Hofburg

The Hofburg Palace is an impressive landmark in the heart of Vienna. I visited in the evening, so unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to explore the interior, but the exterior was absolutely stunning. The architecture is magnificent, with a beautiful mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles. Even from the outside, you can feel the grandeur of this historical palace. It’s definitely a must-see, and I’d love to return during the day to experience the interior and learn more about its fascinating history.

The place is lovely but too overcrowded. Sometimes you miss even fresh air. They should let smaller groups at once probably in every 10-15 min., than bigger groups in every half an hour or so

Such a great experience! No tour guide but they did have translator devices for rent. What an unbelievable structure. The architectural designs in Austria are absolutely amazing! Lots of walking here as well. Plenty of gift shops available. Bathrooms are also available.

A beautiful palace that helps to dive into the imperial history of Vienna. We did the imperial tour with tickets bought online. Long queue in the ticket office so be prepared to wait or buy them online

Beautiful imperial palace. The Sisi museum entrance is very complete and allows to visit chambers as well as Sisi’s history. The visit makes you feel like an emperor yourself strolling through the beautifully decorated salons and chambers with exquisite taste, gilded and covered in fine silks. The audio guide is very generic though, would have loved more detail.

Lovely building housing "The World" museum which shows items collected by Austrians from all over the world . To be fair, some were donated! I really enjoyed the Mexican collection in particular. Being a former palace the rooms and stairs look great, solid marble.

We actually found Hofburg and the imperial apartments more interesting than Schonburg. The audio tour is well done. It's challenging, but try to avoid the large tour groups.

Booked a guided tour on Get your guide. Alex was brilliant and entertaining. He brought the story to life. We were 19 people and at times a bit of a squeeze in the smaller rooms and corridors, but audio was excellent. Set off at 3pm for a 2.5h tour, but took a little longer than advertised. Was dark by the time we did the outside bit - all the state buildings were lit up and beautiful.

The Hofburg Palace is an impressive landmark in the heart of Vienna. I visited in the evening, so unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to explore the interior, but the exterior was absolutely stunning. The architecture is magnificent, with a beautiful mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles. Even from the outside, you can feel the grandeur of this historical palace. It’s definitely a must-see, and I’d love to return during the day to experience the interior and learn more about its fascinating history.

The place is lovely but too overcrowded. Sometimes you miss even fresh air. They should let smaller groups at once probably in every 10-15 min., than bigger groups in every half an hour or so

Such a great experience! No tour guide but they did have translator devices for rent. What an unbelievable structure. The architectural designs in Austria are absolutely amazing! Lots of walking here as well. Plenty of gift shops available. Bathrooms are also available.

A beautiful palace that helps to dive into the imperial history of Vienna. We did the imperial tour with tickets bought online. Long queue in the ticket office so be prepared to wait or buy them online

Beautiful imperial palace. The Sisi museum entrance is very complete and allows to visit chambers as well as Sisi’s history. The visit makes you feel like an emperor yourself strolling through the beautifully decorated salons and chambers with exquisite taste, gilded and covered in fine silks. The audio guide is very generic though, would have loved more detail.

Lovely building housing "The World" museum which shows items collected by Austrians from all over the world . To be fair, some were donated! I really enjoyed the Mexican collection in particular. Being a former palace the rooms and stairs look great, solid marble.

We actually found Hofburg and the imperial apartments more interesting than Schonburg. The audio tour is well done. It's challenging, but try to avoid the large tour groups.

Booked a guided tour on Get your guide. Alex was brilliant and entertaining. He brought the story to life. We were 19 people and at times a bit of a squeeze in the smaller rooms and corridors, but audio was excellent. Set off at 3pm for a 2.5h tour, but took a little longer than advertised. Was dark by the time we did the outside bit - all the state buildings were lit up and beautiful.

Extraordinary wealth and interesting experience for a museum visit. There's the well known sisi museum as well as some Vienna history museum.

So much history and great architecture, this is a must see when you visit Vienna, we walked through Cici's apartments and I learned so much I wasn't aware of, but with my wife's enthusiasm with history I got to experience this part of Vienna

The Hofsburg seems to be the architecturally grandest and interiorly most lavishly decorated place in Viena. We got the Sisi combination tickets that allowed us to visit the Hofsburg Place, the Schönbrunn Place and the Imperial Furniture Museum, since the prices of tickets to the two places already exceeded the price of the combination ticket.

