Visiting Secession Building

About Secession Building

Built in 1898 for the Vienna Secession artists' group, this white exhibition hall is crowned by a dome of gilded laurel leaves, nicknamed the golden cabbage. In the basement is Gustav Klimt's Beethoven Frieze, a 34-metre painted cycle inspired by Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Tip: Read the motto over the entrance — 'To every age its art, to art its freedom' — then go straight down to the Beethoven Frieze.

Plan your visit

• Time needed: 1 hour.
• Cost: Low cost.
• Book ahead: not usually needed; buy on arrival.
• Where: Wieden, karlskirche, the Naschmarkt and the galleries and bistros of the Freihausviertel.

Best time to visit Secession Building

Secession Building is indoors, which makes it a good plan for the wettest months:

• May: 21°C (70°F) highs, about 8 rainy days, busy crowds.
• June: 24°C (75°F) highs, about 8 rainy days, busy crowds.
• July: 26°C (79°F) highs, about 8 rainy days, very busy crowds.

When to visit Vienna has the full month-by-month picture.

Fit it into your trip

Secession Building is not on our short itineraries, so plan it as an extra once you have seen Schönbrunn Palace and Hofburg Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum.

• No. 16 of the 20 sights in our Vienna things-to-do list.
• Day 5 of the 5-day plan.
• One of the picks in museums in Vienna.
• One of the picks in vienna on a rainy day.

Near Secession Building

Also in Wieden, so you can walk between them:

• Naschmarkt — 1.5–2 hours, free

If you like Secession Building

• Hofburg Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum — Innere Stadt, 2–3 hours
• Belvedere — Landstraße, 2 hours
• Kunsthistorisches Museum — Innere Stadt, 3 hours
• Albertina — Innere Stadt, 2 hours

Staying near Secession Building

Stay in Wieden ($$$) to walk here: karlskirche, the Naschmarkt and the galleries and bistros of the Freihausviertel. All areas to stay in Vienna.

Questions travellers ask