Wien Tickets

Plan your visit to Schönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn Palace is Vienna's former imperial residence: 40 state rooms open to visitors, 500 acres of formal gardens, and separate ticketed attractions including a zoo, a maze, and a Gloriette. Most visits take 3 to 4 hours for the palace and gardens combined. Timed-entry tickets sell out weeks ahead from June through August, and visitors who skip the planning end up backtracking across a site the size of a small town. This guide covers getting there, picking the right ticket, and what not to miss.

Quick overview: Schönbrunn Palace at a glance

  • When to visit: Open daily from 8:30am. Closes 5pm (November to March), 5:30pm (April to June and September to early November), 6pm (July and August). Last entry 45 minutes before closing.
  • Getting in: Guided skip-the-line tours from €53. Book 2 to 3 weeks ahead from June through August and over Easter, when timed slots fill quickly.
  • How long to allow: 3 to 4 hours for palace and gardens. 60 to 90 minutes for State Rooms only.
  • When to go: Weekday mornings in April to May or September to October, before 10am or after 3pm, when tour groups thin out.
  • What most visitors miss: The viewpoint tucked behind the Neptune Fountain wall, overlooked by most visitors heading straight to the Gloriette.

🎟 Timed-entry slots for Schönbrunn sell out 2 to 3 weeks ahead from June through August. Lock in your visit before the slot you want is gone.

How do you get to Schönbrunn Palace?

Where and when to go

💡 The palace park opens at 6:30am and is free to enter. Walking the main garden axis before the palace opens gives you soft light for photography and the grounds entirely to yourself.

How much time do you need?

Visit typeRouteDurationWhat you get

State Rooms only

Haupttor → Visitor Center → State Rooms → courtyard exit

60 to 90 minutes

40 imperial rooms via audio guide circuit. Gardens not included.

Palace and gardens

State Rooms → Neptune Fountain → Gloriette (optional)

3 to 4 hours

Full palace circuit plus the formal garden axis. Time at the Gloriette for views and a coffee stop.

Full exploration

State Rooms → gardens → one of: Maze, Privy Garden, or Carriage Museum → Gloriette

5 to 6 hours

Adds one or two special attractions. Each requires a separate ticket in addition to palace entry.

Full day

All of the above, plus Vienna Zoo

6 to 8 hours

Combines the palace and gardens with the world's oldest zoo, a 10 to 15 minute walk from the main palace entrance.

✨ The full exploration route is difficult to navigate without local knowledge. Signage between garden attractions is limited, and the most significant rooms in the palace are not always obvious in sequence. A guided tour covers the route, reduces backtracking, and adds the stories that make the State Rooms genuinely engaging.

Which Schönbrunn Palace ticket is best for you?

ExperienceBest forAccess toGuide typeStarts from

Skip-the-line guided tour

Visiting June through August when entrance queues exceed 30 minutes, or any visit where you want Habsburg context without navigating the route yourself

22 State Rooms, palace gardens, and courtyards

Expert live guide in 5 languages, headsets included

€53

Combo: Palace + Zoo

A full day starting with the State Rooms in the morning, then continuing to the zoo in the afternoon, 10 to 15 minutes' walk away

Palace interiors and gardens plus all Vienna Zoo exhibits

Expert English or German-speaking guide for palace; self-paced zoo

€77

Hop-on-hop-off bus pass

A 2-day Vienna visit covering Schönbrunn, Belvedere, and the city's main sights with flexible transport connecting them

48-hour bus pass plus Schönbrunn interiors and Belvedere Palace collection

Audio commentary on bus (8 languages); self-paced inside both palaces

€95

How do you get around Schönbrunn?

Schönbrunn's grounds divide into three zones. Each takes planning to connect without backtracking.

What should you prioritize at Schönbrunn Palace?

Schonbrunn Palace interior with ornate chandeliers and frescoed ceiling, Vienna.
1/5

The State Rooms

40 rooms are open to visitors in a fixed one-direction circuit. The Mirror Room (Spiegelsaal) is where six-year-old Mozart performed for Empress Maria Theresa in 1762. The Great Gallery, used for imperial dinners and court balls, is the largest and most heavily gilded room in the circuit. The audio guide is included with most tickets and provides context the room labels alone do not. Allow 45 to 60 minutes for the full circuit at a comfortable pace.

Where to find it: Visitor Center entrance at the Haupttor.

