Best Museums Vienna

Vienna has many things to see and do if you come on holiday. But one of its greatest attractions is undoubtedly the large number of museums it has. Despite not being one of the largest cities on the continent, there are more than 100 museums.

National history, classical art, modern art, architecture, natural history... In Vienna you will find a museum to suit your tastes and preferences. That's why in this article I'm going to make a list of the most popular and important museums so you can make the most of your visit to the Austrian capital.

Also called the Kunsthistorisches Museum, this museum has one of the largest art collections in the world, focusing mostly on classical works by the most renowned painters in the history of art. If you like the works of Velazquez, Rubens or Tizziano, this museum will take your breath away.

Located a few steps from the Imperial Palace, the Museum of Art History was built in the mid-19th century to house all the works that the Empire had, becoming consolidated with the largest Bruegel collection in the world. Over time, its heritage has grown and today it houses a carefully selected and extensive collection of paintings that cover the entire history of Western art and even has Oriental and Egyptian exhibits.

Practical information

• Price: Tickets to the museum cost around €20 and discounts are available with the Vienna City Card and free admission with the Vienna Pass.
• Location: The museum is located on Maria-Theresien-Platz, near the Volkstheater station which can be reached by metro, bus or tram.
• Opening hours: daily from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm, except for Mondays when it is closed.
• Recommended for: those interested in learning more about the history of Western art and seeing original exhibits.

The Albertina Museum is one of the most important museums in Vienna, bringing together an enormous collection of paintings ranging from classical works such as Dürer's "The Hare" to studies and sketches by Bohemian artists such as Monet and avant-garde artists such as Klimt.

Founded by Duke Albert of Sachsen-Teschen, this museum is part of the south wing of the Imperial Palace, one of the largest Habsburg royal residences. It is notable for its original works by artists of the Modern Age, particularly French Impressionism and the Russian avant-garde. If you are interested in all this artistic period, the Albertina Museum will undoubtedly fascinate you.

Practical information

• Price: Admission to all sections is approximately €25 but you can get discounts with the Vienna City Card and free access with the Vienna Pass.
• Location: located at Albertinaplatz 1, on one side of the Royal Palace. You can get there by bus (Albertinaplatz) or tram (Karlsplatz).
• Opening hours: open daily from 10am to 6pm and Wednesdays and Fridays until 9pm.
• Recommended for: All lovers of the modern period, avant-garde art and mid-20th century European artists.

One of the most important artistic expressions in Vienna has been that of Modernism and if there is a museum in the city that best captures this aspect it is undoubtedly the Leopold Museum, a large building with four floors and almost 5,000 square metres that covers a large part of European modernist art. Its founder, Dr. Rudolf Leopold, was a great art enthusiast and managed to bring together hundreds of exhibits that are now on public display.

Among the museum's gems are the large collection of Egon Schiele, as well as original works by Klimt, Art Nouveau and Expressionism. If you want to get to know all the characteristics and examples of modern Viennese art up close, this museum is ideal, and it is also one of the most visited in the city.

Practical information

• Price: General admission costs around €15 but is covered by the Vienna Pass and Vienna City Card discounts.
• Location: The Leopold Museum is located at Museumsplatz 1, near the Volkstheater metro station.
• Opening hours: Open every day of the year from 10am to 6pm.
• Recommended for: All tourists who want to visit one of the most important museums in the city and see the main examples of modern Viennese art.

If you like to visit museums on holiday but don't always want them to be art galleries, I've got a museum for you that won't disappoint. The Natural History Museum, also called Naturhistorisches Museum, is one of the largest displays of nature and living things in Europe. With almost 10 million specimens, this museum claims to have a record of the entire history of the earth.

In its different sections you can see all kinds of stuffed insects, fossils, extinct animals or even some that are nowadays in danger of extinction. It also has a valuable display of objects and utensils from the entire Palaeolithic period, crowned with one of the jewels, the "Venus of Willendorf", dated at almost 30,000 years old. An ideal museum to see with the family, especially if you are travelling with children, as it is quite entertaining to see.

Practical information

• Price: Tickets cost around €15. However, children under the age of 20 can get in for free, as well as discounts with the Vienna City Card.
• Location: Located on Maria-Theresien-Platz, just a short walk from the Volkstheater metro, bus and tram stop.
• Opening hours: Open daily from 9.00 am to 6.30 pm, except Tuesdays when it is closed.
• Recommended for: People with a curiosity for natural history who want to see samples from all periods of mankind first hand.

Vienna is one of Europe's cradles of music, having played host to composers such as Mozart and Beethoven. Moreover, its Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the most important in the world. It is therefore no surprise that it has one of the most interesting and popular museums dedicated to music.

The House of Music is one of the obligatory stops on Vienna's cultural offerings and inside you will not only be able to review the entire history of music that has been experienced over the years, but you can also interact with dynamic exhibitions in which you can listen to and learn music in a different way. A fun and educational plan ideal for the whole family to enjoy good music in the capital.

Practical information

• Price: general admission to the House of Music costs around €15, although there are discounts with the Vienna City Card and free entry with the Vienna Pass.
• Location: The House of Music is located very close to the Karlsplatz metro stop at Seilerstätte 30.
• Opening hours: Open daily from 10am to 9pm.
• Recommended for: Families who want to spend a fun time learning music in an interactive museum.

