Hofburg tours & tickets: all six, compared
A word on why there are six. The Sisi Museum & Imperial Apartments, the Imperial Treasury, the Neue Burg museums and the Spanish Riding School all sell separate admission, so a “Hofburg tour” is really a decision about which doors you want opened and who does the talking. I’ve set every gate price against every tour price on the tickets & prices page; this page is the short version.
All six at a glance
BestsellerEntry fee includedVienna: Skip-the-Line Sisi Museum, Hofburg and Gardens Tour
Small groupEntry fee includedVienna: Hofburg and Empress Sisi Museum Guided Tour
Combo ticketVienna: Imperial Treasury & New Hofburg Palace Combo Ticket
Best valueVienna: New Hofburg Palace Audio-Guided Tour & Entry Ticket
Morning exerciseVienna: Spanish Riding School Training
PrivateEntry fee includedVienna: Hofburg Palace and Sisi Museum Skip-the-Line Tour
If you only book one
Book the Skip-the-Line Sisi Museum, Hofburg and Gardens Tour. It runs 2–2.5 hours with a licensed guide, includes entry to the Sisi Museum and Imperial Apartments, and finishes through the courtyards, Heldenplatz and the Burggarten. It holds 4.8 from 7,590 reviews, and at €52 (down from €55 at the time of writing) it costs €32 more than the €20 gate ticket — money that buys you the queue skipped and two hours of actual answers. Groups cap at 25, with headsets from 18 people. I’ve written up how a departure goes in my full review.
Who each of the six is for
The €48 small-group tour starts at Albertinaplatz rather than at the palace and walks in through the old town, past the Augustinian Church where the Habsburgs held their weddings, before covering the Sisi Museum with entry included. Pick it if you want more of the surrounding city with your palace; it ends in the Volksgarten. Both guided options are compared properly on the guided tours page.
The €34 Treasury combo and the €23 Neue Burg audio ticket are the self-guided route: crowns and imperial regalia in the first case, armour and a fortepiano Mozart played in the second, both at your own pace. The combo stays valid for 10 days from first activation, which suits a slow Vienna trip. I compare them on the entry tickets page.
The €17 morning exercise at the Spanish Riding School is the cheapest way into the complex and the most misunderstood ticket in it. What you watch is the Lipizzaners’ daily training, and the famous school jumps aren’t practised every day — which is the whole story behind its 3.9 rating. People who know that going in tend to like it.
The private tour from €212 per person is the same skip-the-line entry with your own licensed guide and a route you control, from two to four hours. Details and my honest cost math are on the private tours page.
Three of them, side by side
The cheapest entry ticket, the most-booked tour and the combo — this is the spread most people are actually choosing between.
| Vienna: New Hofburg Palace Audio-Guided Tour & Entry Ticket | Top pickVienna: Skip-the-Line Sisi Museum, Hofburg and Gardens Tour | Vienna: Imperial Treasury & New Hofburg Palace Combo Ticket | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | €23 | €52 | €34 |
| What you get | Neue Burg audio tour | Guided Sisi Museum & apartments | Treasury + Neue Burg entry |
| Duration | About 1 h | 2–2.5 h | Your pace, valid 10 days |
| Guide | Audio guide | Live guide | Audio guide |
| Rating | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.3 |
| View → | Book this → | View → |
The ticket-desk queue at the Michaelerkuppel is worst on July and August mornings and through December, when a Christmas market stands on Michaelerplatz. January to March weekdays are the quietest I see all year.
Can’t make these dates?
Browse more available hofburg tickets and find one that fits your schedule — all with instant confirmation and free cancellation.
Frequently asked questions
Is there one ticket that covers the whole Hofburg?
No. The Sisi Museum, the Imperial Treasury, the Neue Burg museums, the Spanish Riding School and the National Library each sell their own admission at their own door. The closest thing to a shortcut is the €34 combo, which puts the Treasury and the Neue Burg on one ticket.
Which Hofburg tour is best?
For a first visit, the €52 flagship skip-the-line tour — it covers the rooms people actually come for and removes the worst queue in the complex. I’ve ranked every option by traveller type in which tour is best.
Do the tours include the entry tickets?
The flagship, the small-group tour and the private tour all include Sisi Museum and Imperial Apartments admission. The €23 and €34 options are themselves entry tickets with audio guides, and the €17 Riding School ticket admits you to the morning exercise.
Can I cancel if my plans change?
All six can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before the start, under GetYourGuide’s terms at the time of writing.