Unofficial visitor guide · Vienna
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien · Google Maps
Official audio guide · English Yes · 10 languages · €6
Opened in 1891 on Vienna's Ringstrasse to bring the Habsburgs' imperial collections together under one roof, the Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) has 12 paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder on display in its Picture Gallery and around 2,200 objects in the Kunstkammer. The museum's audio guide, a rented device for €6, covers 900 objects in 10 languages.
Independent guide by the makers of Tales of Museums. Not affiliated with the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Checked on 15 October 2026 from the sources linked above. Museums change their guides and rules; confirm on the official Kunsthistorisches Museum website before you go.
Checked on 15 October 2026 from the sources linked above. Museums change their guides and rules; confirm on the official Kunsthistorisches Museum website before you go.
Swipe for the works and stories worth knowing before you go.
Weary hunters and an exhausted pack of dogs come home with a single fox on a spear, while a pig is singed over a fire on the left. Below, villagers skate and play eisstock, a game like curling, on the frozen ponds. The museum calls it the first great winter landscape in European painting.
khm.at: Hunters in the Snow (Winter) · wikipedia.org: The Hunters in the Snow
Bruegel had seen Rome in 1552–53, and his tower recalls the Colosseum, which Christians of his day read as a symbol of pride. He shows countless building tasks in encyclopaedic detail and mixes ancient and Romanesque architecture. Compare the tower with the Flemish-looking harbour, which looks tiny beside it.
khm.at: The Tower of Babel · wikipedia.org: The Tower of Babel (Bruegel)
Cellini's only surviving work in gold was made for King Francis I of France: Neptune and Tellus, sea and earth, preside over a salt cellar that doubles as a model of the cosmos. In May 2003 it was stolen while the museum was under scaffolding; it was found in 2006, buried in a lead box in a forest near Zwettl.
Vermeer never sold this allegory of painting, with Clio, the Muse of history, as the model, even when he was in debt. Hitler bought it in 1940 for his planned museum in Linz; it was recovered from the Altaussee salt mine in 1945 and handed to this museum in 1946.
khm.at: The Art of Painting · wikipedia.org: The Art of Painting
This cameo, cut from two-layered Arabian sardonyx, shows Augustus enthroned as Jupiter beside the goddess Roma, while his successor Tiberius steps down from a chariot. It is first recorded in 1246 at the abbey of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, and Emperor Rudolf II bought it in the early 17th century.
khm.at: Gemma Augustea · artsandculture.google.com: Gemma Augustea (Kunsthistorisches Museum)
Arcimboldo built this head from fruit, grain and vegetables: peas for teeth, cherries for lips, and a straw coat with his name and the date woven into the collar. Look for the ear of maize, a plant that had reached Europe from Mexico in that same century.
khm.at: Summer · zeitendernatur.khm.at: New Year's menu for the emperor
Philip IV sent this portrait of his eight-year-old daughter to Vienna, where she later married her uncle, Emperor Leopold I. It was among Velázquez's last finished works. Step back from the silver-trimmed dress: the loose patches of colour only come together at a distance.
khm.at: Infanta Margarita in a Blue Dress · wikipedia.org: Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Blue Dress
The Virgin tells Saint Dominic to hand out rosaries to the kneeling faithful. In 1607 it was in Naples with the painters Louis Finson and Abraham Vinck; artists including Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder later bought it for the Dominican church in Antwerp, which gave it to Emperor Joseph II on his visit in 1781.
A hidden mechanism drove this gilded silver ship across the table while music played from inside and the little crew moved; as a finale, its cannons fired a salvo. Its rhyming inscription says the ship is called the Double Eagle and that no wind or storm can harm it.
Tales of Museums reads the label in front of you aloud in your language, for any label you can photograph. Free Wi-Fi is available in the exhibition rooms; bring headphones so you do not disturb other visitors.