I've partied in some of the most luxurious places but, this one takes the cake - the President of Austria's residence - Hofburg Palace. 75% of the palace was transformed into a mythical fairytale with food stations ranging from a dessert station to an Asian Bowl station in each themed room. My favorite room was the Enchanted with the Dessert Station. The Sandwich Wrap Station was my second favorite. Or maybe it was the pasta station in the Red Room.... hmmm. In addition to the food stations and themed rooms, two rooms was transformed into wall-to-wall dance floors with live entertainment and open bars. At the end of the night, I circled around to the dessert station for another round of sweet delights but, the dessert station looked more like a desert. Ha ha! I guess I wasn't the only one with a sweet tooth. On my first day in Vienna, I went on a guided tour. We toured the streets of Vienna and admired the Hofburg palace from the outside. Who knew I would be partying inside of the Hofburg Palace a few days later!

It's quite a wonder and aesthetic pleasing to the eye. It's astounding to think that it's been the official residence of every Austrian ruler since 1275. It's massively huge. It spans over 59 acres, 18 different groups of buildings, 19 courtyards and 2,600 rooms, that's enough rooms to sleep in different room for over 7 years. Of course many of those rooms are likely bathrooms and kitchens. It grew to be it's current size because each ruler would extend and expand it. The architectural design over 9 centuries is absolutely stunning. I wouldn't pass up staying in such a palatial residence.

A 13th cetury structure, The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty and currently acts as the official residence and workplace of the president of Austria. Home to Spanish Riding School, National Library and the Sisi Museum, Augustinian Church and the remains of St. Michael also reside nearby.

IMO the best Palace in Europe. What I loved about Vienna is it wasn't too touristy, I really enjoyed the beautiful architecture of the palace and visiting the Spanish stables which were down the street. Definitely get a tour if you go and bring a wide angle lens.

I did not like this museum. It's too much, but nothing is worth it. Except looking the building from outside. The rooms, the Sissi wing its ok but nothing worth paying 15 Euros. No me gusto este museo. Es mucho para ver y nada vale la pena. Excepto contemplar el edificio desde afuera. Los cuartos, el ala Sissi está ok pero no tiene sentido pagar 15 Euros por esto.

It was an age of extraordinary wealth and power concentrated in the hands of a few. It is a palace of opulence and wealth on a grand scale.The Austrian-Hungarian Empire reigned at it's height and today it is reflected in the museum's collections in the Hofburg Imperial Palace. There are numerous museums including the Albertina showcasing Durer, Raphael, Rembrandt, Picasso, Klmt and others. The Augustinekirche (14th century Gothic), Schatzkammer Imperial Treasury, Lipizzaner riding school, Globenmuseum of cartography and the Nationalbibliotek and others. I'm reviewing the tour of the Imperial apartments, Imperial Silver Collection and the Sisi Museum which are in the Hofburg Palace and included in a one ticket price for Adults of 12.50 Euro. This tour comes with a free audio-guide in 13 different languages. I highly recommend the audio-guide which gives detail and perspective you would miss on a self tour. Admission with a guide is another option and costs 15.50 Euros and lasts about 55 minutes. There are other neighboring museum combinations with the Hofburg Palace Tour you might be interested in which include the Art/History Museum and the Schonbrunn Palace. The Imperial Apartments feature Franz Joseph & wife Elizabeth's private quarters, the Audience Hall of great magnificence, conference room for ministers and crown council, living room and bedroom of Elizabeth which are on the scale of the Hermitage and Versailles. The Rococo style, Bohemian crystal chandeliers and 17th/18th century tapestries augment the numerous salons. The furniture is 19th century Louis XV and Empire style. The Sisi Museum has numerous personal items owned by Elizabeth as well as famous portraits of Elizabeth. Her Hungarian Coronation dress is a highlight as is the black coat with egret feathers which she was laid out in after the assassination.. The Silver Collection holds 7,000 coins. It also includes the Vienna Court Silver Service and the "Grand Vermeil Service" which was a service for up to 140 people. The Milan Centerpiece is also a highlight. Interesting little nuances include the dinner menu. Anyone for veal lips or liver dumplings. The tour is accessible to the disabled with ramps, elevators, free wheel chairs and free entrance to aids for blind visitors. Seeing-eye dogs are also allowed. I attended a Mozart Concert in the Hofburg Palace which I enjoyed but others may not appreciate. Show less

Did the guided audio tour of the palace, which for the most part, we very much enjoyed. Only a few steps away from our hotel, which made it an easy decision to visit. The staff was very helpful, and the price is only at around 26ish Euros, and we managed to spend a good 2-3 hours, which seems to be the average. At first, it just seemed like an homage to how well the Royal families lived, what with all the fancy silver collections, and fine art, but then it got a little deeper into their daily lives and the psyche of Franz Joseph, as well as Empress Elisabeth. Man, that's some dark stuff. While they did seem to have everything, the letters that Empress Elisabeth wrote seemed to have some dark under and overtones, which then translated into how she behaved day to day. Definitely worth a visit while in Vienna. The architecture is a marvel, and there is surprisingly a lot of historic depth to the Palace in its entirety. While I do happen to prefer Schonbrunn Palace a little more because of the outside grounds, Hofburg is also no joke, and you can learn a great deal. Educate yourself.