The Gloriette and the garden panorama

Built in 1775 to commemorate Austrian victory in the Seven Years' War, the Gloriette crowns the main garden hill with an unobstructed view of the palace and Vienna's roofline. The Gloriette Café operates on the terrace. The rooftop viewing platform requires a separate ticket; the terrace-level view is free and sufficient for most visitors. Allow 15 to 20 minutes uphill from the Neptune Fountain.

Where to find it: Top of the main garden axis.

The Neptune Fountain and the view most people miss

Active from mid-April to mid-October. Most visitors photograph the fountain facing toward the Gloriette. Turn around: the view from the retaining wall just behind the fountain, looking back toward the palace facade framed by the avenue of trees, is one of the strongest compositions in the gardens and is almost always unoccupied.

Where to find it: Center of the main garden axis, approximately 400 metres from the palace facade.

The Orangery and evening concerts

Built in 1754 as an imperial winter garden. In 1786, Mozart and Salieri competed here. The Orangery now hosts nightly Mozart and Strauss concerts performed by a period ensemble and opera singers. Evening concerts run year-round and are separate from daytime palace access — they are a cultural evening, not an add-on to a daytime ticket.

Where to find it: East wing of the palace grounds.

Vienna Zoo (Tiergarten Schönbrunn)

Founded in 1752 as the imperial menagerie of Emperor Francis I. Now the oldest operating zoo in the world, home to more than 700 species including giant pandas, Siberian tigers, orangutans, and Arctic wolves. A 10 to 15 minute walk from the Haupttor through the palace grounds, or directly accessible from Hietzinger Tor. Requires a separate ticket or the Palace + Zoo combo pass.

Where to find it: Western palace grounds, accessible via Hietzinger Tor or through the park from the main axis.

💡 Don't leave without seeing: The Apothecary Wing on the palace's east side, which displays the imperial pharmaceutical collection from the Habsburg court — labeled jars, scales, and tinctures showing how emperors balanced science and alchemy for their health. It's overlooked by most visitors and rarely crowded.

Visiting Schönbrunn with or without a guide

Choosing between a guided tour and a self-guided visit at Schönbrunn Palace comes down to how much structure and context you prefer.

Skip the long queues and explore Schönbrunn with an expert guide

During the busy summer months from June to August, ticket lines can take up to 1 to 2 hours. By booking with a licensed guide, you enter through a reserved group entrance and are inside in around 15 minutes. From there, you'll explore 22 Imperial Rooms and the Palace Gardens while hearing stories that make Schönbrunn's history come alive.

Group of tourists on a guided tour at Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna.

Facilities and accessibility

Rules and restrictions

⚠️ Re-entry to the State Rooms is not permitted once you exit. Plan any restroom stop, water break, or snack before your timed entry. The nearest café is Café Residenz, just inside the main gate near the Visitor Center.

Practical tips

  • The State Rooms are busiest between 10am and 2pm, especially from June through August and over Christmas and Easter. Arrive at 8:30am or return after 3pm for a noticeably calmer visit to the imperial apartments.
  • The western park gate near U4 Hietzing station is consistently less crowded than the Haupttor. If arriving from the U4 and starting with the gardens, this entrance saves significant time on busy mornings.
  • Book the earliest available time slot for the State Rooms. The rooms feel least rushed in the first hour after opening, and the gilded interiors are easier to appreciate before the main wave of tour groups arrives.
  • The Strudel Show at Café Residenz runs several times daily and takes about 20 minutes. Bakers stretch the dough by hand and serve warm slices directly. Worth planning 30 minutes around, either before your entry slot or after you exit.
  • The palace park is free to enter from 6:30am. Walking through the main garden axis before the palace opens gives you the best light for photography and the grounds entirely to yourself.
  • The uphill path to the Gloriette looks shorter than it is from the palace. Allow 15 to 20 minutes at a moderate pace on compacted gravel paths. Plan your water stop at the Gloriette Café before heading back down.
  • The Easter and Christmas markets in the palace forecourt are free to enter. The Christmas market, held from late November to December 26, is one of the more atmospheric in Vienna, with a quieter and less commercial feel than the city-center markets.

What else is worth visiting nearby?

Schönbrunn Palace and Vienna Zoo

✨ Schönbrunn Palace and Vienna Zoo are most often visited together on the same day. The Palace + Zoo combo ticket saves compared to buying separately.

Frequently asked questions about visiting Schönbrunn

The Haupttor (main gate) brings you directly to the palace, but the Hietzinger Gate is quieter and gives quick access to the gardens. The Meidlinger Gate is best if you’re heading to the zoo or Palm House.

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