Vienna, the city of music and art: the back story

About Vienna, the city of music and art: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Vienna Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Vienna has lived on music for three centuries: Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, Schubert and the Strauss family, Brahms and Mahler all worked here. The State Opera and the Volksoper, the Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Konzerthaus give performances on almost every night of the season. In art, the Kunsthistorisches Museum holds the Habsburg collections; the Belvedere and the Leopold Museum hold Klimt and Schiele; the Albertina, the MAK and the MuseumsQuartier cover the centuries between.

The stages

The Vienna State Opera on the Ring, the Volksoper for operetta and musicals, the Theater an der Wien, the Burgtheater for German-language drama, and the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus for concerts.

The old masters

The Kunsthistorisches Museum, opposite its twin, the Natural History Museum, holds Bruegel, Velázquez, Vermeer and the treasures of the Habsburg Kunstkammer.

Book opera and concerts directly with the houses, and keep one evening for standing places.

Klimt, Schiele and the Secession

The Upper Belvedere shows Klimt’s The Kiss; the Leopold Museum gathers Schiele; the Secession building, with its golden dome, holds Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze.

The MuseumsQuartier

In the former imperial stables, the Leopold Museum, mumok and the Kunsthalle Wien share courtyards with cafés.

Our advice: on Mondays some museums close; check each one’s own website.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Vienna, the city of music and art: the back story before you go.