Rated Tourist Attractions

Located in the heart of historic Innere Stadt and overlooking Rathausplatz, Vienna's City Hall (Weiner Rathaus) is an impressive Neo-Gothic building that serves as the city's administrative center. Remarkable for its size, it occupies nearly 14,000 square meters of the former Parade Ground.

Best known for its huge Dinosaur Hall and for the world's largest exhibit of meteorites (which includes the Tissint meteorite from Mars that fell in Morocco in 2011), Vienna's Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a fascinating place to visit. Its 39 exhibit halls trace such subjects as the origins and development of humans and the evolution of human culture from prehistoric times.

Vienna's most important Gothic edifice and the cathedral church of the archbishopric since 1722, St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) sits in the historic center of Vienna. The original 12th-century Romanesque church was replaced by a Late Romanesque one in the 13th century, the remains of which are the massive gate and the Heathen Towers (Heidentürme).

One of the world's largest and most splendid theaters, the Vienna State Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper) has hosted many of the world's most prominent composers, conductors, soloists, and dancers. Operatic and ballet performances are staged at least 300 times a year, fuelled by an obsession with music that goes as far back as 1625 when the first Viennese Court Opera was performed.

All the great names in modern art are represented, often by multiple works, in the magnificent Albertina museum. Representative examples from all the various schools and movements are to be found here, including French impressionists, Vienna secessionists, the Russian avant-garde, the expressionists, and fauvists, represented by their greatest artists.

The origins of the Vienna Zoo – also known as Schönbrunn Zoo (Tiergarten Schönbrunn) – can be traced to Emperor Francis I's menagerie. Founded in 1752 it's the oldest continually operating zoo in the world. With many of its original Baroque buildings still intact, it's one of the most pleasant zoos in Europe to visit, particularly if you spend a little time seeking refreshment in the original 18th-century Imperial Breakfast Pavilion that now houses a great café.

Among Vienna's most popular attractions, Belvedere Palace is really two splendid Baroque buildings: the Lower (Unteres) Belvedere and the Upper (Oberes) Belvedere. Highlights of the Upper Palace include the Ground Floor Hall with its statues, and the Ceremonial Staircase with its rich stucco relief and frescoes.

Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum (Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien) is housed in a magnificent building created expressly to show off the tremendous art collections of the Hapsburg royal family. The superb collection of Dutch art features the world's largest collection of works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, including his masterpiece Tower of Babel.

For more than six centuries the seat of the Habsburgs – and the official residence of every Austrian ruler since 1275 – the Hofburg is perhaps the most historically significant of Vienna's palaces. The official seat of the Austrian President, this sprawling complex consists of numerous buildings reflecting various periods, including architectural flourishes from the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo movements.

The spectacular 18th-century Schönbrunn Palace (Schloss Schönbrunn) is worth visiting not only for its magnificent architecture, but also for its beautiful park-like setting. One of Vienna's top tourist attractions, this beautiful Baroque palace contains more than 1,441 rooms and apartments, including those once used by Empress Maria Theresa.