Vienna Schonbrunn Palace Tickets and Tours
Visiting Schonbrunn Palace or attending a classical music concert inside the palace will definitely be one of the highlights of your trip.
Arch of Schoenbrunn Palace | ©Ben Preater
The 17th century palace in which monarchs and emperors have lived is one of Vienna's and the country's proudest landmarks. 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 sightseeing 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.
Schoenbrunn Palace is a bit far from the centre of Vienna and, although it can be reached by public transport, it is always advisable that if you are going to book a tour, the transfer is included.
After your guided tour of the palace you will have free time to explore the gardens and the surrounding area at your own leisure before returning to your starting point in the centre 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 maximise 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 can discover countless corners of the Austrian capital. You will have access to a sightseeing bus with free stops and free access to more than 70 attractions such as Schonbrunn Palace.
If you are a Vienna Pass holder, you are in luck: the Grand Tour of Schönbrunn Palace is completely free of charge. If you are not aware of its existence, this card is a city pass specially designed so that travellers who visit Vienna pay a fixed price and can therefore access the city's different museums and monuments for free or at a discount for as long as they have it active.
If you're visiting Schoenbrunn Palace, you're likely to benefit from 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 full tour of Schoenbrunn Palace throughout the 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
After dinner, you will enjoy an hour and a half concert in the Palace Orangery. The performance is 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 at Schoenbrunn Palace
When we talk about Schoenbrunn Castle or Schoenbrunn Palace, we are referring to the whole complex, which includes the Palace and the gardens with their different areas.
While there is an entrance fee to visit the interior of the palace (depending on whether you want to visit all the rooms or not), the main gardens are free of charge (although you will have to pay extra to access some specific areas or buy the Classic Pass, which includes the complete tour of the palace interior).
- The private rooms and flats 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 Grand Gallery: A 40m long ballroom with Baroque decoration and frescoes by Gregorio Guglielmi.
- The Salon of the Million: Part of Maria Theresa's flats, theSalon of the Million is decorated with meticulous woodwork.
- The Antique Lacquer Room: Covered with black lacquer imported from Peking after the death of Francis of Lorraine.
- The Blue Chinese Room: This room is where the abdication of Charles I took place in 1918.
What to see in the gardens
The garden area also includes the Orangery, where classical music concerts are held, a puppet theatre and the carriage museum, but what you should not miss is the Orangery:
- The main gardens: they are located in front of the palace and are free of charge. Don't rush through them and take note of the statues and fountains that dot them; it's a very pleasant walk.
- The gazebo in front of the palace: at the top of the gazebo is a restaurant which isn't exactly cheap, but after the climb you can treat yourself to a drink overlooking the extraordinary gardens. Get your camera ready.
- The labyrinth: 630 metres of plant path that will delight the little ones, with a giant kaleidoscope made of mirrors.
- The Crown Prince's Garden: only visited in summer, this 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 buy tickets to visit Schoenbrunn Palace: at the ticket office and online.
At the ticket office
If you buy your tickets at the ticket office, regardless of the time of year, you will have to wait in long queues and the price savings will be minimal, so my recommendation is to buy your tickets online in advance.
Online
In addition to detailing the combination ticket options for Schoenbrunn Palace that, for me, are most worthwhile, I will give you some recommendations for buying online. You will find a multitude of options, always make sure that the company you book your Schoenbrunn Palace tickets with is reputable.
Choose an option that offers free cancellation with a minimum of advance notice to allow for unforeseen circumstances. Most combination tickets include access to all rooms of the palace (Grand Tour), but it is worth checking as 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; don't hesitate to choose it as it is well worth it.
How to plan your visit to Schoenbrunn Palace
How to get to Schoenbrunn
The Schoenbrunn area is a bit out of the centre, but you have several options to get there easily from the main points of Vienna's city centre. If you book a guided tour, the transfer is probably included, otherwise you can get there by underground (line U4), tram (lines 10 and 58) or bus (line 10A).
Opening hours
The Palace opens every day at 8.30am (my recommendation is to go early in the morning so that the tour is less crowded), but depending on the time of year it may close between 5pm and 6.30pm. The last entrance is always one hour before closing time, so don't rush during your visit.
When to go
Like all tourist attractions, it is best to visit in the low season (winter) to avoid crowds. However, spring is when the gardens are at their best. In summer you'll be hotter and you'll find more tourists visiting the palace, but don't miss it.
Length of visit
I recommend setting aside a whole morning to see the entire Schoenbrunn Palace complex. Although the recommended duration of a visit inside the palace is two hours, you'll have plenty of time to stop in the gift shop and, above all, to walk around and photograph the gardens and the exterior of the palace.
Visit with children
If you are visiting the complex with children, you will be pleased to know that on Saturdays and public holidays there is 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 Schönbrunn Palace, you will also be interested in
When I visited Schönbrunn Palace for the first time, 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 centre, you are sure to discover more interesting details about the city. In this article by Best Tours and Day Trips from Vienna you can consult the different options.