HOFBURG COMPLEX

Some culture jocks manage to visit the entire Habsburg Palace in 2 hours! What a shame! On the program: Sissi's Imperial Apartments, the Vienna Imperial Treasury, the Spanish Riding School, the Imperial Treasury, the National Library, museums, etc.

Sissi Museum, Imperial Apartments and Silver Collection. On the first floor, you'll discover an incredible collection of Habsburg silver, porcelain and crystal. Upstairs, the Sissi Museum invites you into her private life, with exhibits of her toilet and private carriage. Visit the Imperial Apartments, decorated in the Franz Joseph style (^19th century).

The Spanish Riding School. This is where the court's famous Spanish Lipizzaners perform. It's possible to attend morning lessons. Reservations recommended for shows.

Vienna Imperial Treasury. This is the world's largest treasure room, featuring imperial crowns, the treasure of the Holy Roman Empire with the Imperial Crown and the Holy Lance, the treasure of the Order of the Golden Fleece, Empress Elisabeth's jewels and the world's largest cut emerald.

The Hofburg Chapel. Court musicians such as Mozart, Salieri and Bruckner played here. Mass sung on Sunday mornings (except in summer) by the Vienna Boys Choir, one of the world's oldest choirs, founded in... 1498.

Salle d'apparat de la bibliothèque nationale. A Baroque masterpiece of incomparable splendor, this former court library room features a cupola, putti and statues looking up to heaven.

Augustinerkirche. One of the most important imperial court churches, with a richly adorned interior. Renowned for its music during Sunday mass. Access from outside the Hofburg complex.

National Library. Its reading rooms are grandiose. Home to the Papyrus Museum, the world's largest collection of papyrus, and the Esperanto Museum.

Museums in the Neue Burg. The building houses 3 museums: the Imperial Collection of Weapons and Armor of Maximilian II (1527-1576), the Collection of Historical Musical Instruments and the Ephesos Museum, an antique museum featuring Greek remains from Ephesus.

Weltmuseum Wien. One of the world's richest ethnographic museums, with 14 rooms in a row,

Albertina. One of the jewels of Vienna's art museums, famous for Dürer's Hare, among other masterpieces.

You can also shop in two boutiques and dine at the Café Hofburg.