Almost got to see the famed Hofburg Palace My wife and I recently visited Vienna with a tour group and were able to see the Hofburg Palace. It was interesting to learn some of the history of the people involved. Even though we did not go inside the actual Hofburg Palace for a tour, I would still recommend stopping by to see it. If you have time, take the actual tour as well. As an unexpected bonus, we were shown the location of the stables housing the Royal Lipizzaner Horses. In fact, some of the horses "were home" at the time. Having seen them perform in person as a child, this was a nice addition to our tour. Although time did not allow us to take a guided tour, I would recommend it to those coming to the area. I believe it will be worth your time.

This is truly an astonishing place to visit full of awe and wonder due to its magnificent architecture, beauty, and splendor. It's the Imperial Palace of the Hapsburg family dynasty. This is the main family residence. This was the center of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The ornamentation and the statues that adorn the buildings is absolutely breathtaking. There are endless photo-ops here. Enjoy. This is truly a place full of awe and wonder.

Wow -the Hofburg is QUITE a complex! It's got something for just about every visitor to Vienna: History buff? Check out the Kaiserapartments museum and find out how the real 1% lived. Love literature? The National library is here too, with many rare books and manuscripts Enjoy nature? The Hofburg Gardens are a beautiful place to stroll and explore, or just sit and relax. Can't get enough fancy jewelry? There's the Schatzkammer, which was sadly closed when we visited. There's also the world-famous Spanish Riding School, the Albertina museums, a butterfly garden/plant house, several cafes and so much more. If that's not enough for you, there's also the Neue Berg which houses 3 more museums (Armour, Musical Instruments and Greek art) right next door. What's amazing to me is that all of this is in one complex - and many hundreds of people (including the president of Austria) still live and work in this labyrinth of buildings. I can only imagine what it was like in the days of Maria Theresa.

No one should miss this wonderful and amazing part of history when in the city of Vienna. Of course the Country of Austria is an immensely rich and important part of World history, this city the heart and soul of the Austro-Hungrian empire and this particular palace being the main residence of the Habsburg dynasty.. their summer residence being Schonbrunn (review coming soon). At the present it is the residence of the President of Austria, the grounds are amazing and the palace itself an incredible monument to an incredible dynasty.

If you want to see how the other half lives: then this is the place for you. No matter how hard so many nations in Europe tried... they could not ,match the splendor of the Austro Hungarian Empire in all of its trappings (except for Versailles).. And the Hofburg is right up there with the best that European wealth and splendor has to offer. This is a palace of many grand rooms, huge halls, master staircases of of rare white marble... and ornate appointments and colorful frescoes and wall art. This was someone's home. My two favorite things the see here: first, the collection of Hapsburg feast menus, the place cards that were set at every seat of the feast, describing the opulent menu. These many menus are on display. And they all make me want to eat sweetbreads and veal lips... or whatever odd delicacy the menu has to offer. I am also struck by the fact that Adolf Hitler spoke to the cheering crowds in the plaza from one of the 2nd story balconies of the Hofburg. Aside from all this, there is a lot of art, some good history, and a decent cafe to spend your time in here. But don't miss the Hitler balcony and the amazing menus.

We did not have time to do an entire tour of the Hofburg complex but I can say that the buildings as well as the grounds are beautiful. The architecture of the various buildings is very impressive. We heard that the silver collection in the apartments is extensive and beautiful. Amazing how well the royalty lived. Truly the "1%". Need to get back here soon to take that tour.

I must confess that throughout my travels before I came to Vienna for the first time, I had a very limited exposure to Austro- Hungarian history, however, while preparing to visit Austria for the first during the course of my research, I became fascinated by how relevant and interesting is the history of Vienna and its Royal family. Thus, when finally being able to stand in front of the Hofburg, I was simply in awe of such a palatial building. Having the great fortune of being able to spend a good amount of time in this wonderful city, we were able to return a couple of times to tour the Hofburg, and every time we were very impressed to discover new details and facts that make reference to their incredible History. To tour this place knowing and thinking that this was the place where Emperor Joseph II and later Emperor Franz Joseph ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire is nothing less than fascinating, and as such an Historical landmark, it not only deserves to be toured and admired, but also learned about and explored. Your visit to this Palace will exponentially improve if you take some time to reacquaint yourself with the rich history of this country.

