- Year the Upper Belvedere was completed, built for Prince Eugene of Savoy
- 1723
- Austrian State Treaty signed at the Upper Belvedere on 15 May
- 1955
- Entry to the Palace Gardens during opening hours
- Free
What it is and why it is worth your time
The Belvedere is a pair of Baroque palaces built for Prince Eugene of Savoy, mainly to designs by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt. Wikipedia says work on the Lower Belvedere had begun by 1712 and the Upper Belvedere was completed in 1723. Today they are an art museum, and the Upper Belvedere is the one most visitors come for.
The Upper Belvedere holds Klimt’s The Kiss, plus works by Schiele and others. The museum also points visitors to the Marble Hall, where the Austrian State Treaty was signed on 15 May 1955. If Klimt is on your list, this is the place to go.
What to see and how long to allow
Head for the Upper Belvedere first. Its collection page lists Klimt’s Liebespaar (Kuss) and several Schiele paintings. The ongoing exhibition is called Picture this! and runs from Cranach to Lassnig. Budget a couple of hours.
The Lower Belvedere is optional. It hosts changing exhibitions in the former residential palace, plus the Orangery and a medieval gallery in the Palace Stables. Go only if a current show appeals to you. At our check there were shows on Erika Giovanna Klien and Erna Rosenstein.
The gardens are the easy extra. The garden was designed by Dominique Girard in a French style, over three terraces between the two palaces. It is free to enter, so you can walk it between the two buildings. Hours change by month: October is 6:30am to 7pm, May to August runs to 9pm, and November to February is 7am to 5:30pm. Dogs are not allowed. The Privy Garden is a separate area, entered with a ticket through the Lower Belvedere.
Tickets and opening hours
Check the Upper Belvedere page and Lower Belvedere page, checked October 2026.
- Hours: the Upper Belvedere is usually open 9am to 6pm and the Lower Belvedere 10am to 6pm, both daily. The Upper stays open an hour later in high summer.
- Price pattern: the museum shows a “current day price”. At our check the Upper Belvedere was about €23 and the Lower about €20. A day ticket for both was €32. Under-19s and Kulturpass holders were free.
- Slots: the Upper and Lower need a time-slot ticket. The Gold Pass, at about €49, covers all three Belvedere sites without booking a slot.
- Cafés: the Schlosscafé at the Upper Belvedere and the Parkcafé at the Lower both open during museum hours.
- Belvedere 21: a third site with its own ticket. Its closure dates were unclear at our check, so look at its page before planning around it.
The ticket site and the museum page showed different opening times for the Upper Belvedere on the day we checked, so go by the slot on your ticket.
Guide or no guide
No. The Smartify app offers audio tours for a fee. A map and a short list (the Klimt, the Schiele paintings and the Marble Hall) are enough. A guide is worth considering only if you want the Habsburg and Prince Eugene story around the art.
Getting there from the Hofburg
Tram D stops at Burgring beside the Hofburg and at Schloss Belvedere, the Upper Belvedere’s stop. Tram 71 also stops at Burgring and at Unteres Belvedere, the Lower Belvedere’s stop. Rail passengers use Quartier Belvedere, and the U1 stops at Südtiroler Platz/Hauptbahnhof, followed by a walk of about 15 minutes, the museum says. Check the Wiener Linien planner for live times. Our getting there guide has more.
One practical tip
Use two trams for a loop. Ride tram D out to the Upper Belvedere, see the Klimt, walk down through the garden, and come back on tram 71 from Unteres Belvedere (check the direction in the planner). If you want both palaces, the two-in-one day ticket is cheaper than buying them separately.
How it fits with a Hofburg visit
The Hofburg shows you imperial power. The Belvedere shows you one prince’s taste. The main Hofburg guide sets out the imperial side, and tickets and tours shows how to book it. For art, the Belvedere pairs well with the Albertina or the Kunsthistorisches Museum, but do not try all three in a day. If you want a second palace instead, see Schönbrunn.
