Opening hours: patterns, not a table
Each sight sets its own hours, and several change by season or for events, so this is a pattern guide checked in October 2026. Always confirm on the operator’s page before you go.
- Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum. Daily, including public holidays, 10am to 4:30pm until 18 November 2026, with last admission at 4pm. The Sisi Museum rooms are closed until 19 November, and hours and prices change from then. The current times are on the Sisi Museum’s opening hours page.
- Imperial Treasury. Daily except Tuesday, 9am to 5:30pm, with entry up to 30 minutes before closing, using a timed slot. See the Treasury’s page.
- Weltmuseum, Imperial Armoury and Historic Musical Instruments (one ticket). Daily except Monday, 10am to 6pm, and until 9pm on Tuesdays. Holidays can change this: the Weltmuseum opens on Monday 26 October 2026, a public holiday. The Ephesos Museum keeps its own hours (daily except Monday, 10am to 6pm, and until 8pm on Thursdays). See the Weltmuseum’s page.
- State Hall. From October to May it is closed on Mondays, open Tuesday and Wednesday 9am to 6pm, Thursday 9am to 9pm and Friday to Sunday 9am to 6pm. From June to September it is also open on Mondays. It closes early for events on some days (from 2pm on 21 October and 3pm on 30 October 2026). See the library’s opening hours.
- Spanish Riding School. There are no fixed daily hours. Morning exercise and performances run on listed dates, so book from the school’s calendar.
- Hofburg Chapel. The sung mass is on Sundays at 9:15. Weekday visiting hours are Monday and Tuesday 10am to 2pm and Friday 11am to 1pm, except public holidays, per the Hofmusikkapelle.
- Burggarten and Volksgarten. Daily: 6am to 10pm from April to October, 7am to 7pm in March, and 7am to 5:30pm from November to February.
The pattern that matters: Mondays close the Neue Burg museums and, from October to May, the State Hall. Tuesdays close the Treasury. Wednesday to Friday is when all the main sights are open.
How long you need
Two hours is enough for the Imperial Apartments and a stroll through the courtyards. The museum’s guided tour of the apartments and Sisi Museum takes about 60 minutes, and the guided tours on the cards below run around two hours. A half day lets you add the Treasury and the State Hall. For a full day, include a Riding School session (about 60 minutes for the morning exercise, about 70 for a performance) and perhaps the Neue Burg. Our sight-by-sight guide has a two-hour plan and a full-day plan, and the Vienna itinerary shows how to fit the Hofburg around the rest of your trip.
Best time of day and week
Go midweek and book the first slot you can. The Sisi Museum and the Treasury both use timed tickets, so an early slot is the simplest way to keep your own pace. Treat the Riding School’s morning exercise (usually Tuesday to Friday, 10am) as a fixed point and build around it. Performances on the dates we saw were on weekend mornings at 11am, with an occasional Friday evening.
Evening options exist. The State Hall stays open until 9pm on Thursdays, and the Weltmuseum until 9pm on Tuesdays. Sunday mornings suit the mass. For the seasons, see when to visit.
Entrances and ticket offices
The Hofburg has several separate entrances, so check which one your ticket uses.
- Michaelerplatz. The Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum entrance is directly beneath the Michaelerkuppel. The ticket office for individual visitors is to the left of the Kaisertor (Emperor’s Gate) in the inner palace courtyard. The Spanish Riding School’s visitor centre is at Michaelerplatz 1, where tickets are collected and tours begin.
- Schweizerhof (Swiss Court). The Imperial Treasury and the Hofburg Chapel both use this courtyard.
- Josefsplatz 1. The State Hall.
- Heldenplatz. The Weltmuseum and the Neue Burg museums.
By public transport, the U3 underground (U-Bahn) line to Herrengasse and trams 1, 2, D and 71 to Burgring serve the palace, and the U3 to Volkstheater (exit Ring) is the stop for the Weltmuseum. The getting there page covers airport and station routes, and where to stay suggests areas.
Bags and cloakrooms
Travel light. The Sisi Museum does not allow luggage or bulky objects and has no cloakroom or left-luggage service, because you leave on Ballhausplatz rather than where you came in. The Spanish Riding School cannot store wardrobe or luggage. The Imperial Treasury has a cloakroom and lockers for backpacks and umbrellas, though it does not store luggage, and the Weltmuseum offers a free cloakroom and lockers. Do not bring a suitcase. Leave it at your hotel. In the Sisi Museum, you may carry a water bottle with a resealable lid, but no food or drink.
Photography
At the Sisi Museum and Imperial Apartments photos are allowed for personal use. Flash, tripods and selfie sticks are not. The Treasury and the Weltmuseum take the same line, and some objects carry their own bans. At the Spanish Riding School, cameras and recording are banned entirely. We found no published rule for the State Hall or the chapel, so follow the signs and staff.
Accessibility
- Sisi Museum and Imperial Apartments. Ramps, mobile wheelchair rails and a lift reach all exhibition areas. Wheelchairs are free against an ID deposit at the turnstile. Accessible toilets are on the ground and first floors, and the first-floor one needs staff help. Guide dogs are admitted, a companion of a wheelchair user is admitted free if the ID lists them, and there are three disabled parking spaces on Heldenplatz. Contact the museum before you buy if you use a heavy or three-wheeled wheelchair, as the rails may not suit it.
- Imperial Treasury. The collection rooms have a lift, and accessible toilets are near the cash desk and shop.
- Weltmuseum. A platform lift serves the main entrance, there are lifts and accessible toilets, and free wheelchairs can be reserved a day ahead.
- Spanish Riding School. The historic building has no lift. The royal box and the galleries are reached by stairs only, and wheelchair spaces are limited, so ask the school in writing first.
- Hofburg Chapel. A lift at the Schweizerhof Treasury entrance reaches the nave. Other areas need stairs.
- State Hall. We did not find the details, so check the library’s accessibility page.
Food and toilets
There is no single food court, so plan a break. The Weltmuseum’s cook café and bistro sits in the Hall of Columns and is open without a ticket, daily except Monday 10am to 6pm and until 9pm on Tuesdays. The Burggarten has the Palm House brasserie, whose hours vary by season. The Sisi Museum has accessible toilets on two floors and a gift shop at the end of the tour. For more options, see the nearby sights pages.
What to skip
- The Silver Collection. It is closed until further notice.
- The Sisi Pass, unless you are also visiting Schönbrunn. For the Hofburg alone, a day ticket is cheaper.
- The Vienna Pass for the Hofburg. It will not repay itself on these sights alone.
- The Sisi Museum itself before 19 November, if the exhibition is the main reason you came.
- Queueing on the day. Buy the Sisi Museum and Treasury tickets online. The tickets guide explains where.
- The Neue Burg museums, unless armour, instruments or world cultures interest you.
