Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
are best in front). Pay by contributing to the offering plate and buying a CD afterwards. Pro-
grams are posted by the entry.
Next to the Augustinian Church, this Baroque building was once the library of the Habs-
burgs.Wanderingthroughthisimpressivetempleoflearning—withastatueofCharlesVIin
the center—you find yourself whispering. The setting takes you back to 1730 and gives you
the sense that, in imperial times, knowledge of the world was for the elite—and with that
knowledge, the elite had power. There are four specialized museums within the library: the
StateHall(Baroqueheartofthelibrary),thePapyrusMuseum(allthingspapyrus),theGlobe
Museum(250terrestrialandcelestialglobes),andtheEsperantoMuseum(whoknew?).The
recommended Soho Kantine in the basement is good for a cheap lunch.
Cost and Hours:
Library—free, main reading room open daily 9:00-21:00; mu-
seums—€3-7, open Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Thu until 21:00, closed Mon;
www.onb.ac.at
.
Thisgreenbelt,oncethebackyardoftheHofburgandnowapeople'spark,welcomesvisitors
to loiter on the grass. On nice days, it's lively with office workers enjoying a break. The
statue of Mozart facing the Ringstrasse is popular. The iron-and-glass pavilion (c. 1910 with
playful Art Nouveau touches) now houses the recommended Café Restaurant Palmenhaus
and a small but fluttery butterfly exhibit (€5.50; April-Oct Mon-Fri 10:00-16:45, Sat-Sun
10:00-18:15; Nov-March daily 10:00-15:45).
Thisbuilding,atthesoutherntipoftheHofburgcomplex(neartheOpera),wastheresidence
of Maria Theresa's favorite daughter, Maria Christina, who was the only one allowed to
marry for love rather than political strategy. Her many sisters were jealous. (Marie-An-
toinette had to marry the French king...and lost her head over it.) Maria Christina's husband,
Albert of Saxony, was a great collector of original drawings and amassed an enormous as-
sortment of works by Dürer, Rembrandt, Rubens, and others. As it's Albert and Christina's
gallery, it's cleverly called the “Albertina.”
Cost and Hours:
€11, generally meaningless without €4 audioguide, daily 10:00-18:00,
Wed until 21:00, overlooking Albertinaplatz across from the TI and Opera, tel. 01/534-830,
Visiting the Museum:
To understand both the imperial apartments and the wonderful
artworks,investintheaudioguide,whichmakesthiscollection aluxuriouslessoninmodern
art appreciation—from Monet to today. Head first to the Albertina's elegant French-
Classicist-style
state rooms
(Prunkräume)
for a great opportunity to wander freely under