Are you familiar with **Klimt'**s famous painting "The Kiss"? Well, if you're in Vienna you're in luck because the original work is housed in the spectacular Belvedere Museum. This collection is housed in a spectacular Baroque-style building commissioned by Prince Eugene of Savoy in the 18th century and currently houses a large part of Klimt's collection as well as those of other renowned artists.

It currently has seven large thematic rooms where you can see not only modernist works such as those by Klimt, but also examples from the Middle Ages, the Baroque and the neoclassical period. The lower part of the palace has beautiful gardens from where you can enjoy the impressive façade of the palace.

Practical information

• Price: the price ranges from €15 to €20 and is covered by the Vienna Pass as well as the Vienna City Card discounts.
• Location: The Belvederee Museum is located at Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27, opposite the Schloss Belvedere tram station.
• Opening hours: Open daily from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
• Recommended for: Klimt enthusiasts and anyone who is curious about Viennese art.

Vienna is the cradle of Modern Art and of the culture that has marked the whole of Europe. But if you want to change the subject and get to know a bit more new art, the Mumok could become one of your favourite places to visit, with works by the world's most revolutionary modern artists such as Andy Wharhol and Yoko Ono.

With almost 9,000 works, the Mumok has one of the most important collections of contemporary art on the continent, including photographs, sculptures, films and architectural exhibits. The building alone is impressive, consisting of a huge mass of geometric concrete. If you want to see the most transcendental representations of Futurism, Pop Art, Actionism or Fluxus up close, you can find them all in this museum.

Practical information

• Price: General admission is around €15 but is covered by the Vienna Pass and you can get discounts with the Vienna City Card.
• Location: This museum is located at Museumsplatz 1, very close to the Volkstheater metro, tram and bus station.
• Opening hours: The museum is open daily from 10am to 6pm.
• Recommended for: All lovers of modern and contemporary art who want to see one of the largest exhibitions of European and international art.

It is often thought that art can only be found in galleries and paintings. But haven't you ever looked at a façade or a building and been amazed? Architecture is the perfect balance between science and art and that is why in Vienna a museum has been dedicated to it, the only one in the whole country, where you can see a sample of the limits of architecture and all that it is capable of doing.

This museum is not only for experts in the profession, but for everyone who wants to learn a little more. And I can assure you that you will be surprised, as you will be able to see such curious examples as the proportions of a Barbie doll or the structure of a Lego construction. Without a doubt, this is a didactic and interactive museum that is a departure from the more classic museum tours in Vienna.

Practical information

• Price: the general price is around €10, which can be reduced to around €5 with the Vienna City Card discounts.
• Location: MuseumsQuartier, Museumsplatz 1, near the Volkstheater station.
• Opening hours: open daily from 10am to 7pm.
• Recommended for: Anyone looking for a different kind of museum and to learn more about architecture.

The Imperial Palace is a huge, must-see complex in Vienna. Of course, it can be crazy to try to see it all in one go. That's why if you want to make the most of your visit, I recommend you to go to one of the rooms you can't miss; the Empress Sissi Museum.

Elisabeth of Bavaria, more popularly known as Empress Sissi, was the last Empress of Austria and her tragic death aroused the curiosity of many to the point of making her the star of a film phenomenon in the 1950s. But above all, she was a controversial woman who left a great legacy during her time in the Empire.

Her museum is one of the jewels of the Imperial Hofburg Palace and houses all kinds of engravings of Sisi, as well as reproductions of jewellery, photographs, paintings of her slender body and even the dress in which she suffered the attack in Geneva that killed her. If you are interested in Vienna's imperial past, you will enjoy this museum.

Practical information

• Price: you can get in with the general admission ticket to the Imperial Palace, which costs around €20.
• Location: The museum is located inside the Imperial Palace, at Michaelerkuppel, 1010, near the Herrengasse metro stop.
• Opening hours: daily from 10am to 5pm.
• Recommended for: Anyone who would like to learn more about Austria's imperial history and the historical figure of Elisabeth of Bavaria.

More than 50 years ago, Vienna became the setting for one of the most important films of the time, "The Third Man". The film was a showcase for the ravages of the Second World War and the division of the city by the Allies. The film was so important for the history of the city that a museum has even been created to focus on the period.

The Third Man Museum is designed not only for fans of the film, but also for those who want to learn a little more about what Vienna was like in the 1950s and how it experienced the ravages of war and the division of the city. Around its 13 rooms you can see parts of the original cast of the film as well as real objects from everyday life at the time.

Practical information

• Price: the price is usually around €10.
• Location: The museum is located at Pressgasse 25, near the Kettenbrückengasse metro station.
• Opening hours: The museum is open every Saturday from 2pm to 6pm.
• Recommended for: All film lovers and people interested in learning more about post-war Vienna.

Vienna is a city brimming with culture. From the Middle Ages to the present day, the city has monuments and museums everywhere from every artistic period. That's why, if you come on holiday to the Austrian capital, you should know that many of the obligatory stops are museums.

In Vienna, practically all museums are paid museums and that's why, if you intend to visit more than one or two museums during your stay in the city, the best thing to do is to get the Vienna Pass, a card that will save you money and that will allow you to enter the vast majority of museums in Vienna.

It costs around €80 but will give you access to over 60 tourist attractions including almost all of the city's museums.