UNBELIEVABLY cool museum. why do y'all have ten Rembrandt just sitting there FIRST of all…read more not going to lie to you, special exhibit on coins or whateva was very small. two display cases. but that's chill lowk. Other special exhibit on those landscape painters was awesome, no-brainer to have those works of Vienna in Vienna are you kidding? phenomenal work team. 10/10 on that one, notes and explanations very informative and explanatory (as they should be) main collection - breathtaking ngl. room after room of masterworks (that ive seen before! ) and had no idea that were here. enormous religious works to chiaroscuro tea and dutch floral still lives and Velasquez Hapsburg portraits and actually good interesting vanitas that isn't just pandering wannabe goth slop yes yes yes. fire. there was one painting of a guy made entirely of fish and that really made my day. good job guys. the organization of the main collection was a little bit crazy but it's completely fine, honestly added to the awe of it all kunstkammer or whatever the fuh the royals' own art collection was genuinely amazing if you guys were forced to pick a floor of this place to save from a fire it better be this one. unfortunately on par/better than the painting collection sorry if that's potentially explosive and controversial. architecture fire and tea, decor excellent roman/greek/egyptian I did NOT get to see because of the closing time... my fault I got there at three mb mb mb . . . . . return that stuff to Egypt tho y'all why is a sarcophagus on the Danube anyways 10.5/10 if you miss this you better not ever forgive yourself

The kunsthistorisches museum Is meant to be one of the largest art museums in Austria…read more The building itself is a work of art and worth seeing the interior. The sweeping staircase is stunning - marble, gold, frescoed ceiling. We went to the picture gallery, upstairs. It's full of paintings by the European old masters. The modernists are more my thing, but this was lovely to see and in a beautiful setting too. Highly recommend for fans of baroque, renaissance, and late gothic art. We bought a few things in the gift shop and wandered off for more Vienna sightseeing.

What a treat!!! A beautiful palace, stunning grounds, and a world-class art museum all in one…read more.. WOW!! A must visit while in Vienna. We purchased skip-the-line tickets via Viator and rented the self-guided audio headsets (I think they were around $5 each, maybe a little more). The collection of art is beautiful, spanning many different periods. Their most famous piece is Klimt's The Kiss. I'll be honest -- I didn't know much about Gustav Klimt before, but after seeing his work, I'm now a big fan. After touring the art museum, stroll through the vast gardens. They are beautiful, both in the front and back.

We booked the upper Belvedere only (wanted to see Kimt's Kiss). Booked online through the website,…read moremanaged to snag the only early spot left. Booked that morning over breakfast. Got there 15 mins after our time slot started (9:15). It was great, no line, sailed right in. Noted other time slots had a significant wait. Hands down, it's a gorgeous building. That stair case and grand room took my breath away. Some gorgeous sculptures, paintings, rooms and ceilings. And then a stroll afterwards in the gorgeous gardens. Those gardens would be beautiful to sit with a coffee or a snack on a nice day. Recommend!!

If you're in Vienna 1st district, have short spare time and don't want to walk or transport far for…read morea world class museum visit, Albertina fits the bill perfectly. Currently they have a selection of "Monet bis Picasso" exhibit that is definitely worth the visit. Small gallery, well curated, crowded depending on the time, but nowhere near Belvedere or Louvre craziness.

It's not a huge museum, but the Albertina packs a lot of world-class stuff. If you're into…read moreImpressionist art, you'll find a good amount here. The "Monet to Picasso" exhibit is well-curated and you'll definitely enjoy their collection. The special exhibit they had during my visit was a modern art one, which isn't much my interest but definitely a change from their regular exhibits. Additionally, the museum has staterooms from the old Habsburg days. If you only have time for one small museum in Vienna, this one would be a very good choice.

The Naturhistorisches Museum is an internationally important museum that's definitely worth…read morevisiting if you're in Vienna. The Venus of Willendorf is in her own room. There's an extensive collection of minerals & gemstones, which is very impressive. There are meteorites. There are rooms full of glass cases of taxidermied animals. It can be sad to see, especially when they have many dead individuals from extinct species -- this prompts reflections on how humans have roamed the earth killing so many wonderful beings in the name of science and spectacle. The architecture of the building is beautiful. Major text is often given in English as well as German, though the labels for individual specimens are not necessarily in English.

Time spent visiting a natural history museum in any city is never time wasted, especially one of…read morethis size and spectre. Prices were reasonable for entry and the exhibits were very well done, with not a lot of dinosaur skeletons on exhibit, you can see a wonderful selection of rocks and minerals.

Some construction in the museum, recommended to start at floor 4 and come down…read more Pluses 1. Great early Klimt- death is here- and early Austrian artists with furniture, including Klimt's original furniture he used 2. Open spaces 3. Clean bathrooms but must use ticket to enter by the cafe 4. Cafe available 5. Great gift store Areas to improve 1. Info about each art work is difficult to read, very small print so headphone guides with info may be helpful 2. Elevators very small and doors wouldn't open for a while so be patient Highly recommended and good value.

