn of the 20th century.
The architectural jewel of Himmelpfortgasse, this imposing abode—designed by Fischer von Erlach in 1697 and later expanded by Hildebrandt—was originally the town palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy. The Baroque details here are among the most inventive and beautifully executed in the city. The delightful motifs are softly carved, as if freshly squeezed from a pastry tube. Such Baroque elegance may seem inappropriate for a finance ministry, but the contrast between place and purpose could hardly be more Viennese.
This square, whose name means "freeing"—so called, according to lore, because for many centuries monks at the adjacent Schottenkirche had the privilege of offering sanctuary for three days to anyone on the lam. In the center of the square stands the allegorical
The Schottenhof, the shaded courtyard at Freyung 6, typifies the change that came over Viennese architecture during the Biedermeier era (1815–1848). The Viennese, according to the traditional view, were so relieved to be rid of the upheavals of the Napoleonic Wars that they accepted without protest the iron-handed repression of Prince Metternich, chancellor of Austria. Restraint also ruled in architecture; Baroque license was rejected in favor of a new and historically "correct" style that was far more controlled and reserved. Kornhäusel led the way in establishing this trend in Vienna; his Schottenhof facade is all sober organization and frank repetition. But in its marriage of strong and delicate forces it still pulls off the great Viennese-waltz trick of successfully merging seemingly antithetical characteristics.
Across the street from the Café Central, the beautifully renovated Palais Mollard has a rare collection of more than 240 terrestrial and celestial globes on display in its second-floor museum—the only one of its kind in the world open to the public. The oldest is a globe of the Earth dating from 1536, produced by Gemma Frisius, a Belgian doctor and cosmographer. On the ground floor is a small but fascinating Esperanto museum, which explores the history of Esperanto and other planned languages. Both museums are run by the Austrian National Library.
Designed by the late Hans Hollein, one of Austria's best-known contemporary architects, who died in 2014, the Haas-Haus is one of Vienna's more controversial buildings. The modern lines contrast sharply with the venerable walls of St. Stephen's just across the way, which can be seen in the mirrored facade of the Haas-Haus. It now houses the Do & Co. Hotel as well as shops and offices.
One of Vienna's newest museums explores what it means to be Austrian today through the lens of culture and events since the founding of the democratic republic in 1918. Exhibits tackle themes from the growth of fascism, Nazi occupation, post-WWII development, inequality, and immigration. You'll find everything from original footage of Vienna after the end of the First World War, displays on the complicity of locals in the rise of fascism, the dress that Austria's most famous drag queen Conchita Wurst wore when she won the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest for Austria, and the infamous USB stick with “Ibiza” footage that brought down the Austrian government in 2019.
Off the narrow streets and alleys behind the Stephansdom is this peaceful spot, approximately ½ km (¼ mile) from the cathedral. The beautiful Baroque courtyard has the distinct feeling of a retreat into the 18th century.
The Neue Burg was never completed and so the Heldenplatz was left without a discernible shape, but the space is punctuated by two superb equestrian statues depicting Archduke Karl and Prince Eugene of Savoy. The older section on the north includes the offices of the federal president.
The maze of tiny streets surrounding Himmelpfortgasse (literally, "Gates of Heaven Street") conjures up the Vienna of the 19th century. The most impressive house on the street is the Ministry of Finance. The rear of the Steffl department store on Rauhensteingasse now marks the site of the house in which Mozart died in 1791. There's a commemorative plaque that once identified the street-side site.
Fittingly, this is the main venue for the beloved Vienna Boys' Choir, since the group has its roots in the Hofmusikkapelle choir founded by Emperor Maximilian I five centuries ago (Haydn and Schubert were both participants as young boys). The choir sings mass here at 9:15 on Sunday from mid-September to June. Be aware that you hear the choirboys but don't see them; soprano and alto voices peal forth from a gallery behind the seating area.
Home to one of the most extensive arms and armor collections in the world, the Imperial Armory displays the armor and ornamental weapons of almost all western European princes from the 15th to the early 20th centuries. It's located within the Neue Burg museum complex, and you can enter at the triumphal arch set into the middle of the curved portion of the facade.
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