Belvedere Palace guide: Klimt's Kiss, tickets and what to see

The Belvedere beyond the postcard

Every travel article about Vienna includes Klimt’s The Kiss. Fewer of them explain what surrounds it: a palatial building constructed for Prince Eugene of Savoy, one of the finest Baroque palace-and-garden complexes in Central Europe, now home to Austria’s greatest collection of late 19th and early 20th century art. The painting draws the visitors; the palace and collection reward those who stay long enough.

This guide tells you what to expect before, during and after your visit — including what most tourists miss in the hour they spend before moving on.

What you need to know before you go

Upper Belvedere: Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27, 3rd district. Open daily 9 am–6 pm (Friday until 9 pm). Ticket: €16 adults, €13 concessions, under 19 free.

Lower Belvedere: Rennweg 6. Open daily 10 am–6 pm (Wednesday until 9 pm).

Combined ticket: €27 (Upper + Lower + Orangery). Worth it if you plan a full day; for most visitors the Upper Belvedere ticket alone suffices.

Getting there: Tram D from the Ringstrasse (stop Schloss Belvedere) or U1 (Südtiroler Platz, then 10 minutes on foot). The approach from the tram stop along Prinz-Eugen-Straße is undramatic. The proper first view of the palace is from inside the gardens, entering from the Lower Belvedere side and looking uphill.

Photography: Permitted throughout without flash.

The Upper Belvedere: room by room priorities

The Klimt rooms

The permanent collection is organized chronologically across three floors. Room 30 on the first floor contains The Kiss (1907–08) along with Judith I, the Beethoven Frieze (a reproduction — the original is at the Secession building), and several portraits from Klimt’s mature golden period. These rooms are always crowded. Visit on a weekday morning or on a Friday evening (open until 9 pm) for more breathing room.

The Kiss is painted in oil on canvas with gold leaf — a medium that creates a genuinely different effect in person compared to reproductions. The gold does not photograph well; in person it changes quality with the light. The painting is large (180 × 180 cm) and is displayed without glass at close viewing distance.

Important note on a persistent myth: Klimt’s The Kiss is at the Upper Belvedere, not the Albertina. The Albertina holds the largest collection of Klimt drawings and works on paper. If you want paintings, come here; if you want drawings and prints, visit the Albertina.

Egon Schiele

The Belvedere collection includes several significant Schiele works, including his self-portraits and the major painting Death and the Maiden (1915). Schiele (1890–1918) was Klimt’s most important protégé and arguably the greater original talent — his work is rawer, more physically confrontational, and died with him of Spanish flu at 28. For more depth on Schiele’s Vienna, see our Schiele and Vienna Secession guide.

19th century collection

The floors above and below the Klimt rooms contain Austria’s finest collection of Biedermeier and Realist painting: Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller’s luminous domestic scenes, Anton Romako’s portraits, Carl Moll’s Secession-adjacent landscapes. This material is rarely mentioned in tourist guides and consistently undervisited. If you have an interest in 19th-century European painting, the Belvedere’s non-Klimt holdings are substantial.

The Marble Hall

The central hall of the Upper Belvedere — where the Austrian State Treaty was signed in 1955, ending the Allied occupation and restoring Austrian sovereignty — is one of the finest Baroque interiors in Vienna. The ceiling frescoes by Carlo Carlone depict Prince Eugene as an Apollo-like figure, which was exactly the kind of self-presentation Prince Eugene had in mind when he commissioned the building in 1717.

The gardens

The formal gardens between the two Belvedere palaces were designed by Dominique Girard, a pupil of André Le Nôtre (who designed Versailles). They run 700 metres from the Lower to the Upper Belvedere along a central axis of cascading fountains, geometric parterres, and topiary hedges. Sphinxes line the lower terraces; the view looking up toward the Upper Belvedere is one of the most formally beautiful palace vistas in Central Europe.

The gardens are free to enter. They connect the two palaces and are the best way to understand the site as a unified composition rather than two separate museums.

Tickets and tours

Standard entry is the most straightforward option. Buy online to avoid the ticket desk queue, which forms by mid-morning in summer.

A private Klimt-focused tour is the most rewarding way to engage with the collection. Good guides cover Klimt’s biography, his position within the Vienna Secession, the symbolism in his major works, and the context of early 20th-century Vienna — none of which the wall labels have space to explain.

Honest tips

The Belvedere gift shop is one of the better museum shops in Vienna — prints, art books, and quality Klimt reproductions are reasonable. The coffee table book on the permanent collection is well-produced.

Combine with Schönbrunn? The Belvedere and Schönbrunn are both palaces with formal gardens, but they serve entirely different visits: Schönbrunn is about imperial domestic life; the Belvedere is about art. Do not try to do both in one day. The Vienna 3-day itinerary puts Schönbrunn on Day 1 and the Belvedere on Day 2.

Friday evening: The Upper Belvedere stays open until 9 pm on Fridays and is substantially less crowded than during the day. The Klimt rooms after 7 pm are the calmest you will find them outside of the depths of winter.

The Klimt trail: Vienna has multiple locations connected to Klimt beyond the Belvedere. Our Klimt trail guide maps the full route including the Secession building, the Wien Museum, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s ceiling paintings by Klimt in the staircase.

Frequently asked questions about Belvedere Palace

Where is Klimt’s The Kiss in the Belvedere?

The Kiss is in Room 30 on the first floor of the Upper Belvedere, as part of the permanent Klimt collection. It is the most-visited room in the museum.

How long does the Belvedere take?

The Upper Belvedere permanent collection takes 1.5–2.5 hours depending on your interest in Austrian art beyond Klimt. The gardens add another 30–45 minutes if the weather is good.

What is the difference between Upper and Lower Belvedere?

The Upper Belvedere (built 1717–1723) is the grander of the two palaces and houses the permanent art collection including Klimt, Schiele, and Waldmüller. The Lower Belvedere houses temporary exhibitions and the Baroque Museum. They are 700 metres apart, connected by the formal gardens.

Is it worth booking a guided Klimt tour at the Belvedere?

Yes if you want context beyond the wall labels. A good guide explains Klimt’s relationship with the Vienna Secession, the symbolism in The Kiss, and how the collection was assembled. The private Klimt tour is particularly detailed.

Can I see the Belvedere gardens for free?

Yes — the formal gardens between Upper and Lower Belvedere are free to walk through. The cascading fountains, topiary and sphinxes are worth the 15-minute stroll even without a museum ticket.

Where is the Belvedere in Vienna?

The Upper Belvedere is at Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27 in the 3rd district (Landstrasse). Take tram D from the Ringstrasse or U1 to Südtiroler Platz then a 10-minute walk.

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