Vienna is home to a rich history and a vibrant culture, and the local museums show off some of the best, letting you immerse yourself in the local splendour. Whether you're interested in art or history, you'll find plenty of both on display at the museums in the city.
When you visit local museums, you'll find much more than just impressive items and artefacts on display. The museums themselves are often set in stunning historic buildings that are impressive in their own right. Check out some of the best museums in Vienna that you won't want to miss.
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Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
Check out a museum of art history
- History
Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna is a museum of art history and fine art showcasing a variety of works sourced from the Habsburg collection. Among this collection, you'll find legendary works from creators such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Raphael.
In addition to the pictures and paintings, you'll find quite a few impressive sculptures on display including Madonna With Child and St John by Benedetto Cacciatori. Even the statue outside of the museum is alluring. You'll find it on the west side of the city centre by the Hofburg Wien.
Location: Maria-Theresien-Platz, 1010 Wien, Austria
Open: Tuesday–Wednesday and Friday–Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, Thursday from 10 am to 9 pm (closed on Mondays)
Phone: +43 1 525240
Map - 2
Belvedere Palace
Explore a collection of Austrian art
- History
Belvedere Palace is home to the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, which is a massive collection of Austrian art dating back to the Middle Ages. It's arranged in a way that makes it easy to see how Austrian art has changed and developed over time.
You'll find this museum within Belvedere Palace, which is a massive palace complex dating back centuries. The architecture itself can be considered a work of art, but most visitors are more interested in the works by popular 20th-century Austrian artists Gerstl, Kirchner and Schiele. It's located on the west side of Fasanviertel.
Location: Prinz Eugen-Straße 27, 1030 Wien, Austria
Open: Daily from 10 am to 6 pm
Phone: +43 1 795570
Map - 3
Museum of Natural History Vienna
Discover the history of the world
- History
The Museum of Natural History Vienna lets you dive into the history of the natural world with exhibits showcasing how the planet and life on it has changed over time. You'll find 39 exhibition halls with more than 100,000 objects on display at any given time.
The organisation of the collection is based on the 19th-century idea that humanity was evolution perfected, so single-celled life is at the start with humans at the end. The museum has since adopted the idea that diversity, not perfection, is the purpose of evolution, so you'll see updated information on the tour even if the structure hasn't changed. It's located east of St Ulrich's Church near the city centre.
Location: Burgring 7, 1010 Wien, Austria
Open: Wednesday–Monday from 9 am to 6.30 pm (closed on Tuesdays)
Phone: +43 1 521770
Map - 4
Albertina Art Museum
See a massive print room
- History
The Albertina Art Museum is a stunning museum where you'll find one of the world's largest print rooms packed with drawings and old master prints. In fact, you'll find about a million old master prints here along with about 65,000 drawings. These include graphic work, photos and even architectural drawings.
In addition to the prints, this museum also has an impressive collection of impressionist art with some early-20th-century pieces as well. Several temporary exhibitions are commonly being held as well. You can see it for yourself in the southern part of Innere Stadt.
Location: Albertinapl. 1, 1010 Wien, Austria
Open: Wednesday and Friday from 10 am to 9 pm, Saturday–Tuesday, Thursday from 10 am 6 pm
Phone: +43 1 53483
Map - 5
Kunst Haus Wien
Look through the works of Friedensreich Hundertwasser
- History
Kunst Haus Wien is an art museum designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser that showcases an array of his works in a museum building also styled by him. The building is a former furniture factory that was converted into a museum with wavy floors and a noticeable lack of straight lines.
When you visit this museum, you'll notice the abundance of bright colours in virtually every direction, from the art to the museum building. Chequerboard mosaics are common throughout as well. It's located in the Landstrasse District.
Location: Untere Weißgerberstraße 13, 1030 Wien, Austria
Open: Daily from 10 am to 6 pm
Phone: +43 1 7120491
Map - 6
Leopold Museum
Check out a collection of modern art
- History
The Leopold Museum is a modern art museum that focuses on contemporary Austrian art with more than 5,000 exhibits available within. You'll find quite a few big names among the works here including Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Richard Gerstl. The museum also has one of the largest Egon Schiele collections in the world.
When you visit this museum, you'll find that most of the work focuses on the transition from the Art Nouveau movement to Expressionism in Austria and its art scene. You can see it on the east side of Laimgrube in southern Spittelberg.
Location: Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Wien, Austria
Open: Wednesday–Monday from 10 am to 6 pm (closed on Tuesdays)
Phone: +43 1 525700
Mapphoto by Maximiliano Fernandes Silva (CC BY-SA 3.0) modified
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Sigmund Freud Museum
Explore the history of psychoanalysis and its creator
- History
The Sigmund Freud Museum is a museum dedicated to the life of the man as well as the history of psychoanalysis as a practice. The museum building was the home of Freud for 47 years, and you can see the room where he wrote the majority of his works.
You'll find quite a few artefacts on display here including many of Freud's personal effects and antiques. Additionally, you'll find photos as well as documents, paintings and sculptures inside. See it for yourself in Rossau just north of the city centre.
Location: Berggasse 19, 1090 Wien, Austria
Open: Wednesday–Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm (closed Monday–Tuesday)
Phone: +43 1 3191596
Mapphoto by Bwag (CC BY-SA 4.0) modified
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Mumok - Museum of Modern Art
Discover modern art from around the world
- History
The Mumok - Museum of Modern Art is a stunning museum that focuses on modern and contemporary art from artists from around the world. Among the collection, you'll find major works from artists like Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Nam June Paik and Jasper Johns.
In addition to the famous international art, you can also see an impressive collection of Viennese Actionism, which was an art movement defined by transgressive and performance art. You can see it for yourself just a short walk south from the Volkstheater metro station near the city centre.
Location: Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Wien, Austria
Open: Tuesday–Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm (closed on Mondays)
Phone: +43 1 525000
Map - 9
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
Visit an architecture and design museum
- History
The MAK – Museum of Applied Arts is an architecture and design museum that has a rich permanent collection and an interactive design lab. The collection features quite a few historical works split up into sections including historicism, art nouveau, Empire style, Biedermeier, and Asian art, and even a section just for carpets.
The design lab here is composed of nearly 2,000 unique exhibits that you can interact with to understand the full nature of their design. You'll find designs for cooking, sitting, industrial applications, transporting and more. It's located in Innere Stadt.
Location: Stubenring 5, 1010 Wien, Austria
Open: Tuesday from 10 am to 9 pm, Wednesday–Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm (closed on Mondays)
Phone: +43 1 711360
Map - 10
Weltmuseum
Check out a massive anthropological museum
- History
The Weltmuseum is a massive anthropological museum located within the Hofburg Imperial Palace where you'll find ethnographical and archaeological objects from around the world. More than 400,000 objects are a part of the collection here, and they come from Asia, Oceana, America and Africa.
When you visit this museum, you'll find quite a few impressive pieces including the feathered headdress of Moctezuma II, several Benin bronzes and 2 rongorongo tablets. It's all located near the city centre among the baroque palace complex.
Location: Heldenplatz, 1010 Wien, Austria
Open: Tuesday from 10 am to 9 pm, Thursday–Monday from 10 am to 6 pm (closed on Wednesdays)
Phone: +43 1 534305052
Mapphoto by GodwinPaya (CC BY-SA 4.0) modified