With around 65,000 drawings and more than a million old master prints, the Albertina is a mightily impressive collection of art. Located in the largest Habsburg residential palace, the collection also includes more modern works - including two significant collections of Impressionist and early 20th-century art, and temporary exhibitions. Also on display are 21 exquisite Habsburg state rooms, spread over two floors of the palace.
Vienna’s Stephansdom (also known as St. Stephen's Cathedral) is kind of a big deal. As the national emblem of Austria, it attracts over 1 million visitors every year. And rightfully so – at over 800 years old, it’s home to some of the country’s most interesting historical and architectural sights.
The High Altar, which took seven years to build in the 17th century, is just one of 18 altars inside the impressive Gothic and Romanesque structure. The red marble tomb of Emperor Frederick III is decorated with more than 240 statues - that's 6.667 statues for every year of his reign as Holy Roman Emperor.
If your tastes extend to the more macabre, visit the catacombs, built during the 1735 Bubonic plague they're, erm, 'home' to over 11,000 skeletons.
The strange cuboid building in Vienna's fashionable Museumsquartier contains the most-visited museum in the city. The Leopold Museum has a remarkable collection of Viennese Art Nouveau, the Vienna Workshop, and of the Expressionist period. It also has the largest Egon Schiele collection in the world - plus masterpieces by Gustav Klimt.
There are also revolving exhibitions and a great shop and cafe (with a great view overlooking the Museumsquartier).
In the oldest part of the Hofburg Imperial Palace you'll find perhaps the greatest treasury in the world. It holds gems, crowns, scepters, orbs, and regalia collected and hoarded by the Habsburg Empire over a period of more than 800 years. The items are visually stunning and historically significant. In fact, the actual Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire rests here.
In addition to the worldly mementos of kings, queens, and emperors, there's also an ecclesiastical collection which features relics ascribed to various saints.
The Belvedere is a World Heritage Site, a Baroque jewel and the site of the Austrian State Treaty. One of the oldest museums in the world and at the same time a venue for contemporary art.
The unique overall ensemble with the two palaces Upper and Lower Belvedere and the extensive garden is one of the most beautiful baroque buildings in the world. In the 18th century, the Austrian general Prince Eugene of Savoy commissioned the distinguished Baroque architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt to build a summer residence, but Sisi Elisabeth never lived there.
After Empresses Maria Theresia purchased the palace, it was immediately dedicated to showcase the extended imperial art collection.
Housed inside Vienna's old Künstlerhaus on the city's famous Ringstrasse, the Albertina Modern made its long-awaited opening in 2020 after three years of renovation to the grand 19th-century building.
Unlike the nearby Albertina Museum, the Albertina Modern puts major emphasis on modern and contemporary Austrian art through both its permanent and temporary collections. It provides a dedicated space for the Essl Collection which was acquired in 2017. It also houses an impressive amount of international art, with extensive German and American collections.