Leopold Museum, which has the biggest collection of Egon Schiele's works. Egon Schiele was…read moreinteresting. I did not know he was such a narcissistic twat until he went off to WWI and was humbled and matured by the soldiers he met. He really loved his wife, Edith, though who's to say if he would have stayed faithful if they both lived to old age. I had no idea he died at age 28, and he and his wife died within days of each other, and he died on Halloween 1918. There's a painting by Klimt I wanted to see, Death and Life, but unfortunately two of their floors were closed for some renovations, so I was disappointed that I was unable to view it during my visit to Vienna. Very easy to find in MuseumsQuartier, a short walk from Hofburg Palace.

The Vienna Museum of Military History was a super interesting stop we made while in Austria!…read more We popped in while on vacation and it was in the middle of the day during the work week, so it was very light in attendance. That was actually quite nice, as we got to go at our own pace without crowds rushing us along. I'm not too sure how crowded it gets, but the collection was quite nice so hopefully they get busier than what we saw. The museum itself is gorgeous in its architecture and design. The Hall of Fame, right when you come into the main entrance, has beautiful arches and rich red carpets - you truly feel like you're at a royal wedding or something, it's so magnificent. Some of the highlights were the tank garden, the giant French war balloon, and the car in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo, spurring the beginning of WWI (you can even see the bullet holes still showing on it). Oh, and one thing to note about the archduke's car - it appears to just be sitting in the open air on a platform, but there are motion sensors around it so don't get too close. My husband did just that and it set off sirens and some guards came running, but they saw we were just English tourists who didn't read the German sign that said not to get too close! LOL Definitely orientate yourself with the map of the museum, because some things are sort of hidden. In particular, once we thought we were done seeing everything and were about to leave, we thought "Hmmm....where was the WWII stuff?" while we were walking through the gift shop/cafe. Then we looked to the room beyond the gift shop, and voila - there it was. So if you're looking for the WWII information from Austria's point of view (the "War of Persuasion" was what was emblazoned above this area), then that is this area. If you haven't looked at the map, it's sort of "hidden" behind the gift shop. If you're a fan of European history, and especially military history, then I think you will definitely enjoy this museum!

A fantastic military history museum in a complex of historic and beautiful buildings. The only…read moreexception is the Panzerhalle where many of the tanks in the museums extensive collection are stored / displayed. This collection was my primary reason for visiting this museum. The Panzerhalle is a utilitarian warehouse where the tanks and armored vehicles are parked tightly in two long rows. A few have step ladders next to them that allows visitors to look down thru open hatches on the tops of the tanks. On Sundays only, you can actually enter some of the tanks. The lighting in the Panzerhalle isn't ideal for photography since its strongly yellow tinted and distorts the true colors of the vehicles and isn't contrast to the natural lighting coming thru the windows. There are dual-language (German / English) signs in front of each vehicle that provides very basic info and stats of that vehicle. There weren't any docents available to answer any questions, just a couple of guys that were apparently there for security? They didn't know anything about the tanks and rudely just said read the signs and then walked away. That may not be the case in the other buildings or collections where I didn't try to ask questions about the displays. Outside the main museum building, there are some more tanks in desperate need of restoration and protection scattered about a yard. I stark contrast to the tank collections poor condition and questionable curation, most of this extensive museum has fantastic displays of armor, weapons, uniforms and a nice variety of other technologies and paraphernalia covering several centuries of Austrian military history. Despite my critical comments of the tank collection here, which could be remedied with better preservation and curation, I highly recommend this museum. It truly is a world-class museum.

Free museum about the history of Vienna. A must for the history buffs. Close to Karlskirche so it's…read moreconvenient. The exhibition is 3 stories full of artifacts , quite interesting. Restaurant on the first floor, cafe on rooftop view of the city. Learned and enjoy a lot since you don't have to fight with the tourist crowd.

The Wien Museum located in Karlsplatz near Karlskirche (St. Charles' Church) is a free museum in…read moreVienna where it goes through the history of the city (until present day!). The permanent exhibition spans 3 floors where they describe and highlight the city's history in chronological order quite thoroughly. The exhibits can be interactive as well and there are many items on display (artifacts, paintings, etc.). The museum also has temporary paid exhibits for a small fee which rotate. The Wien Museum has a restaurant on the ground floor as well as a cafe on the 4th floor overlooking St. Charles Church with ample seating and nice views of the city for you to relax after your museum visit. The museum is modern where the washrooms are clean. We easily spent a few hours here going through the vast exhibit of Vienna's history. Extremely informative and well put together! A definite must visit if you do visit this city!

