In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Schönbrunn Palace (it’s helpful to pronounce the palace name “Shoen-brun” as the locals do; this will help if you need to ask for directions to the palace complex). We’ll use both pronunciations throughout the article.
With this article, you’ll know exactly which attractions are located within the Schönbrunn Palace complex and can plan your visiting day accordingly. The article reviews 6 additional attractions besides the palace interior tour, as well as information on options for coffee and cake or lunch near the palace. We hope this comprehensive information will help you make the most of your visit to the Schönbrunn complex in the most enjoyable way possible, and that you too will feel it’s justified in being considered the city’s number one attraction.
This article compiles the most important information for visiting the palace. If you read it all, you’ll be fully prepared for a wonderful visit to this amazing attraction and beyond!
Table of contents:
- Tours of Schönbrunn Palace
- Online Purchase of Admission Tickets and Guided Tour of Schönbrunn Palace – Including Fast Track Entry
- Attractions for Children and Adults in the Palace Gardens – The Maze, Orangery Garden, and More
- Children’s Museum – Dress like the Habsburgs and truly learn about the world of royalty
- Carriage Museum
- Schönbrunn Palace Zoo – The oldest in the world!
- Original Strudel Show – A Viennese Culinary Experience (Permanently Closed)
- Panoramic Train Ride
- Cafés and Restaurants within the Schönbrunn Complex
- How to Get to the Schönbrunn Complex
Schönbrunn Palace – 7 Fun Activities and Culinary Recommendations within the Palace Complex
At Schönbrunn, you can enjoy a variety of activities for the whole family, from guided tours, breathtaking panoramic views, ancient museums, a playground and maze, an ancient zoo, and about 10 cafés and restaurants. This section of the article will detail all the activities within the Schönbrunn complex and the most important information about them.
Tours inside Schönbrunn Palace:
The only way to visit the interior of Schönbrunn Palace is as part of a tour that passes through a variety of beautiful rooms in the heart of the palace. Basic admission tickets do not include a guide; however, information sheets or an audio guide are available at no extra charge.
The main tours are:
- State Apartments On this tour, you will see some of the most important rooms in the heart of the palace, such as the impressive reception rooms. The tour route is short, lasting about 40 minutes. You take the tour independently with an audio guide. As part of the tour, there is an educational audiovisual show presenting the important figures who lived there over the years.
- Tour Duration: Approximately 40 minutes
- Costs: Adult – €25, Child (6-18) – €16, Student (19-25) – €20, Disabled – €20.
- Purchase advance tickets for the tour
- Purchase skip-the-line tickets including a guided tour and visit to the palace gardens
- Comprehensive Palace Tour with Audio Guide (Palace Ticket) The grand tour of Schönbrunn Palace. 40 wonderful rooms on a self-guided tour lasting approximately one hour.This tour route covers all the important rooms of the palace, including the private apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Sisi, and also the room where Maria Theresa resided. You will also pass through the impressive reception rooms in the heart of the palace. The tour includes an audio guide where you will hear interesting stories about the palace and life within it for hundreds of years.
- Costs: Adult – €34, Child (6-18) – €24, Student (19-25) – €28, Disabled – €28.
- Purchase advance tickets
- Purchase skip-the-line tickets including a guided tour and visit to the palace gardens
- Guided Tour – Maria TheresaThis tour is conducted with a palace guide and focuses on the period of Maria Theresa. On the tour, you will pass through her summer residence and other important rooms in the heart of the palace. You will hear stories and explanations about the Empress’s great influence on the palace in particular and the empire in general.
- Tour Duration: Approximately 75 minutes
- English Tour Times: Monday to Friday at 11:00 and 14:30. On Saturdays and Sundays at 10:00, 12:00, and 15:00.
- Costs: Adult – €39, Child (6-18) – €29, Student (19-25) – €33.
- Purchase advance tickets for the tour
- Prefer not to enter the palace? Take a virtual tour of the palace rooms.
Palace Opening Hours:
Tours are available all year round, including national holidays.
- April 1st to November 2nd: 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM. In July and August, open until 6:00 PM.
