Hofburg Palace, Vienna: an independent visitor guide

What the Hofburg is

The Hofburg is a palace complex, not a single building. It grew wing by wing from a medieval fortress, and the Sisi Museum’s history page counts 18 wings, 19 courtyards and 2,600 rooms across 240,000 square metres. Nearly 5,000 people still work and live there. The Austrian president’s office has been in the Leopoldine Wing since 1946.

For over 600 years it was the home of the Habsburgs, who ruled Austria and, for long periods, the Holy Roman Empire. The court wintered here, and from the 18th century it spent the summers at Schönbrunn. The monarchy ended in 1918. Now the wings hold museums, government offices and ballrooms.

There is no single grand tour. You choose from separate attractions, each with its own ticket, opening hours and entrance, and the Sisi Museum confirms there is no combined ticket for all of them. That makes planning the awkward part, and it is why this site exists. The good news is that walking through the courtyards and across Heldenplatz (Heroes’ Square) is free, so you can take in the scale before you spend anything.

Finding your way around

The sights cluster around four entrances, which helps when you are working out a route. The copper-domed Michaelerkuppel on Michaelerplatz leads to the Imperial Apartments, and the Riding School’s visitor centre is at Michaelerplatz 1. The Treasury and the Hofburg Chapel are reached through the Schweizerhof, the Swiss Court of the original fortress. The State Hall is on Josefsplatz, and the Neue Burg museums face Heldenplatz. Visiting the Hofburg explains each entrance and where the ticket offices are.

The main sights in brief

• Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum. Franz Joseph’s study and bedroom, and Elisabeth’s rooms, including a dressing room fitted with gymnastic bars and rings. The Sisi Museum exhibition about her life is closed until 19 November.
• Silver Collection. Imperial tableware, closed since 1 April 2023 until further notice. Do not plan around it.
• Imperial Treasury. The Holy Roman Empire’s crown, the Austrian imperial crown and coronation robes. Closed on Tuesdays.
• Spanish Riding School. Lipizzaner stallions in a baroque hall. You can watch the morning training or a full performance.
• State Hall. The 18th-century library hall of the Austrian National Library, with some 200,000 historic books.
• Hofburg Chapel. Sunday mass with the Vienna Boys’ Choir on most Sundays.
• Neue Burg. The curved wing on Heldenplatz, home to the Weltmuseum, an armour collection and historic musical instruments.
• Heldenplatz and the gardens. Free squares and parks that join it all together.

The longer version, with what you actually see and how long each takes, is in what to see inside the Hofburg.

Is it worth your time?

Yes, if you accept that you are choosing a few pieces rather than seeing a whole palace. The Imperial Apartments are restrained next to Schönbrunn’s gilded rooms, and that is the appeal. You see the study where Franz Joseph began work at 4am and Elisabeth’s dressing room, with its wall bars and rings, and you get a sense of two people living in a working palace rather than a stage set.

The Treasury has the most significant objects. Its crown served for centuries at the coronations of Holy Roman emperors. The Riding School is the one that feels most like an event. The State Hall is a single room, but a very good one.

You can skip a fair amount. The Silver Collection is closed. The Sisi Pass only earns its money if you are also visiting Schönbrunn. A walking tour that never goes inside a museum can be a good orientation, but it is not a way to see the Hofburg’s interiors.

Planning in a nutshell

Which ticket. For a first visit, start with the Imperial Apartments, then add the Treasury if crowns appeal or the Riding School if horses do. The tickets guide compares every option, explains the confusing names (Sisi Ticket, Sisi Pass, day ticket), says when a guided tour earns its price, and points you to the seller’s own shop when that is the cheaper choice.

How long. Two hours covers the Imperial Apartments and one more sight. A full day lets you add the Treasury, a Riding School session, the State Hall and a wander through the gardens. The sights guide has a two-hour plan and a full-day plan, and the Vienna itinerary shows where the Hofburg fits into a longer stay.

When. Midweek is easiest because the closing days sit at the edges of the week. The Treasury shuts on Tuesdays. The Weltmuseum and its neighbours shut on Mondays, and so does the State Hall from October to May. The Riding School’s morning training usually runs Tuesday to Friday. Visiting the Hofburg sets out the hours pattern, entrances and bag rules, and when to visit covers the seasons.

A simple order of play. Book the timed Imperial Apartments slot first, because it is the least flexible. On a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday the rest of the day can then run: the Riding School’s 10am training, a late-morning Treasury slot, an afternoon in the apartments, and the Burggarten and State Hall to finish. The apartments take last admission at 4pm until 18 November.

Getting there. The U3 underground (U-Bahn) line to Herrengasse and trams 1, 2, D and 71 to Burgring both serve the palace. Our getting there page has the details, and where to stay lists areas within easy reach.

Nearby

The Hofburg sits in the middle of Vienna’s historic centre, so it pairs easily with other stops. The Burggarten runs alongside the Albertina, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum is a short walk away at Maria-Theresien-Platz. St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Vienna State Opera are the other big stops in the city centre, and Schönbrunn Palace, the court’s summer residence, is worth a separate half day. The full list is on the nearby sights page.

HofburgPalace.com is an independent guide, not run by the Hofburg or any of the museums inside it. See about this site for how we work and how we earn a commission from GetYourGuide bookings.