We learned alot from our guide, Stephan. He explained the differences between the numerous styles of art and shared the history of the different art pieces. He also spoke of the history of Belvedere Palace and how it was built. We really really enjoyed our tour and found Stephan’s passion for history and art infectious.
Belvedere Palace & Museum: A World-Class Art Collection in an Aristocratic Utopia
2.5 Hours
Experience an Architectural Wonder of the Baroque Era
Explore Art Masterpieces by Klimt, Schiele, Rodin & Van Gogh
Your guide, an expert in the history of art and architecture, leads you on a journey of discovery through the formal gardens and lavish summer palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy – one of the most successful military commanders of all time. The palace and grounds are at once a masterstroke of Baroque landscaping and design, and a testimony to Eugene’s patronage of the arts, which continued beyond his death when the Belvedere became one of the first public museums in the world, now home to a world-class art collection, featuring masterpieces from Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Auguste Rodin, Claude Monet, and Vincent van Gogh.
Stroll through the formal gardens and learn the significance of features inspired by classical antiquity, including the great water basin, the tiered fountains, the marble statues, and ornate wrought iron gates.
Visit Belvedere Palace - a marvel of Baroque design and architecture - and gain insight into the ways in which the prince's splendid summer residence reflected the tastes and fashions of the day.
Admire important masterpieces by Klimt, Schiele, Rodin, Monet, van Gogh, and more in the Belvedere Museum's world-class art collection - with exhibition highlights introduced by your knowledgeable guide, an expert art and architecture historian.
Tour Details
Price
Private tour – $390 USD (1-10 persons)
*your guide all to yourself
Small groups – $125 USD per person
*still intimate with 8 persons or less
Departure time
Private tours daily at 10:00 AM and 2 PM
Small groups
- Monday 2 PM
- Wednesday 10:00 AM
- Friday 2 PM
- Saturday 10:00 AM
Meeting point
Private tours include a pick-up at your central hotel or flat
Small groups: Ticket office of Upper Belvedere Palace, Prinz Eugen-Street, 1030 Vienna, Austria
Availability
Year-round
Duration
Private tours: 3 hours
Small groups: 2.5 hours
Group size
Private tours: 1-10 persons
Groups of over 10 should contact us at info@insightcities.com in order to get a special rate for their party.
Small groups: 2-8 persons
Participation requirements
As this is a walking tour, please contact us if you have any mobility issues or concerns
Not included
Upper Belvedere:
- Individual: €19
- Students & seniors: €15,50
- Children and youth up to 18: free
Upper & Lower Belvedere and Orangery:
- Individual: €28,50
- Students & seniors: €24,50
If you wish to visit the Lower Belvedere’s temporary exhibition after your tour ends, you’ll want to purchase a combined ticket to both Upper and Lower Belvedere.
What to bring
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Cash or credit card for the Museum entrance fee
About your guide
Read about our Vienna guides
Cancellation policy
For cancellations 48 hours prior to your scheduled tour, Insight Cities offers a full refund. We cannot refund cancellations within 48 hours of a scheduled tour as we need to pay our guide.
Itinerary
Belvedere Palace, an 18th-century architectural masterpiece
The Belvedere complex is an architectural masterpiece of bygone aristocratic splendor, designed to project a sense of earthly harmony. This terrestrial utopia was founded in the first decades of the 18th century as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy, the commander-in-chief of the Austrian army and one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history.
During our tour, we explore the formal gardens, the Upper Belevedere, and the museum, with the option of visiting the Lower Belvedere’s temporary exhibition and the Orangery at your own pace – depending on ticket type.
The Formal Gardens
Our Belvedere Palace walking tour begins in the formal gardens, where your expert historian guide shares insight into highlights including the great water basin in the upper parterre, the tiered fountains and cascades populated by nymphs and goddesses, the marble statues of gods and heroes, and the intricate wrought iron gates. Inspired by classical antiquity, Belvedere Palace’s gardens testify to the legacy of Prince Eugene’s dedicated patronage of the Arts.
The Upper Belvedere and the Prince’s Summer Residence
Among the most significant buildings of its time, the grandiose palace of the Upper Belvedere is a masterstroke of Baroque architecture. With your knowledgeable guide to lead the way, explore the Prince’s summer residence and learn how the elegant sala terrena, grand staircase, majestic marble hall, and the chapel illustrate both his own personal tastes and the artistic considerations of the day.
After Eugene’s death, the complex continued to play a significant role in Austrian culture and history. Inspired by the notion of enlightened absolutism, the Belvedere became one of the first public museums in the world – with the aim of making the Habsburgs’ imperial collection accessible to the general public.
The Belvedere Museum
Following our 1-hour walk through the gardens and palace, our tour moves on to a 1.5-hour visit of the Belvedere Museum. The museum exhibits a world-class compilation of Austrian and international masterpieces from the Middle Ages to the present day, including items from the Austrian National Gallery. During your visit, your expert guide – an art and architecture historian – shares the secrets of treasured artworks by renowned artists including Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Auguste Rodin, Claude Monet, and Vincent van Gogh, to name but a few.
Pieces include acclaimed paintings from Gustav Klimt’s golden period such as ‘The Kiss‘, ‘Judith and the Head of Holofernes‘, landscapes from the Attersee series, and other sophisticated portraits of high society ladies. As a counterpoint, the dramatic and contorted style of Klimt’s younger colleague, Egon Schiele, evokes the unfolding trauma of the First World War in a profoundly autobiographical manner.
Besides Klimt’s and Schiele’s great canvasses representing fin de siècle Vienna’s avant-gardism, you’ll encounter Jacques-Louis David’s well-known ‘Napoleon on The Great St. Bernard Pass‘ (1801), where the artist’s propagandist pathos blends with his fiery boldness. In a different way, Caspar David Friedrich’s atmospheric ‘Wanderer above the Sea of Fog‘ is a masterpiece of the Romantic movement, sensitively combining introspection with metaphysical symbolism.
Good to Know
- Please remember to wait until the beginning of your walk to purchase your tickets for the Belvedere in the company of your guide.
- If you wish to visit the Lower Belvedere’s temporary exhibition after your tour ends, you’ll want to purchase a combined ticket to both Upper and Lower Belvedere.
See Our FAQs for More Information
See What Our Guests are Saying
We were extremely fortunately to have Ira as our guide. She met us on time, helped us purchase the right tickets, provided a wonderful history of the place, walked us through the gardens, provided information on key pictures and recommended a great place for lunch. Belvedere Palace is beautiful and Ira helped us see that beauty. You will be fortunate, just like us, if you get her as your guide.
We arrived in Vienna with only one full day to enjoy the sights. A tour of the Belvedere was recommended and did not disappoint!! Our tour guide Alan met us at the ticket office as scheduled. We went through the Belvedere receiving highlights of the art and artists as well as the history of the Vienna. Thanks Alan for making this one of our very best tours! We would have never had such a great day and visit to Vienna without this tour. We will return!
Angelika was a great tour guide of a beautiful palace/gallery. Brought art to life through detailed background, and showed the progression of the artists.
