Belvedere Museum Tickets 2026: Prices, Klimt's Kiss & How to Visit
The Belvedere holds the world's largest Klimt collection, including The Kiss. Upper Belvedere tickets cost €23. Here's how to plan your visit.
People come to the Belvedere for one painting. Klimt's The Kiss — gold leaf, tangled figures, 180 centimetres of Art Nouveau longing — hangs in the Upper Belvedere and draws more visitors than any other artwork in Austria. But the museum holds 24 Klimt paintings, a strong Schiele collection, and rooms of Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh that most visitors barely glance at while rushing upstairs. The building itself is a Baroque palace with gardens that frame the best free view of Vienna's skyline.
In 3 minutes, you'll know:
- What tickets cost and whether to buy Upper, Lower, or both
- What to see beyond The Kiss (and why the Schieles might stay with you longer)
- The best time to visit for a quiet look at the Klimt room
- How to combine the Belvedere with the Kunsthistorisches in one day
How much are Belvedere tickets in 2026?
Upper Belvedere: €23. This is where The Kiss lives. Lower Belvedere: €20. Temporary exhibitions only. Under 19: free at both. Students under 26 and seniors over 65 pay €19 (Upper) or €16 (Lower).
The Belvedere uses day-based pricing, so the figure can shift slightly with demand. Buy online to lock a timeslot and skip the ticket-office queue — the price matches on-site.
Get the Belvedere floor-by-floor guide
- Exact floor-by-floor route through the Upper Belvedere with timing
- What to notice in Judith that every reproduction crops off
- Where Schiele actually hangs, and why most visitors go the wrong way
- Designed for your phone — open it inside the museum
Where to book
Our take: Same €23, but GetYourGuide lets you cancel 24h before. The Klimt guided tour is worth it if you want to understand why his gold period changed European art — the wall labels don't tell you enough.
What should you see at the Belvedere?
Klimt's The Kiss (Floor 1, west wing). The painting everyone comes for. What most visitors miss: the gold isn't flat — Klimt used different patterns for the man and woman's robes, and the cliff edge they kneel on. Stand back first, then get close.
The full Klimt room. The Belvedere owns 24 Klimt paintings. Judith (1901) — confrontational, erotic, nothing like The Kiss, and still in the brass frame Klimt's brother beat the title into. Sunflower (1907/08). Together they tell a story The Kiss alone can't. If you want to see every Klimt in Vienna, not just the ones here, the Klimt paintings in Vienna map covers the Leopold, Secession, MAK, and the Albertina too.
Schiele (Floor 2, one floor up). Egon Schiele painted bodies the way Klimt gilded them — exposed, angular, uncomfortable. Death and the Maiden (1915) is the one to find. Note the direction: Schiele is above the Klimt room, in the Emerging Modernism rooms. The floor below the Klimt room is medieval and Renaissance panels, which is where people looking for Schiele tend to end up.
The Impressionist rooms. Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh — strong works in galleries that empty out because everyone is upstairs with Klimt. If you've been to the Musée d'Orsay, these feel like old friends in a quieter room.
When is the best time to visit the Belvedere?
Open daily 10 AM to 6 PM. Fridays until 9 PM.
The 10 AM slot is the one to take. The Klimt room fills between 11 AM and 2 PM, and The Kiss is the single most photographed painting in Austria, so "fills" means a semicircle of phones two deep. Arrive at opening and you get 30 to 45 minutes with it before the first coach groups reach the upper floor.
Friday evening is the underused alternative, with a caveat. The museum runs until 9 PM only on Fridays, and after about 7 PM the palace is close to empty. The caveat is the light: the Upper Belvedere's rooms were designed around daylight through tall palace windows, and after dusk you're seeing the Klimts under artificial lighting. For the gold in The Kiss that matters more than for anything else in the building. If the paintings are the point, go in the morning. If the palace and the calm are the point, go Friday night.
The Belvedere is open every day, which sounds minor until you're planning a Vienna itinerary. The Kunsthistorisches closes Mondays outside June to August, the Albertina and Leopold have their own patterns. The Belvedere is the museum you can safely put on the day everything else is shut, and that's exactly why Monday mornings here are busier than you'd expect.
Book online. The Belvedere doesn't sell out the way the Van Gogh Museum does, but summer queues at the door run 20 to 30 minutes, and the ticket costs the same either way. There's no online discount to chase and no reason to stand outside.
One planning note: the price moves. The Belvedere runs dynamic pricing and calls it the "Tagesaktueller Preis", the day's current price, so the figure you see in advance may not be the figure on the day you go.
What do most visitors wish they knew?
The gardens are free. Walk the formal gardens between Upper and Lower Belvedere. The view from the Upper Belvedere terrace — across the gardens to Vienna's skyline with St. Stephen's Cathedral — is one of the best in the city. No ticket needed.
Upper and Lower are separate visits. Don't assume one ticket covers both. Most visitors only need the Upper Belvedere. The Lower Belvedere is worth it only if the current temporary exhibition interests you — check before you buy.
It pairs well with the Kunsthistorisches. The Kunsthistorisches Museum (old masters) and the Belvedere (Austrian modern) make a complete Vienna art day. Start at the Belvedere in the morning (smaller, 1.5-2h), then the Kunsthistorisches after lunch (2-3h).
- Tickets
- Upper: €23 | Lower: €20 | Under 19 free
- Hours
- Daily 10 AM – 6 PM | Fridays until 9 PM
- Time needed
- 1.5 – 2 hours (Upper) | 1 – 1.5 hours (Lower)
- Key works
- Klimt's The Kiss, Judith, Schiele self-portraits, Monet
- Best time
- 10 AM weekdays or Friday evenings
- Book at
- GetYourGuide (free cancellation) · official site
- Getting there
- Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27, tram D to Schloss Belvedere or U1 to Südtiroler Platz
Frequently asked questions
How much are Belvedere tickets in 2026?
Upper Belvedere: €23. Lower Belvedere: €20. Under 19 enters free at both. Students under 26 and seniors over 65 pay €19 (Upper) or €16 (Lower). The Belvedere uses day-based pricing, so the exact figure can vary slightly by date.
Where is Klimt's The Kiss in the Belvedere?
The Kiss hangs in the Upper Belvedere, in the dedicated Klimt room on the upper floor. It's the painting everyone comes for — 180x180 cm, gold leaf, completed in 1908/09.
How long do you need at the Belvedere?
1.5 to 2 hours for the Upper Belvedere (permanent collection with Klimt, Schiele, Impressionists). Add 1-1.5 hours for the Lower Belvedere temporary exhibitions. Most visitors focus on the Upper Belvedere alone.
What's the difference between Upper and Lower Belvedere?
The Upper Belvedere holds the permanent collection: Klimt, Schiele, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, plus medieval and Baroque Austrian art. The Lower Belvedere hosts rotating temporary exhibitions. Separate tickets for each.
Is the Belvedere better than the Kunsthistorisches Museum?
Different strengths. The Belvedere is essential for Klimt, Schiele, and Austrian art from 1900. The Kunsthistorisches covers old masters (Bruegel, Vermeer, Raphael). Visit both if you have time — the KHM vs Belvedere comparison has the full one-day route.
The Belvedere is the museum that earns its reputation from one painting, then surprises you with everything around it. Take the first slot of the day, start with the Klimt room, and give the Schieles on the floor above more than a glance. If Schiele grabs you, the Leopold Museum has 44 of his paintings — the world's largest collection. Get Belvedere tickets on GetYourGuide — same price, free cancellation.
Last verified: June 2026
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