17 Oct Albertina Museum – A cultural rhapsody in beautiful Vienna

For every art lover, the city of Vienna is a must-see spot. Paved with culture and history, it will bring you joy with every step you take. We were in awe of so much cultural heritage and it was very difficult to decide what to write about, but we can agree it’s not a mistake to start with the mighty Albertina museum – most visited art gallery in whole Austria.

Key info & Museum History

The Albertina museum was founded in a building known as Palais Taroucca, built in 1805, which was taken over by the Duke Albert of Saxen-Teschen. The Duke lived here and collected mainly graphics. His successors (members of the Habsburg imperial family) continued this practice and in 1920 that collection was united with the collection of the former Imperial court library (Austrian National Library now). In 1921 the Albertina museum was established. During WW II building was heavily damaged, but was successfully rebuilt and modernized in years to come. In 2020 modern art museum was opened in a different building and got name Albertina modern.

Numbers & facts

The Albertina museum is located at Albertinaplatz 1 – the strict center of Vienna. And half a mile away, at Karlsplatz 5, you will find Albertina modern. Working hours for the museum are 10 am to 6 pm, and on Wednesday and Friday, the closing hour is 9 pm. Albertina modern is also open daily, from 10 am to 6 pm.

For 25€ you can visit both buildings, or for 19€ you can buy separate tickets for each or a ticket for the museum and a current exhibition in Albertina modern. A useful piece of information if you are coming from another country: every ticket purchase can be done via the website and all admission tickets are valid for one year, so you can easily organize and prepare for sightseeing.

The best time for visiting would be right after the opening, but don’t be worried if you are coming in the afternoon and buying a ticket on the site. The staff is organized and fast, so if there is a line, it will move quickly.

Trivia

There are over one million artworks in The Albertina museum collection. Over 250.000 of them can be seen online on their website. Besides the art collection, the building itself is commemorative to Habsburg life – enjoy State rooms and discover precious furniture, fireplaces, chandeliers, etc.

Not to miss

The Albertina museum is home to some of the most famous Durer’s graphics – Praying hands and The Great Passion. Dated back to 1495, Study for the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci is also one of the most important pieces. You will be swept away by the paintings of Monet, Picasso, Degas, Cezanne, and Klimt of course. 

Make sure to check the yearly agenda on their website because of the many great thematic exhibitions.

Best photo spot

The museum is very spacious and well lit, so there are plenty of great selfie spots. However, the best place to take photos is the balcony at the entrance – if you take a photo there, you will see the beautiful building of the Vienna Opera House behind you.

Souvenir shop

Great stock of exhibition catalogs, artsy bookmarks, magnets, bags, and stuff. Bit pricey, but worth visiting to get at least one small memorabilia piece.

Our final impression

We were delighted after spending three hours in this museum. It’s one of the places that you can rediscover all over again every time you visit and certainly one of the most important European museums.

After the visit

Take a walk through the Burggarten, see Mozart’s monument, and Goethe’s monument, and take your time in front of the beautiful Hofburg imperial complex.

Oh yes – next to Albertina, there is a Wurst stand Bosna. Usually, there is a big line of people, waiting to get one or two sausages, but it’s worth waiting, especially after a long Museum visit, so you can eat and chill next to a beautiful fountain. Mick Jagger actually took a photo in front of this stand during The Rolling Stones 2022 tour.