- November 3rd to March 31st: 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
Attractions for Children and Adults in the Palace Gardens
The Schönbrunn Palace gardens are open for free to visitors every day from 6:30 AM. In winter, the garden complex closes at 5:30 PM, in spring at 7:00 PM, and in summer around 8:00 PM or 9:00 PM. You can wander freely through the gardens without charge.
Within the palace gardens, there are several wonderful attractions suitable for both adults and children. You can purchase combined tickets that include entry to the palace interior tour itself and also to the various attractions within the palace gardens.
These are the popular attractions:
Vienna View from the Gloriette Structure at the Top of the Hill
The impressive Gloriette structure stands proudly at the top of Schönbrunn Hill, allowing those standing on its roof to gaze upon all of Vienna. The view from the Gloriette is truly magnificent, but a nearly identical view can be seen from the top of the hill (without paying to climb to the building’s roof). If you still wish to enter the building and go up to its roof, you will need to pay. Inside the building, there is a wonderful (and expensive) café in the same dining hall where the Habsburgs ate.
- Operating Hours: April 1st to November 2nd.
- April 1st to June 30th: 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM
- July 1st to August 31st: 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM
- September 1st to October 28th: 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM
- October 29th to November 2nd: 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM
The Maze
The plant maze in the heart of Schönbrunn gardens is a reconstruction of the original Baroque maze built in 1720. The maze spans an area of 1715 square meters. In the center of the maze, there is an observation deck and special Feng Shui stones.
Walking through the maze is enjoyable for children and adults alike!
- Operating Hours: April 1st to November 2nd.
- April 1st to June 30th: 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM
- July 1st to August 31st: 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM
- September 1st to October 28th: 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM
- October 29th to November 2nd: 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM
The Das Labyrinth Playground
In the Schönbrunn gardens, there is an exciting playground called Das Labyrinth. This is a play area spanning 2700 square meters with a variety of games for all ages. It’s not a typical playground; its installations require some thought, agility, and athleticism. You can try out various mini-games suitable for all ages.
Privy Garden
The Privy Garden, known in German as Prinz Rudolfs Garten, is located on the eastern side of the palace and is named so because Prince Rudolf’s living quarters were in the wing of the palace facing these gardens. The garden features a variety of well-kept flowerbeds and orderly paths, with an ancient yew tree standing in its center. During the summer months, there is a display of fruit trees throughout the garden.
Visiting this garden is a wonderful opportunity to feel like royalty amidst the imperial splendor.
- Operating Hours: April 1st to November 2nd.
- April 1st to June 30th: 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM
- July 1st to August 31st: 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM
- September 1st to October 28th: 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM
- October 29th to November 2nd: 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Orangery Garden
The ancient conservatory building is impressive in its beauty and architectural sophistication. The building houses various exotic plants such as bitter orange trees, olive trees, and myrtle trees.
- Operating Hours: April 1st to November 2nd.
- April 1st to June 30th: 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM
- July 1st to August 31st: 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM
- September 1st to October 28th: 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM
- October 29th to November 2nd: 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Children’s Museum of Schönbrunn Palace
An experiential museum for children located inside the palace (in the western wing), showcasing the daily lives of the ruling family who resided in the palace.
The Children’s Museum offers many hands-on activities where children will learn what it was like to be part of the House of Habsburg, what was the favorite food of the palace residents, how long it has existed, and if it was always so grand.
Additionally, children will practice setting the royal table for the palace residents, play with toys from that era, learn about the differences between regular children and those born into the Habsburg family, and finally, they can even dress up as princes and princesses from previous centuries.
- Opening Hours: Daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (ticket sales end at 4:00 PM).
- Prices: Adult: €12, Child (6-18): €12.
- Official Website
- Address: Kindermuseum Schloss Schönbrunn, Schloss Schönbrunn, 1130 Vienna
Map:
Carriage Museum
This museum showcases the collection of carriages belonging to the imperial family and Viennese nobility. The exhibits in the museum include a wide range of different vehicles used by the most important people of the Empire. You can see carriages intended for ceremonies, carriages for people who worked in the service of the Empire, and more. One of the most famous exhibits in this collection is the carriage that was likely built for the coronation ceremony of Joseph II in 1764! The magnificent carriage was beautifully decorated and weighed no less than four tons!
- Opening Hours: Open from March to December. Until the end of November, the museum is open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. In December, the museum is open until 4:00 PM. Entry is permitted up to 15 minutes before closing.
