Tourist attractions in Vienna

The tourist attractions of Vienna concentrate in three distinct areas. The largest cluster, centred on Schönbrunn Palace, attracted around five million visitors in 2009, down from six million in 2008. Museums and exhibitions of Hofburg Palace accounted for nearly two million visitors in 2008, with a significant decline in 2009. The third, and the newest, cluster of modern art museums in Museumsquartier attracted less than one million visitors.[note 1] Nearby duo of Kunsthistorisches and Naturhistorisches museums, located halfway between Museumsquartier and Hofburg, also reported around one million visitors. The Landstraße district, which lies south-east of the old city, is home to art exhibitions at the Belvedere Palace and the KunstHausWien.

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Schönbrunn Palace
Vienna City Hall, Rathaus
St. Stephen's Cathedral
Hofburg Palace
Official nameHistoric Centre of Vienna
CriteriaCultural: (ii)(iv)(vi)
Reference1033
Inscription2001 (25th Session)
Endangered2017–...
Area371 ha (1.43 sq mi)
Buffer zone462 ha (1.78 sq mi)

Vienna stands out among other European tourist destinations for being a "new old city", a city in transition from an older "picture city" like Florence and Venice to being a global city like Paris and London.[1] For six consecutive years, 2003–2008, tourism industry was on the rise, but in 2009 the global financial crisis caused a sharp decline, especially in long-distance tourism from Asia and North America. The new museums of modern art retained or even increased their attendance, but museums of classical art lost more than a third of their former ticket sales. According to preliminary data for the first half of 2010, Vienna is already past the bottom of the crisis and visitor numbers are rising again. In 2013, Vienna was ranked the world’s most livable city for the fifth consecutive year, playing host to 5.8 million tourists, a growth of over four percent as compared to 2012.[2]

Effects of the global crisis

In 2003–2008 the Austrian tourism industry enjoyed a six-year streak of growth, with each year beating the previous record by an average 2.1%.[3][4] Tourism generated 8.4% of Austrian gross domestic product (23.6 billion Euros) and provided 181 thousand jobs.[5] The "top ten" of Vienna's tourist attractions in this period included the Schönbrunn Palace, Tiergarten Schönbrunn, the Albertina, the Wiener Riesenrad, the Hofburg Palace museums, the Belvedere, the Kunsthistorisches and Naturhistorisches museums, the KunstHausWien and the Donauturm observation deck.[6]

In 2008, the effects of the unfolding global financial crisis on the economy were more than offset by a boost from the UEFA Euro 2008. The number of tourists reached an all-time high, although during the tournament itself museum attendance dropped by 60%, and theatres cancelled their shows altogether.[7] The crisis hit the Austrian tourist industry in the first quarter of 2009, when international tourist arrivals dropped by 8.6%.[8] Museum attendance suffered disproportionately higher losses. Ticket sales at Hofburg palace exhibitions dropped by 20%. Tickets sales at the Albertina, the most visited art collection in Vienna, dropped by more than a third, from 997 thousand in 2008 to 630 thousand in 2009. Its former third place in the list of Viennese attractions was taken over by the Wiener Riesenrad. The Schönbrunn Palace also recorded a drop in visitors, but its profits actually increased by a third.[9][10] Tiergarten Schönbrunn reported a "record drop" of 70% in February 2009[note 2] (50% for the first quarter of 2009). Practically all museums and zoos increased ticket prices, by an average of 16.7%, the first price hike since the introduction of the Euro in 2002.[11]

According to the Vienna Tourist Board, in 2009 the city's hotels recorded 4.385 million visitors (2008: 4.593 million). 20% of the visitors were Austrians, 24% were Germans, 5% Italians and 5% Americans. The worst losses were recorded among tourists from Asia, North America and Eastern Europe.[12] The state responded with promoting Austria in the neighbouring countries to compensate the losses in long-distance international tourism.[13] In the end of 2009, the trend reversed with an increase in tourists from Japan, Italy, Spain, Greece and Russia.[3] Recovery continued in the first half of 2010. Schönbrunn Palace recorded a 5% increase in ticket sales compared to the first half of 2009, Hofburg had a twelve per cent increase.[9]

Ranking of tourist attractions

Annual rankings of tourist attractions are compiled and published by the Vienna Tourist Board (German: Wiener Tourismusverband). The underlying tickets sales statistics counts all visitors, tourists and Viennese natives, together. Freely accessible landmarks are omitted from the statistics altogether. The symbol of Vienna, St. Stephen's Cathedral, ranks only seventeenth: the number (218,000 visitors in 2009) represents sales of tickets to its underground crypts, but access to the cathedral itself is free.[10]

The Schönbrunn Palace counts each entry by a holder of a multi-entry ticket as a separate visit. Thus, for example, in 2008 it sold 1.98 million tickets, but reported 2.581 million entries.[14] The Palmenhaus and the Wüstenhaus, tropical landscape exhibits in the historic greenhouses of Tiergarten Schönbrunn, are counted as separate tourist attractions. The three Hofburg exhibitions (the Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum and the Imperial Silver collection) are usually visited as a package, and each combo ticket is counted as one visit.[6]

