Wondering how to get to Schönbrunn Palace? The good news is that Vienna’s prime tourist attraction is well-served by public transport and (unusually for Viennese attractions) even has car parking.
Here are tips on how best to reach the palace, park, zoo, gardens and other Schönbrunn sites…
- Book a guided tour or other Schönbrunn experience*
- See also:
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Schönbrunn by subway
The U4 subway line takes you from downtown Vienna to more or less outside the palace.
In the city centre, board the U4 at Karlsplatz, Stadtpark, Schwedenplatz or Schottenring (always in the direction of Hütteldorf) and get off at Schönbrunn or Hietzing stations…
Schönbrunn station
(The Otto Wagner designed station building)
Your first option has the rather helpful name, Schönbrunn, and is the best for reaching the main palace and gardens.
Assuming you’re coming from the city centre, exit the platform to the west (the train’s direction), where you can see the lifts. At the top of the lifts or stairs, cross over the tracks on the glass bridge and keep going onto a paved walkway to the right.
This walkway takes you past a car park to hit a main road at a pedestrian crossing. Once you cross over, you have two options:
- Follow the outbuildings around to the left to find the Meidlinger Tor entrance to the grounds, Café Pavillon and the Meidlinger Allee boulevard that takes you down to the palace.
Or…
- Go right along the sidewalk, which takes you along the rear side of the historical orangery now used for classical concerts. Keep going until you reach the main entrance to the palace complex on your left.
You’ll recognize the main entrance by the two white stone columns with gold eagles perched on the top. The ticket office complex is immediately inside the gates on your left.
(Find tickets and experience options for the palace and zoo)
Hietzing station
The next subway station along the U4 when coming from the city centre is Hietzing. This offers a better alternative for reaching the palm house, desert house or zoo.
Whichever platform you reach at Hietzing, you can only exit to one side. Go up the lifts or take the stairs. When you emerge, look south – the wall you can see bounds the palace gardens.
Take a moment to look back down the track in the direction of the city centre and view the Hofpavillon built by Otto Wagner as Emperor Franz Joseph’s private railway station.
Cross over the main road on the left to reach the wall. There are two pedestrian crossings, and on the wall you’ll see “Schönbrunn” written in big red letters.
(Big clues as to what’s behind this wall)
If you want to go to the palace, go left; just keep walking until you reach the main gates.
If you do wish to visit the palm house, desert house or zoo, go right. Follow the sidewalk around (it bends left) and keep going.
Eventually, you’ll see a church ahead of you, a post office on your left, and just past the post office a large park entrance with a Lindt chocolate shop.
Once you’ve escaped the temptations of Lindt (not easy, believe me), go into the park. You’ll find a map display inside.
If you then go straight ahead, you’ll traverse the gardens and eventually hit the palace. For the three other attractions mentioned above, keep to the right, and turn right as soon as you can (after just a few meters).
This brings you onto a wide walkway which goes directly to the zoo, passing the palm house on your left (which you can see straightaway) and the desert house on your right.
(Zoo-side entrance to Schönbrunn park)
Schönbrunn by tram or bus
Schloß Schönbrunn stop
Trams 10 and 60, and bus 10A, all have a stop called Schloss Schönbrunn, which is opposite the main entrance.
None of these lines leave from the centre, but the 60 tram does leave from Westbahnhof, one of Vienna’s main railway stations.
Montecuccoliplatz stop
Buses 56A, 56B, 58A and 58B take you round the back of the Schönbrunn park complex and drop you on the road marked Elisabethallee at the stop Montecuccoliplatz. The lines all leave from Hietzing subway station.
Go southeast down Elisabethallee from the Montecuccoliplatz stop until you reach the entrance to the car park on your left. Go in there right to the far end.
That leads to a marked entrance into Schönbrunn park on the right. Go in and continue down the lane until you reach a crossroads.
Immediately on the left is the top zoo entrance, the right-hand path takes you to the Gloriette. And straight on takes you down (eventually) to the main palace. All around you is the park.
Another option is the 8A bus, which leaves from Meidling railway station. This drops you at the Klimtgasse stop, which is further down Elisabethallee on the other side of the park entrance.
Schönbrunn by car
The road in front of Schönbrunn (Schönbrunner Schloßstraße) has a paid car park on it. Drive past the palace on your right and you’ll see the car park on your left after the large bus park.
Another option is to drive to the car park intended for zoo visitors at the rear of the palace grounds (Seckendorff-Gudent-Weg 1). That does get busy, though, especially if it’s a weekend, holiday, or a fine day.
Otherwise, you might be better off leaving the car behind. Street parking gets complicated, even if you can find a space, and public transport in Vienna is cheap and, frankly, great.