Schönbrunn Palace Tickets (Vienna)

The name Schloss Schönbrunn breaks down into two parts:

• “Schloss” is the German word for palace or castle. You’ll see this term all over Austria and Germany when referring to grand royal residences. It’s essentially telling you right away that you’re dealing with an imperial building, not just any house.
• Now, “Schönbrunn” literally means “beautiful spring” or “beautiful fountain,” and there’s a real reason behind this name. Back in 1612, Emperor Matthias was out hunting in this area when he discovered an artesian spring with remarkably clear, beautiful water. He was so impressed that he called it “schöner Brunnen,” beautiful spring in German.

The name stuck to the land, and when the palace was eventually built here, it naturally took on the name of that spring.

Admission depends on the ticket chosen. The Entry Ticket covers selected rooms of the palace with the audio guide app, while the Classic Pass adds the Privy Garden, the Orangery Garden, the Maze and Labyrinth and the Gloriette viewing terrace.

Prices vary depending on the ticket type: Entry Tickets are generally the most affordable, while the Classic Pass and the combined palace tickets are higher in price but include more attractions.

Yes, when you book tickets online in advance you can skip the line at the palace entrance. This is highly recommended during peak season.

Yes, discounted tickets are available for students with a valid ID.

Yes, Schönbrunn also hosts museums such as the Carriage Museum. These can be purchased separately or as part of combined tickets.

No. Schönbrunn Palace sets no clothing, modesty or footwear rule, in the state rooms, the gardens or any ticketed attraction. The real restriction is baggage: bags larger than approximately A4 and rucksacks cannot come into the exhibition rooms. The Schönbrunn Palace dress code guide covers clothing, baggage and conduct in full.

For the palace interior, yes. Admission runs on fixed entry times, so every palace ticket carries a date and an entry slot, and booking online is what secures that slot instead of leaving it to whatever is left at the ticket desk. Buying on site remains possible, though that is the route that produces the waiting times, above all on summer weekends. Last admission to every attraction falls 45 minutes before closing, a detail worth checking against the seasonal opening hours. The park itself needs neither a ticket nor a reservation.

Across most of the estate, yes. The palace park is open without an admission ticket and its gates open at 6.30 am, two hours before the palace, so the Great Parterre, the Neptune Fountain, the Roman Ruin and the climb up the hill towards the Gloriette can all be walked without buying admission. What sits behind its own gate is the palace interior, together with the Privy Garden, the Orangery Garden, the Maze and Labyrinth, the Gloriette viewing terrace, the Palm House, the Desert House and the zoo, each ticketed separately. The park stays open all year, while those garden attractions close over the winter. The guide to the Schönbrunn gardens covers what is worth the walk.

Yes, several, though none of them sit on the visitor route through the state rooms. The Gerstner café and restaurant occupies the cavalier wing beside the main courtyard, the Schönbrunner Schlosscafé is in the guard wing, and Café Pavillon and the Schönbrunner Stöckl stand near the Meidling Gate on the park side. Higher up, Café Gloriette serves the hilltop pavilion looking back down over the parterre. The outlets inside the zoo need a zoo ticket to reach, with the Gasthaus Tirolergarten the exception that can be visited without one.

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