Rank
2009
Place Visitors Location
2006[15] 2007[16] 2008[17] 2009[18]
1 Schönbrunn Palace[note 3]
Suburban palace of the Habsburgs
2,507,000 2.590.000 2.581.000 2,467,000 48°11′5″N 16°18′44″E
Schönbrunn Palace Park, Hietzing
2 Tiergarten Schönbrunn[note 4]
World's oldest public zoo established in 1752
2,270,996 2,453,987 2,578,698 2,183,000 48°10′56″N 16°18′10″E
Schönbrunn Palace Park, Hietzing
3 Wiener Riesenrad
The Ferris wheel in Prater
620,000 620,000 660,000 640,000 48°13′00″N 16°23′45″E
Prater park, Leopoldstadt
4 Albertina
Museum of classical graphic arts
725,759 557,307 997,000 630,000 48°12′16″N 16°22′04″E
Albertinaplatz, Innere Stadt
5 Imperial Apartments, Hofburg Palace
Downtown residence of the Habsburgs
634,000 625,000 632,000 586,000 48°12′27″N 16°21′59″E
Hofburg Palace, Innere Stadt
6 Kunsthistorisches Museum
Museum of classical art
618,522 619,318 937,090 582,000 48°12′13″N 16°21′42″E
Maria-Theresienplatz, Innere Stadt
7 Upper Belvedere (former Austrian Gallery)
Museum of classical and modern art. Gustav Klimt collection.
430,073[note 5] 594,678[note 5] 807,283[note 5] 448,000 48°11′29″N 16°22′52″E
Prinz-Eugen-Straße 27, Landstraße
8 Donauturm
Observation deck of the highest structure in Vienna
408,080 415,000 419,635 396,000 48°14′24″N 16°24′39″E
Donaupark, Donaustadt
9 Naturhistorisches Museum
Museum of natural history
368,801 397,140 372,778 392,000 48°12′19″N 16°21′35″E
Maria-Theresienplatz, Innere Stadt
10 Haus des Meeres
Public aquarium in a converted flak tower
247,012 258,294 336,162 353,000 48°11′51″N 16°21′11″E
Esterhazypark, Neubau
11 Leopold Museum
Museum of Austrian modern art
301,000 302,000 291,000 316,000 48°12′9″N 16°21′33″E
Museumsquartier, Mariahilf
12 Lower Belvedere
Temporary art exhibitions
[note 6] [note 6] [note 6] 301,000 48°11′47″N 16°22′48″E
Rennweg 6, Landstraße
13 Technisches Museum Wien
Museum of technology
282,104 289,179 296,180 298,000 48°11′27″N 16°19′03″E
Mariahilfer Straße 212, Penzing[note 7]
14 Schatzkammer
Austrian Crown Jewels on display in the former Imperial Treasury
283,585 279,541 276,871 280,000 48°12′24″N 16°21′56″E
Hofburg Palace, Innere Stadt
15 Spanish Riding School
Classical dressage show[note 8]
218,000 233,711 279,000 257,000 48°12′25″N 16°22′01″E
Hofburg Palace, Innere Stadt
16 Museum Moderner Kunst
Museum of international modern art
206,000 243,617 234,960 241,000 48°12′13″N 16°21′28″E
Museumsquartier, Mariahilf
17 St. Stephen's Cathedral[note 9]
The Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna
168,000 190,633 500,000 218,000 48°12′31″N 16°22′23″E
Stephansplatz, Innere Stadt
18 Imperial Crypt
Burial vault of the Habsburgs since 1633
246,600 230,000 234,531 215,000 48°12′20″N 16°22′11″E
Capuchin Church, Neuermarkt, Innere Stadt
19 Haus der Musik
Interactive museum of music and sound
200,743 199.533 203,000 205,000 48°12′14″N 16°22′24″E
Seilerstätte 30, Innere Stadt
20 Minopolis
Theme park
247,275 202,000 48°13′4″N 16°24′52″E
Donau City, Donaustadt
21 Karlskirche
Panoramic lift and observation deck[note 10]
150,000 180,000 180,000 200,000 48°11′53″N 16°22′19″E
Karlsplatz, Wieden
22 Museum für angewandte Kunst
Museum of contemporary applied arts
196,127 175,419 176,848 178,000 48°12′27″N 16°22′54″E
Stubenring 5, Innere Stadt[note 11]
23 KunstHausWien
Museum of Friedensreich Hundertwasser
388,571 376,934 294,672 174,000 48°12′39″N 16°23′36″E
Untere Weißgerberstraße 13, Landstraße[note 12]
24 Museum of the
Vienna State Opera
166,000 167,000 48°12′15″N 16°22′5″E
Hanuschgasse 3, Innere Stadt[note 13]
25 Palmenhaus Schönbrunn[note 14]
Tropical exhibit in the historic greenhouse of the Tiergarten
156,146 160,141 171,164 160,000 48°11′3″N 16°18′11″E
Schönbrunn Palace Park, Hietzing
26 The Prunksaal of the Austrian National Library
The historical Grand Hall of the Court Library
155,316 156.265 169,427 159,000 48°12′22″N 16°22′0″E
Hofburg Palace, Innere Stadt
27 Austrian Parliament Building
Guided tours through the parliament building
123,440 149,000 48°12′29″N 16°21′29″E
Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring 3, Innere Stadt
28 Mozarthaus
Mozart's residence from 1784 to 1787
203,098 135,815 133,263 141,000 48°12′29″N 16°22′32″E
Domgasse 5, Innere Stadt
29 Heeresgeschichtliches Museum
Military history museum
126,000 140,000 48°11′07″N 16°23′15″E
Former Arsenal buildings, Landstraße
30 Wüstenhaus Schönbrunn
Desert exhibit in the historic greenhouse of the Tiergarten
135,000 48°11′5″N 16°18′6″E
Schönbrunn Palace Park, Hietzing