MAK is an excellent Museum of Applied Arts. They do an excellent job getting guest curators and…read moreartists to engage with the collection in inventive and dynamic ways to highlight various items & how they relate to each other. This makes the collection come alive, and it becomes much more interesting to experience, compared to the standard, more static, approach I see in many museums. One highlight was the stunning 1907 gesso panels, Seven Princesses by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh. You need to see it in person to appreciate its subtle beauty and impressive scope. Apparently, the Seven Princesses only survived WW1 because a curator hid the piece to keep it safe. The curator brought it down to the museum's basement, put the panels into three crates along the wall, then built a brick wall in front of them, which was painted to match the existing walls. They stayed hidden like this until they were discovered in 1990. Another highlight was an installation from Superflux called Invocation for Hope, which featured hundreds of dead trees burned from a forest fire that were installed around some live plants & moss around a 'pool'. When I visited, they also had a lot of environment & sustainability related projects on display -- there were some really interesting projects there. The building itself also has lovely architectural features.

I happened to go to MAK on free night which is Tuesday from 6 PM to 10 PM so I had a really good…read moretime. Does it compare to the Victoria & Albert in London, NO.... but then again what does. Also this museum building has a lot of space, a lot of space that they don't really utilize very well. There could be a whole lot more on display. But anyway my favorite part was the permanent collection which is on the top floor, lots of decorative items from around 1890 into 1940's.

Coming to the Mozarthaus was an absolutely incredible museum experience…read more We got to learn SO much about the works of Mozart and enjoy the experience with so many people that love music and his masterpieces. It was an amazing bonding experience with people I've never seen or will ever see before. Just being in the same room with people sharing the same interest and love for such a legend, was truly humbling. We spent a couple of hours here and really enjoyed everything about it. There were some interactive elements and it was so cool getting to be in the same HOUSE that Mozart lived in and composed. 10/10 recommend if you're in Vienna, even if you don't know much about Mozart, it's something you'll walk our from feeling so rich.

Mozarthaus (the apartment building where Mozart lived) was a worthwhile visit on my last day in…read moreVienna. It was on my nice-to-visit-but-won't-cry-if-I-run-out-of-time itinerary. It was interesting to see that this was where he lived. There were multiple rooms and displays with information about his life and career. While I enjoy classical music, I'm not terribly well-versed, though I'm sure Mozart nerds will enjoy exploring the rooms. Was able to walk through Mozarthaus under 1 hour. It's a short walk from St Stephen's Cathedral and easy to find with the help of Google Maps.

The term "imperial treasury" conjures up images of a vault filled with gold and gems, and I wasn't…read moredisappointed by the royal finery and crown jewels on display. This museum is split into two main sections: 1) the Secular Treasury with a collection of royal objects that covers over one thousand years of European history from the medieval ages. This includes jewels of the Holy Roman Empire, including the Imperial Crown and the Holy Lance, the Crown of Emperor Rudolf II which later became the Crown of the Austrian Empire, a giant narwhal tooth (thought to be the horn of a unicorn), and an agate bowl (thought to be the legendary Holy Grail). This was the bulk of the main rooms and probably more interesting to most with the wow factor of stunning crown jewels. These rooms also showed a lot of very impressively embellished preserved ceremonial garments and adornments of rulers from hundreds of years ago. 2) the Ecclesiastical Treasury features valued items tied to religious movements from medieval times thru the reign of the Hapsburgs and beyond. These were displayed mostly in the form of cabinets of curiosities--a lot of varied objects displayed in several rooms of wood and glass cabinets. These precious objects were also very detailed and intricate, many bejeweled and inset with valuable materials; interesting in their own right to ponder their purposes in western religious traditions. Open daily from 9am-5:30pm, except closed Tuesdays. Last admission 30 minutes before closing. Allot at least an hour to get thru the full museum though you could spend two hours here if you want to read thru more of the details. They do a good job of explaining history with didactic labels* in German and English in many of the rooms. Tickets are €19 for adults, €14 discounted for students, special needs patrons, unemployed, military/social service employees. Free for children under 19 years old. My recommendation if you're in Vienna as a tourist and are interested in visiting multiple museums and/or attractions, is to do some research and purchase tickets via one of many bundled passes. For more info: https://www.kaiserliche-schatzkammer.at/en/ *those larger panels of text hung on museum walls that gives broader history and context to the items on display. As contrasted to the museum labels which are the little cards placed next to or close to displayed objects with info about the individual items.

I don't know I'd go out-of-my-way for this museum, unless you're really interested in the subject…read morematter, but it was a very nice spot to see artifacts and bling from the Holy Roman Empire and until the Austro-Hungarian empire. I thought the crowns and the various ceremony attire displayed were the most interesting of the items. The museum also contains several religious relics as well. I had the multi-museum pass, so that was the main reason why I came. While I thought this was an interesting visit, if you're pressed for time, you can skip this one.