History · Vienna · Austria
8 historic sites to see in Vienna
The places that tell the story of how the city came to be.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Daniel Zupanc, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Schönbrunn Palace, Hofburg Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum and Spanish Riding School. Together the 8 picks below take roughly 16–20 hours across 4 areas; 2 are free.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 8
- Free entry
- 2
- Time to see them all
- 16–20 hours
- Areas
- Hietzing, Innere Stadt and Ringstrasse
Historic sites in Vienna
Palace · Hietzing
1.Schönbrunn Palace
The vast baroque gardens, free to enter, climb to the Gloriette colonnade, with a view back over the palace and the city.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- History
- Architecture
- Views
- Kids
Palace · Innere Stadt
2.Hofburg Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum
One ticket covers the Imperial Silver Collection, the Sisi Museum about Empress Elisabeth and the Imperial Apartments of Franz Joseph and Sisi. Elsewhere in the complex, the Imperial Treasury displays the crown of the Holy Roman Empire.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- History
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Experience · Innere Stadt
3.Spanish Riding School
Gala performances are the highlight; morning training sessions with music are a cheaper way to see the horses.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
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Religious site · Innere Stadt
4.St Stephen's Cathedral
A lift in the north tower reaches the Pummerin bell, and the catacombs hold urns containing the organs of Habsburg rulers.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Architecture
- History
- Views
Museum · Innere Stadt
5.Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Habsburg art collection fills a palatial building of 1891 on the Ring, with the world's largest group of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, including Hunters in the Snow and The Tower of Babel, Vermeer's The Art of Painting, Caravaggio, Titian and Rubens, plus an Egyptian collection and the Kunstkammer of curiosities.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- Rainy day
- History
Street · Ringstrasse
6.Ringstrasse by tram
Regular trams run along much of it, and a yellow sightseeing tram does the full loop with commentary.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
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Historic site · Simmering
7.Central Cemetery
Group 32A holds the honorary graves of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Johann Strauss, with a memorial to Mozart, and the Art Nouveau Church of St Charles Borromeo stands at its centre.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Outdoors
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Museum · Innere Stadt
8.Natural History Museum
The twin of the Kunsthistorisches Museum across Maria-Theresien-Platz displays the Venus of Willendorf, a limestone figurine about 30,000 years old, a dinosaur hall, one of the world's largest meteorite collections and halls of minerals and animals in their original 19th-century cabinets.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
- Nature
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Hietzing | Schönbrunn Palace | Half a day |
| Innere Stadt | Hofburg Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum, Spanish Riding School, St Stephen's Cathedral, Kunsthistorisches Museum and Natural History Museum | 2–3 hours + 1–1.5 hours + 1–1.5 hours + 3 hours + 2–3 hours |
| Ringstrasse | Ringstrasse by tram | 30 minutes–2 hours |
| Simmering | Central Cemetery | 1.5–2 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 8, 2 free, 1 low cost, 5 mid-priced. Book ahead for Schönbrunn Palace and Spanish Riding School. The longest visit is Schönbrunn Palace; group the rest by area to save travel time.
- Schönbrunn Palace: Palace tours use timed tickets that sell out in summer and at weekends; book online in advance.
- Spanish Riding School: Performances sell out weeks ahead; book on the official site.
How to fit them into 5 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Hietzing): Schönbrunn Palace, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Innere Stadt): Hofburg Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum → Spanish Riding School, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Innere Stadt): St Stephen's Cathedral → Kunsthistorisches Museum, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 4 (Innere Stadt and Ringstrasse): Natural History Museum → Ringstrasse by tram, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 5 (Simmering): Central Cemetery, at least 2 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- February: highs of 5°C (41°F), about 6 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cold with occasional snow; carnival-season balls peak, culminating in the Opera Ball.
- January: highs of 3°C (37°F), about 7 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cold and often grey, but the ball season is in full swing and museums and coffee houses are cosy and quiet.
- March: highs of 10°C (50°F), about 7 rainy days, quiet crowds. Changeable early spring weather, with the first café terraces and Easter markets appearing.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Innere Stadt — The historic 1st district inside the Ring: cathedral, Hofburg and classic coffee houses
- Hietzing — Villas and green streets around Schönbrunn Palace
More of Vienna
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Vienna?
Schönbrunn Palace. The Habsburg summer residence has 1,441 rooms, of which around 40 are shown on the Grand Tour, including the Hall of Mirrors where the six-year-old Mozart performed for Maria Theresa.
+Which of these are free in Vienna?
St Stephen's Cathedral and Central Cemetery.