What Is Belvedere Palace?

Belvedere Palace is a pair of Baroque palaces — Upper and Lower Belvedere — built as the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy, the Austrian military commander who won a string of victories against the Ottoman Empire in the early 18th century. Architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt designed both buildings on rising ground southeast of Vienna's historic center, with the Lower Belvedere finished first around 1716 as Eugene's living quarters, and the grander Upper Belvedere completed around 1723 as a ceremonial building for entertaining guests and displaying his art collection. A formal French-style garden with terraces, fountains, and sphinx statues links the two palaces on a sightline that runs downhill toward the city.

After Prince Eugene died without an heir, the estate eventually passed into Habsburg hands and later opened as a public museum. Today the complex houses the Austrian Gallery Belvedere (Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), best known for holding the world's largest collection of Gustav Klimt paintings — including The Kiss and Judith — alongside major works by Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, and a broad survey of Austrian art from the medieval period to today. The Marble Hall of the Upper Belvedere also has a specific place in modern Austrian history: it's where the Austrian State Treaty was signed in 1955, restoring the country's full sovereignty after the postwar occupation.

Belvedere is one of Vienna's three great Habsburg-era palace complexes, alongside Schönbrunn Palace and the Hofburg — though unlike those two former royal residences, Belvedere's main draw today is its art collection rather than its furnished imperial interiors.

Tickets & Prices 2026

The Belvedere sells separate tickets for its three exhibition venues rather than one all-access pass:

• Upper Belvedere (Klimt, Schiele, the main collection): adults approximately €17.50, reduced rate (seniors 65+, students under 26) approximately €14.10, visitors with disabilities plus one companion around €4, free for children and young people under 19.
• Lower Belvedere (special/temporary exhibitions): adults approximately €14.60, reduced approximately €10.90.
• Belvedere 21 (the contemporary-art annex in the nearby Schweizergarten): adults approximately €9.30, reduced approximately €6.90.

A combined ticket covering both Upper and Lower Belvedere is also sold at a discount versus buying each separately — useful if you plan to see the permanent Klimt collection and whatever special exhibition is running at the same time. Holders of the Vienna City Card get a modest discount too, reportedly around €1.50 off the Upper Belvedere and €2.50 off the combined ticket, according to Vienna's official tourism board. If you're weighing whether a city pass makes sense for your trip length, our guide on whether the Vienna Pass is worth it breaks down which Belvedere admissions it discounts.

A caveat worth flagging honestly: the figures above are compiled from Vienna's official tourism board and third-party ticket vendors as of mid-2026 — the Belvedere's own ticketing page could not be directly verified while writing this guide. Museum pricing is typically revised at least once a year, so confirm exact current prices on the official Belvedere ticket page before you book.

Opening Hours & Best Time to Go

Hours differ by venue, so check both if you're planning a same-day visit to more than one:

• Upper Belvedere: daily 9:00am–6:00pm, extended to 9:00am–7:00pm from July 15 through August 31, 2026.
• Lower Belvedere: daily 10:00am–6:00pm.
• Belvedere 21: 11:00am–6:00pm, with a late Thursday opening until 9:00pm.

The Klimt galleries at the Upper Belvedere are the busiest stop, and the room holding The Kiss gets a steady bottleneck of visitors angling for photos through late morning and early afternoon — arriving at 9:00am opening, or after 4:00pm, gets you an unhurried look. Summer and the weeks around Vienna's Christmas markets are busiest; shoulder-season visits in April–May or September–October bring noticeably thinner gallery crowds.

How Long to Plan

Budget 1.5 to 2 hours for a focused visit to the Upper Belvedere alone — enough to see the Klimt and Schiele rooms properly without rushing, though committed art fans often stay longer. Add another 45 to 60 minutes if you're also visiting the Lower Belvedere's current special exhibition, plus 20 to 30 minutes to walk the gardens between the two palaces, which are worth the stroll on a clear day even if you're short on time elsewhere. Recommended total visit time for the full complex — both palaces and the grounds — runs roughly 3 to 5 hours if you're not rushing.

If you're building a broader Vienna schedule around the visit, our 2 days in Vienna itinerary shows where a Belvedere half-day fits alongside the city's other major sights without overloading a single day.

How to Get There

The Upper Belvedere's main entrance is at Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27, 1030 Vienna; the Lower Belvedere entrance is a short walk downhill at Rennweg 6, 1030 Vienna. Tram D runs to the "Schloss Belvedere" stop right at the Upper Belvedere's gate, while tram 71 (or D) stops at "Unteres Belvedere," a couple of minutes from the Lower Belvedere entrance. Both trams connect through the Ringstrasse, so getting here from most central hotels is a single tram ride without transfers.

The palace grounds are within easy walking distance of Vienna's Hauptbahnhof (main train station) — about 15 to 20 minutes on foot through the southern edge of the gardens, a convenient first or last stop for travelers arriving by train. From Stephansplatz in the historic center, it's roughly 2km — a 25 to 30-minute walk, or a short tram/U-Bahn ride.

Visit Tips: Queues, Booking & Mistakes

Book a timed-entry ticket online before you go, especially for the Upper Belvedere — the Klimt rooms draw heavy tour-group traffic through the day, and walk-up queues at the ticket counter can eat 20 to 30 minutes during peak season that a pre-booked online ticket skips entirely.

The most common mistake is assuming one ticket covers the whole complex. It doesn't: Upper Belvedere, Lower Belvedere, and Belvedere 21 are three separately ticketed venues, unless you buy the combined Upper-and-Lower ticket. Decide which venues you actually want before you book, rather than expecting a single all-access pass at the gate.

The formal gardens between the two palaces are free to enter even without an admission ticket, so it's worth a walk-through even if you're only booked for one venue or are simply passing by. Photography without flash is generally permitted in most gallery rooms, but rules can vary by special exhibition — check signage at the entrance rather than assuming.

Nearby Attractions

Belvedere sits a short tram ride southeast of Vienna's central Ringstrasse museums rather than directly among them, so most visitors treat it as its own half-day trip. The Kunsthistorisches Museum, Austria's other major art museum and home to the Habsburgs' collection of old master paintings, is a short tram or U-Bahn ride toward the Ring and pairs naturally with a Belvedere morning if you're doing a full art-focused day in Vienna.

Karlskirche, Vienna's landmark Baroque church, and the Naschmarkt, the city's best-known food and produce market, both sit within a 10 to 15-minute walk of the Lower Belvedere entrance, making them an easy add-on before or after your gallery visit.