Imperial Vienna – private walking tour of the Hofburg Palace with Sisi Museum, the Imperial Apartments and/or the Imperial Treasury

Who would have thought that a small medieval castle would one day become a palace from which an empire would be ruled? During this tour we will follow the expansion of the Habsburg Empire over a period of more than 600 years, discovering how the Hofburg developed into an imperial residence.

Our walk will lead us through the extensive and awe-inspiring grounds of the Hofburg, including Joseph’s Square, St. Michael’s Square, Heroes’ Square, the National Library, the Spanish Riding School and the Inner Courtyard. After that we will visit the Sisi Museum and the Imperial Apartments, which offer a range of exhibitions and displays related to the Habsburg dynasty and Austrian history.

We will visit the Sisi Museum, which presents over 300 personal items that belonged to the Empress Elisabeth, like her dresses, parasols, gloves, beauty preparations. It shows her beauty cult, her obsession with being slim and athletic and her passion for horse riding and traveling.

We will continue inside and discover, among others, the Conference Room – a room that was used for the ministerial conferences, which were chaired by the emperor. We will also see the private bedrooms of the imperial couple, their saloons for guests, Elisabeth’s dressing room and much more as the whole interior includes 18 different rooms.

If you decide to extend to a 4-hours tour, than we stroll down to reach the Imperial Treasury – also known as the Kaiserliche Schatzkammer – which offers a glimpse into the opulence and grandeur of the Habsburgs' empire. Here we will explore one of the biggest collections of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian heritage: the Imperial Crown and the Austrian Crown, the famous Holy Lance and the Order of the Golden Fleece and learn about their history and significance.