- Prices: Adult – €12, Children and teenagers up to 19 years old – free. Pensioners, students, and discount card holders – €9.
- Official Website
Schönbrunn Zoo (Tiergarten Schönbrunn) – The oldest in the world!
Vienna Zoo currently houses about 8,500 animals and is actually the largest zoo in Austria. This is a central and beloved attraction that attracts many visitors. Read more information for an enjoyable visit to Vienna Zoo.
Original Strudel Show
If there’s one thing you absolutely must experience when visiting Vienna, it’s traditional Austrian apple strudel. At the royal patisserie called Gerstner K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker within the Schönbrunn Palace complex, you could taste fresh strudel, and even more, watch live how this wonderful dessert is prepared with an expert Austrian strudel chef. Participants in the workshop would see the chef prepare the strudel and at the end of the show, receive a fresh slice of strudel with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Extended information in our article on the original strudel show.
The show was offered in German and English.
Purchase advance tickets for the popular strudel show in Vienna
Panoramic Train Ride in the Palace Complex
The Schönbrunn Palace complex is very large, and it can certainly be tiring to walk from place to place. There’s a nice service within the complex that can make your visit much more enjoyable and simple: the panoramic train. This train leisurely travels throughout the parks and between the beautiful buildings, stopping at 9 stations within the park (including at the top of the hill where the Gloriette is located). You can hop on and off at the various stations as much as you like.
Train Stations:
- Schönbrunn Palace
- Carriage Museum
- Hietzing Gate
- Zoo
- Tyrolean Garden (Tirolergarten)
- Gloriette Hill
- Tivoli
- Obelisk Fountain
- Meidling Gate
The train operates daily from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (except on days when weather conditions do not permit).
- Daily Ticket Cost: Adult – €8. Child (under 14) – €4.
If you wish, you can take the train only within the zoo. In the zoo, the train travels from the Emperor’s breakfast pavilion to the elephant house and the Tirolerhof house. The cost for this ride is: Adult – €2. Child – €1.
Culinary Recommendations – Cafés and Restaurants in the Schönbrunn Palace Complex
Throughout the Schönbrunn Palace complex, there are about 7 wonderful cafés and restaurants. Please note that prices will reflect the prestigious location.
- Gerstner K. u. K. HofzuckerbäckerThe old imperial patisserie. A great place for coffee and pastries. This is where the palace’s famous strudel show takes place.
- Schönbrunner SchloßcaféA Viennese café offering coffee, tea, breakfast (all day), and various pastries and cakes. On beautiful days, you can sit in the café’s courtyard overlooking the palace.
- Address: Schönbrunner Schloßstraße 47 (Gardetrakt), 1130 Vienna
- Phone (for opening hours inquiry): +4318103259
- Landtmann’s ParkcaféA café open only during the summer. Located near the Neptune Fountain within the palace gardens.
- Landtmann’s Jausen StationThe hidden café in Schönbrunn. They serve breakfast, pastries, beer, wine, and more.
- Address: Schönbrunner Schlosspark, Kronprinzengarten, 1130 Wien
- Official Website
- Café GlorietteThe imperial café in the Gloriette structure at the top of Schönbrunn Hill. A wonderful and exceptional place for coffee and cake or breakfast after visiting the palace. For the “Sisi” breakfast, reservations must be made a month in advance on the website.
- Gasthaus TirolergartenA restaurant belonging to the Vienna Zoo complex in the Schönbrunn gardens. Hot dishes can be ordered for lunch.
- Café Restaurant KaiserpavillonA restaurant in the Emperor’s Pavilion at the Vienna Zoo. A variety of hot dishes for lunch.
How to Get to Schönbrunn Palace by Public Transportation from Vienna City Center?
Schönbrunn Palace is not in the city center of Vienna, but it is easily accessible by the city’s excellent public transportation. The simplest way is to travel there by subway. The green line, U4, goes directly to the Schönbrunn station. From there, you should alight and follow the signs towards the palace. It’s a 5-7 minute walk from the subway station.
Alternatively, you can reach the palace by tram lines 10 and 60 or by bus line 10. Get off at Schönbrunn station.
Interested in seeing the palace from the inside without entering? Take a virtual tour of Schönbrunn Palace.