So much to see, so much to learn. As a young girl, Sisi movies got me fascinated about the history of Astro-Hungarian empire and the Habsburgs. To be able to see this historical landmark and many artifacts that I'd read in the books is simply fascinating. The Palace is very large and includes several wings and museums that are open to the public. Plan enough time for your visit. If at all possible, reserve time and tickets in advance to watch Spanish Riding School performance or morning exercise. Even if you are not a horse lover, those majestic Lipizzaner stallions can easily take your breath away.

The Hofburg, or Imperial Palace, is an incredible site of culture and history. The Habsburg dynasty, one of the most influential Europe has known, was based here for six hundred years, and the palace is a chronological hodge-podge of building styles. It's now the office of the Austrian president and home to many museums. Some of the museums and places of interest within the Hofburg are: the Albertina - one of the finest art collections in the world (Durer, Rembrandt, Raphael, da Vinci, Rubens, Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, Klimt, etc) the Augustinerkirche - 14thc gothic-baroque church the Globenmuseum - dedicated to cartography the Lipizzaner Museum - the famous stallions and riding school the Nationalbibliotek - opulent library my favourite, the Schatzkammer - the imperial treasury, with a 2860-carat emerald, the imperial crown, and - if you're into it - several Christian relics (fragments of the true cross, a crucifixion nail, a thorn from Christ's crown, and a scrap of the tablecloth from the last supper) and a lot more.

"If only we had more time!" was the refrain as we walked around the Hofburg. After wandering the grounds looking for the Spanish Riding School stables, we eventually collapsed to rest in the Burggarten for a time, where there was plenty of people-watching. We were too tired to do much apart from strolling the gardens, and most of the museum areas are closed on Tuesday, which of course was the day we had in Vienna. This is somewhere that you could spend many days of a trip exploring. Note: There is a small fee to use the restrooms in the garden areas.

The building is huge and still can't believe they able to build such thing back then. I didn't go inside because they got other function that took over the main entrance. It seem like some source of National event because I saw the Austrian military was on guard duty. We heard about the Sisi museum, but we not interest because our guide was not recommended and just like what Aris stated on his comment. There are many renovation and construction during my visit around the whole city. So, this is one of the location, too.

i absolutely loved the hobs burg palace and the sisi exhibit - the outdoors are wonderful as well so its a must!

This former royal palace of Vienna is situated in the city centre of this magnificent city. You don't even need to go inside to marvel at the beauty of the building. But if you do go inside you will be blown away with the furniture, trinkets and everything in between. It's really quite spectacular and well worth a look!

To think this is the winter palace, is impressive. It's huge (2600 rooms) and you can't see everything just by standing there. Today, some people still live in the Palace, a good amount of people work there and there's plenty of museums with in walking distance. You could easily spend your entire trip here walking through the museums that are located here. You have the Spanish riding school, the Sisi museum, the silver museum and then 2 other museums across the street. Also, very close to some shopping. If you plan on visiting Schonbrunn (the summer palace), get a combo ticket for a discounted price!

Come, people, come. If for a conference, say Yay! immediately. It is one of the most luxurious conference places I know. At the long day of lectures you can get to know Sissi life or walk in the nearby garden. Just aaaah.

There is a Hofburg Palace at Innsbruck region of Tyrol far deep into the Austrian Alps! Connection with these people of the royal family (Hasburg dynasty Rulers). Undeniably, not replicating Palace Of Schonbrunn towards Vienna. Using other types of materials, and even the top antique Chandeliers look extremely alien. Carvings of the walls, varying room magnification spheres, including every detail of the inside building is infinite dramatic breathtaking scenery. Remember, Innsbruck Austria Tyrol is in close proximity to Bavaria Germany area where there are Planet Earth records of endless Castle regal grounds. I even saw a Crystal Globe at a Souvenir store right at Innsbruck somehow carrying a Neuschwanstein Palace Bavaria brand even when that is technically in another country. Tourists have to find out these other alternatives of Innsbruck outside of Vienna. What a dream to have real status to travel at Vienna Summer Of 2014, then to Innsbruck Summer of 2015 in another far away region of Austria. Including each Hofburg Palace technically unique arduous design from beginning to final results.

Pretty to wake around it and in the gardens. Nice place to chill on a sunny day

Very nice building, architecture and interesting history. Vienna has some of the most beautiful architecture set against picturesque well landscaped streets.