Welcome to Vienna

Featuring a golden dome decorated with laurels, this Art Nouveau exhibition building was constructed in 1897/98 by Joseph Maria Olbriach, a student of Otto Wagner, and is one of the most famous structures in Vienna. The Beethoven Frieze created by Gustav Klimt in 1902 is on permanent display on the lower level. Rotating exhibitions feature contemporary art. More information on www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights/art-nouveau/secession

With its magnificent gardens, this former residence of Prince Eugen von Savoyen is one of the most beautiful Baroque ensembles in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Upper Belvedere houses the world’s largest collection of paintings by Klimt, including the Art Nouveau icons “The Kiss” and “Judith.” It also contains masterpieces by Schiele, Kokoschka, Waldmüller, Renoir, Monet and Van Gogh as well as important collections of works from the 19th and 20th centuries, the Baroque and the Middle Ages. Top-quality special exhibitions are put on in the Lower Belvedere and Orangery. And the exquisite Baroque garden between the two palaces offers an extraordinary view of Vienna. More information on www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/museums-exhibitions/top/belvedere

Founded in 1572, the Spanish Riding School has put on performances in the Baroque Winter Riding School since 1735. These shows represent the highest form of equestrian art. The Spanish Riding School in Vienna is the only institution in the world at which the classic equestrian art of the “High School” has been preserved and practiced unchanged since the Renaissance. At the gala shows, visitors can enjoy unique presentations by the Lipizzaner horses in the most beautiful riding hall in the world. The morning session offers an insight into the years of training that the riders and their Lipizzaners go through. More information on www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights/imperial/spanish-riding-school

As the home of the Wiener Werkstätte archives, the MAK Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art is unique in its ability to represent the history and significance of the Wiener Werkstätte. The archive, which was donated to the MAK (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts) in 1955 by its last owner, Alfred Hofmann, comprises about 16,000 design drawings, including 5,500 from Josef Hoffmann, about 20,000 fabric samples, posters, postcard designs, model books, photo albums and business correspondence. One of the highlights of the MAK’s collection is Gustav Klimt’s nine-part working drawings for the mosaic frieze (around 1910) in the dining room of the Palais Stoclet in Brussels, which was designed by Josef Hoffmann. After a restoration process that took several years, this has again been on permanent display in the MAK as of 2012. The Palais Stoclet, which is considered one of the Wiener Werkstätte’s most important works, was commissioned by Adolphe Stoclet and built in the Avenue de Tervuren from 1906-1911. It most clearly symbolizes the utopia of the Gesamtkunstwerk, one of the main concepts behind the Wiener Werkstätte. More information on www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/museums-exhibitions/top/mak

Friedensreich Hundertwasser created the Kunst Haus Wien with colorful tiles, tilted walls and uneven floors. Colorful surfaces and irregular shapes, often overgrown with rampant green, are waiting for you. Multi-colored surfaces, irregular shapes, often overgrown with rampant green: This was how the painter not only added new momentum to Vienna’s architecture but also established an exhibition center that shows Hundertwasser’s works along with rotating exhibitions of exciting contemporary art. The ground floor also contains a cafe/restaurant and a shop. More information on www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/museums-exhibitions/top/kunsthauswien

The Albertina, the Habsburg’s enormous collection of graphic arts, houses works by Dürer and Rubens along with masterpieces by Schiele, Cézanne, Klimt, Kokoschka, Picasso and Rauschenberg. The show “Masterworks of Modernism: The Batliner Collection” is especially recommended. It illustrates the progression from Monet and Picasso to Gerhard Richter and Georg Baselitz and presents highlights from the last 130 years of art history. The Albertina also has a collection of architectural works and photos (including Helmut Newton and Lisette Model among others), which are on display in special exhibitions. More information on www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/museums-exhibitions/top/albertina

The House of Music is a multi-media world of experience. Six floors invite you into the world of sound and noise phenomena. Experimentation is called for here: visitors paint sounds with their fingers and direct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The world’s most famous orchestra is presented here from the time that it was founded right up to the present day. The acoustic journey ranges from pre-natal hearing experiences to the development of the human ear and the first musical instruments right through to the sounds of the Cosmos. Geniuses such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss are presented with original music scores, programs, costumes and personal items. On the top floor of the Sound Museum, the Restaurant Huth offers fine Austrian cuisine with a wonderful view over the rooftops of Vienna. The cafe-bar on the ground floor pampers with snacks for in between meals. More information on www.wien.info/en/music-stage-shows/city-of-music/house-music

The Danube Tower offers an unforgettable view of Vienna’s Danube landscape, the Old City and the Vienna Woods from a height of up to 170 meters. The two express elevators take visitors to the viewing terrace and the two revolving cafe/restaurants in just 35 seconds. The Danube Tower also attracts visitors with its breathtaking bungee jumping. The Danube Tower was built in 1964 for the Vienna International Garden Festival, which is remembered today in the Danube Park. Large meadows, extensive jogging paths, children’s play areas and flowerbeds offer a relaxing space for visitors. More information on www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights/from-a-to-f/danube-tower