See also

Museums in Vienna not included in the 2009 top thirty ranking:

Other Attractions

Bohemian Prater a historical but still functioning amusement park.

Notes

  1. According to the Vienna Tourist Board, the Schönbrunn cluster includes the Palace itself, Tiergarten Schönbrunn, the Palmenhaus, the Wüstenhaus, the Imperial Coach Collection (Wagenburg), the Maze Gardens (Irrgarten) and the Privy Gardens (KronPrinzgarten). See Sehenwurdigkeiten 2007 (in German) and Sehenwurdigkeiten 2008 (in German) for exact composition of each of three clusters.
  2. Compared to February 2008, which was an all-time high record month. In February 2008, the Tiergarten began displaying the giant panda and polar bear cubs, which attracted unusually high numbers of local visitors. - Eintrittspreise: Was alles teurer wird (in German). Die Presse. April 6, 2009 (printed edition: April 7). Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  3. Quoted numbers do not include tickets to the Tiergarten, Palmenhaus and Wüstenhaus which are listed as separate list entries, and the Imperial Coach Collection, which falls below top thirty. The numbers do not represent attendance to the freely accessible Schönbrunn Park and the Gloriette.
  4. Quoted numbers includes all visitors, including a substantial share of the natives of Vienna. The Palmenhaus and the Wüstenhaus are counted as separate tourist destinations.
  5. Includes both Upper and Lower Belvedere.
  6. Included in the number for Upper Belvedere.
  7. Technisches Museum Wien is located within a short walking distance from the main entrance of the Schönbrunn Palace.
  8. Closed in the summer, when the horses recuperate in the open country.
  9. Quoted numbers includes sales of tickets to the subterranean crypts and the belltower ascent. They do not represent actual attendance by worshippers and casual visitors.
  10. Sales of tickets to the panoramic sightseeing lift inside one of the columns. The number does not represent attendance by worshippers and casual visitors.
  11. The MAK also manages permanent exhibitions in the flak tower in Arenbergpark and other locations.
  12. Former Gebrüder Thonet factory, rebuilt by Hundertwasser and Krawina.
  13. City block immediately west of the Opera building, and immediately south of the Albertina building and the Burggarten Palmenhaus.
  14. Another prominent Palmenhaus is located in the Burggarten of the Innere Stadt, 48°12′18″N 16°22′1″E. It shares the block of the former Augustinian Bastion with the Albertina building.
  15. Partnered with the State Opera Museum, which is included in the ranking, through a joint ticketing program.

References

  1. Mazanec, Wober pp. 185-187.
  2. "Vienna seeks to double its Indian Tourist Inflow by 2020". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  3. Umsatzeinbrüche im Tourismus (in German). Die Presse, January 22 (Web edition: January 21), 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  4. OECD 2010, pp. 16, 123-124.
  5. OECD 2010, p. 119.
  6. Schloss Schönbrunn Top-Sehenswürdigkeit Wiens (in German). Die Presse. July 18, 2007. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  7. Kimmelman, Michael (2008). In Battle for Vienna: Soccer 1, Culture 0. The New York Times, June 26, 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  8. Relative to the record high recorded in the first quarter of 2008. - OECD 2010, p. 19.
  9. Tourismus: Schönbrunn trotzt Krise (in German). Die Presse, July 10 (Web edition: July 9), 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  10. Schönbrunn ist Wiens beliebteste Sehenswürdigkeit (in German). Die Presse. August 9 (Web edition: August 8), 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  11. Eintrittspreise: Was alles teurer wird (in German). Die Presse. April 6, 2009 (printed edition: April 7). Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  12. Arrivals & Overnights 2009 (data for January-December 2009). Vienna Tourist Board. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  13. OECD 2010, p. 123.
  14. Schloss Schönbrunn: Rekordumsatz trotz Fußball-EM (in German). Die Presse. July 13, 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  15. (in German) Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine. Vienna Tourist Board. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  16. (in German) Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine. Vienna Tourist Board. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  17. (in German) Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine. Vienna Tourist Board. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  18. Schönbrunn ist Wiens beliebteste Sehenswürdigkeit (in German). Die Presse, August 4, 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-15. See also source data tables from the Vienna Tourist Board: Sehenwurdigkeiten 2009 (in German) (Retrieved 2010-08-28).

Sources

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