For many good reasons, this place attracts hundreds of visitors every day. First, its location—right in the city center—makes it impossible to miss. Second, the architecture is truly remarkable. And third, we’re talking about the former residence of royalty. The Hofburg served as the Habsburgs’ winter palace until 1918, while Schonbrunn Palace was the summer home.

TToday, the Hofburg is the official residence and workplace of the Federal President of Austria. Like many imperial complexes, it is far more than a single building. It is a vast ensemble of wings, courtyards, and institutions that expanded over centuries.

If you want to visit the interior, you have three main options:

• the Imperial Apartments,
• the Sisi (Empress Elisabeth) Museum,
• and the Silver Collection.

If you consider the wider complex, you can also include the Volksgarten Park, the Natural History Museum, the Austrian National Library, the Imperial Chapel, the Spanish Riding School and the Museum of Fine Arts. And that’s not even the full list.

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