Belvedere
Prince Eugene built this summer palace on Ottoman campaign winnings — it is now three art museums inside a World Heritage Baroque garden.
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Architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt completed this complex for Prince Eugene of Savoy in the early 18th century on land bought south of the Rennweg starting in 1697. The Upper Belvedere holds the permanent collection of Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the present; the Lower Belvedere runs special exhibitions; Belvedere 21 covers contemporary Austrian and international art, film, and music. The whole ensemble — two palaces, an Orangery, Palace Stables, and formal garden — is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What to look for
- The formal Baroque garden that links the Upper and Lower Belvedere palaces
- The two distinct palace buildings, both designed by Hildebrandt and completed in the early 18th century
- Belvedere 21, the wing dedicated to contemporary art, film, and music
Landstraße, Vienna's third district, on the south-eastern edge of the historic centre — served by tram along the Rennweg.
Belvedere is one of 39 sights worth the detour in Vienna, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Vienna pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Vienna
- Schönbrunn PalaceHabsburg emperors were born here, ruled from here, and died here — 1,441 rooms of Baroque ambition spanning 300 years.
- St. Stephen's CathedralA cathedral consecrated in 1147 as crusaders prepared to march — and built on top of a Roman burial ground that nobody knew was there until 2000.
- Hofburg PalaceSeven centuries of Austrian rulers worked from this address — the current president still does.
- Vienna State OperaThe first major building on Vienna's Ring Road, and the house where Vienna Philharmonic musicians earn their seats.
- Ernst-Happel-StadionBuilt for workers' sport in 1931, this 50,865-seat bowl also served as a transit prison for over 1,000 Jewish deportees in 1939.
- Kunsthistorisches MuseumThe Habsburgs' private art collection, housed in the palace they built just to hold it.