December 2, 2012 | 0 Comments

Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria

Visiting Vienna without going through the Schönbrunn Palace is like visiting Paris without going to Versailles. One does not simply do that. Even when you do not have much time, you should reserve at least half a day to visit the castle, walking in its gardens and if you are traveling as a family with children, playing in its little maze and watching the squirrels jump between the branches of forest is priceless.

Schönbrunn Christmas

View of the Palace

Wing of the Palace

The history of Schönbrunn is that of a large country estate which became a hunting reserve and then between 1743 and 1763, an imperial residence for Maria Teresa (the reigning Archduchess of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary, reigning Queen of Bohemia , Croatia and Slavonia, reigning Duchess of Parma and Piacenza, Duke of Milan and Mantua and also his wife Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire, so to speak) who enlarged it, providing it with furniture of great value, up to act as a sumptuous residence in the Rococo style.

Schönbrunn Palace

The Kaiserpavillon

Imperial Court

Castle aside, what you can visit in an hour following the path of the audio-guide, the tour includes a large garden where there are several points of interest such as the Gloreitte, parterre which glorified the magnificence of the Habsburgs, the fake Roman ruins, the fountain obelisk, the aviary and the palm house.