Schönbrunn Palace is Vienna’s top attraction and a shining symbol of Austria’s cultural heritage. The canary yellow palace was once the summer residence for members of the legendary Habsburg family. It was built in the 1700s, but the building remains in pristine condition, and the gardens are immaculately landscaped. Even if you’re not interested in the royal family, you’ll be missing out if you don’t see Schönbrunn Palace.
Ticket Price for the Grand Tour at Schönbrunn Palace
A ticket for the Grand Tour is €29 for adults and €21 for children. If you have the time and want to make a day of it, it’s better to buy the Schönbrunn Palace Classic Pass. The price of the Classic Pass is €38 for adults. This combined ticket includes the Grand Tour and four outdoor attractions: the Gloriette, Privy Garden, Orangery Garden and Labyrinth.
These garden attractions have an additional ticket cost if you buy them separately. For example, the Gloriette costs €5 per adult, so it’s a very good deal to buy a Classic Pass if you have any interest in seeing even one of these outdoor highlights. Out of the four, I recommend the Gloriette.
The Grand Tour
The Grand Tour at Schönbrunn Palace has 40 rooms to see. This tour includes every space that is open to the public. Almost all the 40 rooms have a corresponding audio guide description, so set aside at least one hour to do the Grand Tour.
East Wing: Franz Joseph & Elisabeth’s Apartments
The first wing of the palace was the main living space for the imperial family. Emperor Franz Joseph’s rather drab brown bedroom is here. His shared bedroom with Elisabeth is more richly decorated and not far away. The other rooms are for entertaining with lots of portraits and paintings on the walls to stare at. There’s a billiards room and multiple salons with different décor themes. Most rooms have classy wood panelling with gold accents, while others are covered with chintzy wallpaper.
There are a few luxurious halls before reaching the middle wing of Schönbrunn Palace. The Hall of Mirrors is a glorified corridor featuring gilded Rococo décor. The three Rosa Rooms next to it house fifteen beautiful beautiful landscape paintings. The rooms are named after artist Joseph Rosa, commissioned by Maria Theresa in the 1760s.
The Great Gallery
The Great Gallery is the most impressive and grand room we saw on the tour and the midway point. This long hall is 43 metres long and almost 10 metres wide, with opulent candelabras and chandeliers running down the entire length. The intricate frescoes on the ceiling made our necks hurt from staring up at them for so long. There is a reference board underneath that gives more details on each fresco. The Great Gallery will be the most crowded room in the palace, with groups of guided tours and everyone else spending lots of time here.
The rooms branching off of the Great Gallery will require some backtracking. There’s a Small Gallery to the north, with two circular Chinese Cabinets on either side. You’ll have to walk through the Great Gallery again to get to the Carousel Room, Horses Room, and Hall of Ceremonies. The paintings in these rooms are especially large and elaborate. One of the most famous portraits of Maria Theresa hangs in the Hall of Ceremonies, showing the first lady of Europe in an extravagant, puffy pink gown fit for a queen. The Imperial Tour ends here, so you’ll need to present your Grand Tour ticket to proceed further.
West Wing: Maria Theresa’s Apartments
The Grand Tour is the only tour that grants access to the palace’s west wing. Whereas the eastern part housed Franz Joseph and Elisabeth, this section was for Maria Theresa and her husband, Franz Stephan. Maria Theresa’s apartments have more of a Chinese influence. The Vieux Laque Room is as eye-popping as it is significant, serving as a memorial to Franz Stephan after his sudden death.
One could argue that Maria Theresa had a more lavish taste in décor. There’s the Millions Room and the Rich Room, which are aptly named. The Rich Room was Maria Theresa’s bedroom. It’s dark and dimly lit, making all the gold glow. The Grand Tour ends shortly thereafter in a simple Hunting Room with rifles on display under glass.
Are Photos Allowed at Schönbrunn Palace?
Photos are strictly not allowed on any of the tours at Schönbrunn Palace. It’s a dumb rule if you ask me, and the palace doesn’t give any good reason for it. They’re strict about it too. If any guards catch you taking a photo, they will stop you and not let you pass until you delete the picture. We witnessed such an encounter with another visitor.
Naturally, we still saw other tourists taking clandestine pictures, and we managed a few of our own. It’s a shame we had to be so sneaky for something as insignificant as taking non-flash photos of a room. The roving staff is constantly monitoring, moving from room to room. Ideally, you have a companion who can be your lookout if you want to capture some pictures of your own.
Restaurants at Schönbrunn Palace
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
Schönbrunner Schloßcafe is conveniently located at the ticket building. It’s a bog-standard cafe with breakfast, lunch dishes and pastries. We got a pastry and a cake, which were not bad but nothing to remember. The cafe will get crowded during the day with all the people in the long queue for tickets right next to the tables. The cafe doesn’t have much ambience, but this is a good place to be early in the morning. You can get a quick breakfast and be first in line to grab tour tickets.
Saturday Worthy?
The Grand Tour was sold out on our first visit to Schönbrunn Palace, so we had to come back on another day. In hindsight, the Grand Tour wasn’t worth the hassle or the extra cost. The additional twelve rooms we saw on the Grand Tour were nice, but none had the wow factor of the Great Gallery, which is included in all the tours anyway. We should have just done the Imperial Tour, which is enough for most tourists.
