Hofburg Palace Tickets 2026: There Is No Single Ticket

Ask for "Hofburg tickets" at the gate and the person behind the glass will ask you which part. The Hofburg is not a museum. It's a 240,000 square metre complex that housed the Habsburgs for six centuries, and today it holds separate attractions run by separate organisations selling separate tickets. Buy the wrong one and you'll spend €20 looking at armour when you came for Empress Elisabeth.

This guide sorts out which ticket buys what, and flags the autumn closure that most sites still haven't updated.

In 3 minutes, you'll know:

• The four Hofburg tickets and what each one actually covers
• Why 6 October to 18 November is cheaper and emptier at the same time
• The exact price gap between official and resellers
• Which entrance to use, because there are several and only one is right

How much are Hofburg tickets in 2026?

The ticket most people mean is the Sisi Museum, which includes the Imperial Apartments in the same price.

Prices are subject to seasonal change from 19 November 2026, so anything you read for a winter trip needs re-checking after that date.

The Imperial Treasury is a different ticket. It sits in the same complex, holds the imperial crowns and the Order of the Golden Fleece, and costs €16 booked online or €18 at the door. Under 19 enters free. It is run by the Kunsthistorisches Museum, not by the Sisi Museum's operator, which is why no combined ticket exists between the two.

The Neue Burg (arms and armour, historic instruments, the Ephesos collection) and the Spanish Riding School are separate again. Neither is included in the Sisi ticket, and the resemblance of their names to "Hofburg Palace" on booking sites is the single most common source of confusion.

The autumn closure nobody has updated

From 6 October to 18 November 2026, the Sisi Museum runs the final phase of its refurbishment. Three things change at once:

• The museum section closes. Elisabeth's objects, the dresses, the death mask, the parasol collection: not on display during those weeks.
• The Imperial Apartments stay open. Franz Joseph's and Elisabeth's actual living quarters remain, and they're the better half of the visit for many people anyway.
• Tickets drop 25%, which puts the adult price around €15. The Sisi Pass is excluded from the discount.
• Hours shorten to 10 AM – 4:30 PM, with the ticket office closing at 4 PM.

If Elisabeth is the reason for your trip, move it outside that window. If you're after the imperial rooms and the building, those seven weeks are the cheapest and quietest of the year, and they land exactly when Vienna's Christmas markets start filling the city centre.

One more closure that no ticket page shows prominently: the Silver Collection has been shut since 1 April 2023 and the official site still says "until further notice". Older guides list it as part of the visit. It isn't.

Where to book the entry ticket

When a tour beats the entry ticket

The official guided tour costs €25, five euros over the plain ticket. The catch is the timetable: English runs once a day, at 2 PM. German gets 11:30 AM and 3:30 PM. Italian only in high season. If 2 PM doesn't fit your day, the official option is silence and an audio guide.

That's a real gap, and it's the one case at the Hofburg where a reseller is worth the premium.

What about the Imperial Treasury?

This is the part of the Hofburg that people skip and then regret. The Treasury holds the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austrian imperial crown, the Order of the Golden Fleece, and a narwhal tusk the Habsburgs catalogued as a unicorn horn.

Here the maths flips. GetYourGuide sells it at €16, the same as the official online price, with free cancellation on top.

Is the Sisi Pass worth it?

The Sisi Pass bundles three sites for €60 adult, €38 child: Schönbrunn Palace (Grand Tour with audio guide), the Sisi Museum with the Imperial Apartments, and the Vienna Furniture Museum. It's valid for one year from purchase, and only the Schönbrunn slot is date-bound.

The maths: Schönbrunn's Grand Tour is around €34, the Sisi Museum €20, the Furniture Museum €12. That's €66 separately against €60, so the saving is about €6, not the "up to 25%" the official page advertises for every category.

It earns its price in two situations. If you're in Vienna twice within a year, the one-year validity means the second visit costs nothing extra. And if the Furniture Museum genuinely interests you — it's an odd, good museum, with the Sissi film sets among the Biedermeier — the bundle makes it free in practice. If Schönbrunn plus the Hofburg is the whole plan, buy them separately and keep the flexibility. See our Vienna museum pass comparison for how it stacks up against the city's other cards.

When to go, and which door

Hours: daily and on public holidays, 9 AM – 5:30 PM. Last admission 4:30 PM, when the ticket office also closes. You can stay in the Sisi Museum until 5 PM and in the Imperial Apartments until 5:30 PM. During the refurbishment window it's 10 AM – 4:30 PM.

The entrance is at the Michaelerkuppel, the domed rotunda on Michaelerplatz. This matters more than it sounds. The Hofburg has entrances on Heldenplatz, Josefsplatz, In der Burg and Michaelerplatz, and only the Michaelerkuppel leads to the Sisi Museum. The Treasury is through the Schweizerhof courtyard, a two-minute walk away and easy to miss.

Quietest slots: first admission at 9 AM, or after 3 PM once the coach groups have moved on to Schönbrunn. The visit runs about 60 minutes, so a 3:30 PM start still finishes comfortably.

Getting there: U3 Herrengasse is a two-minute walk. Trams 1, 2, 71 and D stop at Burgring.

Last verified: August 2026

Prices and closures checked against the official Sisi Museum ticket and opening-hours pages, and the Imperial Treasury fee page, on 19 August 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much are Hofburg Palace tickets in 2026?

There is no single Hofburg ticket. The Sisi Museum with the Imperial Apartments costs €20 for adults, €12 for children aged 6-18, and €18 for students aged 19-25 or Vienna City Card holders. The Imperial Treasury is a separate ticket at €16 online (€18 at the door). The Neue Burg collections and the Spanish Riding School are separate again. Prices change seasonally from 19 November 2026.

Is part of the Hofburg closed in 2026?

Yes. From 6 October to 18 November 2026 the Sisi Museum completes the final phase of its refurbishment. The museum section is closed during those weeks, the Imperial Apartments stay open, hours shorten to 10 AM – 4:30 PM, and tickets are 25% cheaper. The Silver Collection has been closed since April 2023 with no reopening date announced.

What's the difference between the Hofburg and Schönbrunn?

The Hofburg was the Habsburgs' winter residence in the city centre; Schönbrunn was the summer palace, a metro ride out. The Hofburg visit is about one hour and focuses on Sisi's private rooms. Schönbrunn takes longer and has the gardens. If you only do one, do Schönbrunn for scale and the Hofburg for Elisabeth herself.

Do you need to book Hofburg tickets in advance?

Yes, if you want a guaranteed time. Admission has fixed time slots and can only be guaranteed with an online ticket. The official shop is imperialtickets.com. Walk-up is possible but you take whatever slot is left, and in high season that can be hours later.

Is the Sisi Museum worth it?

For about 60 minutes and €20, yes, if you want the person rather than the palace. The museum sets out Elisabeth's obsessions with weight, hair and exercise alongside her actual dresses and travel case, and it's more honest about her unhappiness than the films are. If you want grand imperial rooms, the Imperial Treasury next door gives more for €16.

Does the Vienna Pass cover the Hofburg?

The Vienna Pass includes the Sisi Museum and Imperial Apartments. The Vienna City Card does not include entry: it reduces the adult ticket from €20 to €18, which is a €2 saving, not free admission.