A girl’s got to visit a palace once in her life and I started with a visit to the very impressive Schönbrunn in Vienna, Austria. Schönbrunn was commissioned to be built at the end of the 17th century by Emperor Leopold I. The building was intended as a hunting lodge and summer residence designed by architect Bernhard Fischer von Erlach.
Despite the fall of the monarchy, Schönbrunn’s splendour is today as well preserved as in its heyday. And due to this, the palace was declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1996.
The gardens and outside area of Schönbrunn Palace are free to visit and if you want to learn more about the history of the building you can pay an entrance fee of around €15,90 for the Grand Tour which includes an audio guide tour within the walls. The tour takes around 50 minutes. There are also various other tours and package deals available depending on your preferences and time constraints of course.
However, I recommend taking the time to firstly visit the gardens before partaking in the audio tour and viewing the inside of the palace. The general garden area makes for a great stroll. I even took the time to have a bit of fun with this regal building as a fabulous back-drop for my photos! I mean, why wouldn’t you want to jump for joy at this exquisite attraction?
Additionally, you can walk up a small hill and have a coffee with a view of the palace and the city of Vienna in general. Tip – make sure you wear comfortable walking shoes as the path to the top is a loose stone path and the incline quite steep.
At the top you’ll see the lovely gloriette, an arch dating from 1775 and within, a superb cafe.
There’s also a body of water at the top – a reservoir just in front of the gloriette whereby you can also sit and relax on a bench.
A trip to Vienna certainly isn’t complete without a visit to the glorious Schönbrunn Palace. However, it’s important to keep in mind the popularity of the place and I recommend arriving as early as possible and purchasing your tickets online beforehand.
Elizabeth Joss-Bethlehem
Elizabeth Joss-Bethlehem is the founder and main writer at The Museum Times. She works as a university lecturer by day and is an avid travel blogger and arts and culture enthusiast by night. Elizabeth started The Museum Times out of the need to give smaller, lesser-known museums more exposure.
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