Come with us to one of the best art museums in the world, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and you will not be disappointed!
The Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna is part of four museums together with the Weltmuseum Wien, the Kaiserliche Schatzkammer and the Theseustempel (we shall review the three latter ones separately, follow us here!).
Do not forget to admire the museum as a building! Together with the Museum of Natural History they create an "imperial forum" with the Hofburg’s Leopoltinische Tract (Emperor Leopold’s wing of the old palace). In front of the museum, there is one of the most famous monuments in Vienna, Maria Teresa, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. The magnificent cupola is decorated with a bronze statue of Pallas Athene. Do not forget the interior, either, as it is easily worth a separate visit!
The set exhibition truly makes your day with works from Dürer, Rubens, Rembrandt, Raphael, Titian and Michelangelo, just to name a few. The brilliant museum also includes an Egyptian and Near Eastern collection, Greek and Roman antiquities, a collection of historic musical Instruments and an exquisite library. As a curiosity, the coin collection includes a special area for Böse Kaiser, evil emperors, hope you don't find your relatives there!
Unfortunately, the huge variety of exhibitions also means that it may be a bit complicated to move around and you really need to see to it yourself that you check all the interesting exhibitions. Consider also taking an enlarged ticket that includes the temporary exhibition.
The museum provides an easy access to persons in a wheelchair or with a pram but given the age and layout of the building, it might be a bit complicated. You need to use the side entrance at Burgring 5 where a concierge will help you to a lift. Then, you can buy your tickets at the shop in the entrance hall. There are two lifts to carry you to the exhibition floors if you cannot take the marvellous stairs. A very nice additional feature are the five public car parking spaces for disabled badge holders at Heidenplatz 2.
There are five accessible loos in the building and they are well located, easily accessed and very clean.
When it comes to the museum shop, it almost couldn’t be better. The museum certainly meets the requirements set by a demanding visitor to a respectable museum. Perhaps this is why they call it a Boutique. Why don’t you take your credit card with you and do some serious shopping - jewellery based on historic models, silk scarves and ties, artwork replicas in good taste, in addition to the usual museum stuff. For those in a hurry, there are a couple of items on sale just next to the café.
Yet another very pleasant feature is the large number of free lockers for bags and coats if you don’t want to leave them in the guarded cloakroom (which, though, was closed during our visit in March 2022). Just put in a 50 cent or 1 euro coin which you will get back when you open the locker when you leave.
The restaurant is a marvel and definitely worth a bite, if for nothing else, then just to enjoy the interior. You almost feel that you need to dress up for the café! On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, they serve breakfast for the early museum bird like me. On Thursday evenings they serve dinners and if you are happy to put in an extra Euro, you can have a special champagne dinner!. Book your table at www.genussimmuseum.at.
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
Neue Burg, Heldenplatz, 1010 Wien
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