We saw many beautiful and historic buildings during our trip to Vienna, Austria, but the Schönbrunn Palace (Schloss Schönbrunn) was by far the most amazing. Even during winter, the grounds, fountains, and exterior of the palace are quite beautiful and seeing the palace is certainly a highlight of any visit to Vienna. During the time that we were there, they were preparing for a Christmas Market on the grounds of the palace, however it wasn’t set to open for another week.  Since we went to several other markets in Vienna, that certainly wasn’t an issue.

We did the Grand Tour of the palace, which is an audio tour that takes you through forty of the magnificent rooms within. It was a cold and snowy Saturday, so we think a lot of people had the same idea as us to do something indoors as the lines were horrific as we snaked our way from room to room, but it did not lessen the grandeur of the lavish decorations and furniture. The history of the palace is a little overwhelming and there were a few surprises, such as Marie Antoinette having been the daughter of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, as well as Empress Maria Theresa both grew up in the palace.

There is no mistaking the similarity between Schönbrunn Palace and Versailles Palace. The palaces share many similarities and are both stunning in their beauty. Schönbrunn means “beautiful spring”, which couldn’t have been further than the weather the day we arrived, so we will definitely plan a return visit someday during the summer when the gardens are in full bloom and perhaps there are some rays of sunshine. We can’t complain about the weather too much, though, it may not have been perfect for sight-seeing, but it did make the Glühwein much more inviting 😀.