Explore Schönbrunn Palace, a grand imperial residence with stunning rooms, gardens, and history.
Buy TicketsSchönbrunn Palace (Schloss Schönbrunn) is the former imperial summer residence of the Habsburgs, a vast Baroque ensemble of 1,441 rooms built between 1696 and 1712 under Emperor Leopold I to designs by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, then transformed between 1743 and 1763 by Empress Maria Theresa into one of the most influential courts in Europe. Mozart played here aged six in 1762, Napoleon used it as his headquarters in 1805 and 1809, and Emperor Franz Joseph was born here in 1830 and died here in 1916 after a 68-year reign. UNESCO listed the palace and the surrounding 160-hectare park in 1996. Today around 40 of the state rooms are open to the public alongside the Gloriette pavilion (1775) on the hill behind, the Palm House (1882) and the Tiergarten Schönbrunn — founded in 1752, the oldest zoo in the world. See our visitors guide, the latest opening hours and the best time to visit page to plan ahead.
The smartest way to visit Schönbrunn Palace and the imperial gardens
Walk straight to the turnstiles with a pre-booked timed-entry ticket. Schönbrunn welcomes around 8,000 visitors a day in summer — the on-site box office routinely sells out the morning slots by 10:00 and queues at the main entrance on Schloßstraße can stretch beyond an hour between June and August.
The official multilingual audio guide is included free in every palace ticket — 21 languages in total, including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Czech and Slovak. Written descriptions are provided in 24 languages at the entrance.
Plans change. Cancel up to 24 hours before your visit for a full refund — no questions, no fees, no fine print. The on-site box office sells non-refundable timed tickets only.
Show your ticket directly from your phone at the palace turnstile. No printing, no paper, no queueing at the Schloßstraße ticket desk on arrival.
The single most spectacular room at Schönbrunn is the Great Gallery (Große Galerie) in the west wing — 43 metres long, lined with mirrors, crystal chandeliers and gilded white-and-gold stucco, ceilinged by an enormous Gregorio Guglielmi fresco painted in 1761 celebrating the Habsburg dominions. This is the room where Empress Maria Theresa held her court balls and state banquets, where the Congress of Vienna danced through the winter of 1814–1815, and where John F. Kennedy met Nikita Khrushchev in June 1961.
It is also the room where, on the 13th of October 1762, a six-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played for Empress Maria Theresa, leapt onto her lap to kiss her, and famously proposed marriage to the seven-year-old Archduchess Marie Antoinette. The Great Gallery is included in the Grand Tour ticket — and seeing it in person is the moment most visitors remember years later.
Visit Schönbrunn Palace in 3 simple steps
Pick a date and a 30-minute timed-entry slot — Imperial Tour (22 rooms) or Grand Tour (40 rooms, with the Great Gallery and Maria Theresa's apartments). Add the Sisi Ticket combo with the Hofburg, the Classic Pass with the Gloriette and Maze, or a guided palace tour with a live historian.
Secure checkout with instant email confirmation. Your mobile ticket arrives in minutes with an audio guide voucher in your chosen language, ready to scan at the palace turnstile — no waiting at the Schloßstraße box office on arrival.
On the day, take U4 to Schönbrunn or Hietzing, walk through the iron gates into the Ehrenhof courtyard, and show your mobile ticket at the turnstile under the Blue Staircase. Drop large bags at the mandatory cloakroom, collect your audio guide just past the gate, and step inside the imperial apartments.
Everything you need to know before your visit