Coming soon to the App Store for iPhone
The museum's audio guide is a device rented for €6 at the issue point to the left of the staircase. It covers 900 objects in German, English, Italian, French, Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian, Korean, Japanese and Mandarin. On your own phone, the museum's free app carries the audio guide in German and English only. khm.at: Audio Guide · khm.at: Educational offers for adults · khm.at: KHM app
Photography and filming for private use are allowed without flash or tripod, but check for signs banning photography of particular works. The house rules also say the museum may stop all photography from time to time, and extra light sources are not allowed. khm.at: Plan your visit · khm.at: House rules
Yes. Adults pay €22 online or €24 on site, and reduced tickets cost €19 online or €20 on site. Reduced rates apply to students under 25 with a valid student ID, pensioners aged 65 or over with a valid pensioner ID, people with reduced mobility and their companions, and the unemployed. Under-19s enter free and do not need to book an online ticket. khm.at: Plan your visit · khm.at: Questions & Answers
Since 8 September 2026, entry has been by time slot. You choose the time when you buy online or at the cash desk, if slots are left. Once you are inside, there is no time limit, and the museum says visits range from half an hour to a whole day. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. khm.at: Plan your visit · khm.at: Questions & Answers · khm.at: House rules
From Westbahnhof, take the U3 to Volkstheater. From Hauptbahnhof, take tram D to the Burgring/Kunsthistorisches Museum stop. The museum is served by lines U2, U3, D, 1, 2, 2A and 57A, and the main entrance is on Maria-Theresien-Platz. khm.at: Plan your visit
Yes. Step-free entry is through the side entrance at Burgring 5, where staff take you to the lift. Two lifts serve all floors, and there are five barrier-free toilets. Wheelchairs are available if you reserve one the day before at guestservice@khm.at. Visitors with disabilities and one companion pay the reduced price. When the museum is very busy, the number of buggies in the exhibition rooms may be limited. khm.at: Accessibility · khm.at: Plan your visit
Umbrellas, backpacks, large bags, selfie sticks and wet clothing must go to the cloakroom, which is free and also has lockers. The museum does not store luggage. The Café-Restaurant in the Cupola Hall is open only to visitors with a valid museum ticket, from 10:00 to 17:30 (Thursdays until 20:30). khm.at: House rules · khm.at: Plan your visit
There are 12 paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder on display in the Picture Gallery, which is on the first floor. They include Hunters in the Snow (1565), which hangs in Room X, and The Tower of Babel (1563). khm.at: Picture Gallery (exhibition) · khm.at: Picture Gallery (collection) · khm.at: Audio Guide
Yes. The Kunsthistorisches Museum opens every day from 10:00 to 18:00 (Thursdays until 21:00), including Mondays and the public holidays on its list, such as 25 December and 1 January. On 24 December it closes at 15:00, and on 31 December it stays open until 21:00; only the museum shops close on Mondays. khm.at: Plan your visit
Under-19s enter the Kunsthistorisches Museum free and do not need an online ticket. The museum's free app has 45 to 70-minute tours, some made for children aged eight and over and some for adults and children together, in German, English, Turkish and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian; on the last Sunday of each month (not July or August) a drop-in studio from 2 to 4.30 pm welcomes children aged 3 to 10 with an adult, in German. Children must be supervised throughout, and on busy days the number of buggies in the rooms may be limited. khm.at: Children & Family · khm.at: Open Family Studio · khm.at: Plan your visit · khm.at: Questions & Answers
Yes. Gustav Klimt's paintings of 1891 are on view in the grand staircase of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, set in the spandrels and between the columns, among them Egypt and Greek Antiquity. In 1890 Gustav and Ernst Klimt and Franz von Matsch were commissioned to paint this cycle, which shows the great periods of art history as symbolic figures. khm.at: Egypt (Gustav Klimt, 1891) · khm.at: Greek Antiquity (Gustav Klimt, 1891) · khm.at: Florentine Quattrocento (Klimt transfer sketch, 1890)
Use the main entrance on Maria-Theresien-Platz for a normal visit at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. If you have reduced mobility or push a buggy, use the side entrance at Burgring 5, where staff take you to the lift. Since 8 September 2026 you enter at the time slot on your ticket, so book the slot before you come. Staff may check bags at random, so leave umbrellas and large bags at the free cloakroom. khm.at: Plan your visit · khm.at: Accessibility · khm.at: House rules
A good route through the Kunsthistorisches Museum starts at the grand staircase with Klimt's paintings, then the Kunstkammer on the Hochparterre for Cellini's Saliera (Room XXIX) and the ship automaton (Room XXVII). Go up to the Picture Gallery for Caravaggio (Room V), Arcimboldo (Room 8), Velázquez (Room 10), Bruegel (Room X) and Vermeer (Room XII). As a suggestion, plan about 2.5 hours for this route. khm.at: Interactive floorplan · khm.at: The Art of Painting · khm.at: Saliera
At the Kunsthistorisches Museum you enter at the time slot you book, so book a slot online and arrive for it instead of planning around a queue. Admission has been by reserved time slot since 8 September 2026, and tickets bought before that date are valid during opening hours. Thursday is open until 21:00, three hours later than other days. khm.at: Plan your visit
Tales of Museums is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Translations, narration and the extra facts use AI and can contain mistakes, so for anything important, check the museum's official information and the linked sources. Please follow the museum's photography rules.