Schönnbrunn Palace

After I started discovering Vienna old town area, for the second day of the trip we decided to move away from the Center and see one of the Austrian capital's main attractions: Secession, Schloss Schonbrunn Palace, access can be done by Metro, line U4, Schönbrunn station, tram 10 and 58, bus 10A with destination and descent into the station with the same name.  

If you come by car from address ptr. Schönbrunner Schlossstrasse 47 is GPS.  Schonbrunn Palace was supposed to be the Austrian Empire's Versailles, however, in 1695 when Fischer von Erlach designed construction, costs were lifted too high.  It was designed as a summer residence of the Habsburgs but since Maria Theresa (1717-1780), during the golden age of the Habsburgs, it became the official residence of the Imperial House.

In 1830 he was born here, Emperor Franz Joseph, who was married with charming Sisi and ruled 1848-1916.  The Palace has 1441 rooms of which only 45 can be visited. The furniture and interior decoration are in the rococo and the majority are complemented by Bohemian crystal chandeliers and porcelain stoves.  And the living quarters of the Emperor Franz Joseph and around are in contrast with the luxurious rooms of the protocol and those of the company.  Each room has its own story and history on which a fall step by step:

• • In the Hall of mirrors has performed Mozart at just 6 years old, when he gained the status of child prodigy of Austrian music;  
• • The Chinese Cabinet, characterized by its round shape, Empress Maria-Theresa held secret meetings with Prince Kaunitz, State Chancellor;
•  • In the Vieux-Lacque Conference held after Napoleon conquered Vienna;  • Chinese Lounge, decorated in blue, Emperor Karl I signed his abdication in 1918 to the throne end of monarchy in Austria observed;  
• • Camera Million, wood-panelled and decorated with rosewood many miniatures brought from India and Persia, is regarded as one of the most beautiful rococo rooms of all time;

Visitors should take about two hours and some pennies, depending on what you want to see: the Imperial Tour (22 rooms) 10.50 euro audio guide € 2 (children and young people 6-18 years old 7.50 euros, 19 to 25 year old students and disabled 9,50 euros);  The Grand Tour (40 rooms) 13.50 euros euro 2 audio guide (children and young people 6-18 years old 9.50 euros, students and disabled 12, 20 euros or Ticket Sisi, 23.50 euros-Schönbrunn Palace (the complete enterprise) the Hofburg (the complete enterprise) audio guides (children and young people, students and euro 14,00 per disabled 21,50 euros).  It should be noted that there are audio guides and in Romanian language and you can benefit from their support if you've paid all costs and, within 12 months after the purchase, you enclose in the image-making 8,30-17,30 (in July-august period the program will be extended until 18.30).

To have hard memories with photographs from outside because, from the inside, photographing is not allowed.  If all you got here, once you're done with the Palace, you should know that you can also visit the imperial gardens, labyrinth, summer terrace Gloriette, fountains and the Zoo.  The Park gates at Schonbrunn open in winter (November 1 to March 31) at 17,30 6,30 and summer (from April 1st to October 31st) 6,00 to 21,00.  Access to the Park and fountains is free. But its elements for which a ticket is paid access: Maze: Adults 3.50 euro, children and young adults, 2,20 students and disabled 3,00 euro;  Panoramic terrace: adults 2.50 euro Gloriette, 1.90, children and youth students and disabled 2.20 euros;

The Prince's Garden: Adults € 2.50, children and young adults, 1.90, students and disabled 2.20 euros.  Once you enter, you can very well walk the alleys, long among the artistic cut bushes, along with statues, fountains and impressive flower or patrols to visit as you can in this beautiful area which means the sole no joke.  Who doesn't want to walk per pedes 160 surface acres ' Regina Park, may appeal to the panoramic train. Each trainset, consisting of three carriages, with room for a total of 55 passengers. A full tour through the Palace park and passes through nine stations and takes about 50 minutes at the speed of 10-15 km/h during which you can admire the way you like, or you can descend and then proceed with the following by go-cart.  The two trains daily between 10.00 and 18.00 at the end of the road, making stops at fixed hours and half.

Day ticket for adults costs 7 euros for children up to the age of 14 and 4 euros for the disabled as well. Thanks to the combination of the ticket and the manual stamp, you can interrupt the trip whenever you want.  In accordance with the principles of Baroque architecture, the Gardens of the Palace were appealed to symmetry. There is a main axis visible from any point you did learn that cross check with the Gloriettei Palace, situated on the hill that bears his name. This is the backbone of the industry and almost all developments and external arrangements were made to put the value of that axis or using symmetric lines, diagonal or orthogonal to the direction of it.

 Private garden

Also known as the garden of Prince Rudolf, lies near the Eastern face of the Palace and received its name in 1870, after the apartments of that part were furnished and decorated for Prince Rudolf. The four sections are highlighted by formal and have layers in a majestic specimen of yew.  Being protected from the winds, in summer it is host to an exhibition of lemons.  In the Park we climbed the Hill on the East side, the Gloriette and the way we enjoyed the Neptune fountain.  Situated on the central axis of the scope, even at the foot of Gloriettei Hill, is the largest Fountain in the Park, conceived as a crowning of the majestic gardens of the space.

Gloriette

Gloriette was built in 1775. The inscription on the central arch is reminiscent of this: ' JOSEPHO II. AUGUSTO and MARIA THERESIA  (Raised under the reign of Emperor Joseph and Empress Maria Theresa, 1775.).  At that time, a beautiful sight it was to big price so they built this observation terrace of 20 m high which can be reached via a spiral staircase.  

Although I think that you have not started in this journey are unprepared to make a recommendation: do not forget your camera!  The splendid architectural work with today, the ground floor Café Gloriette. Here you can enjoy cakes particularly tasty, while indulging your eyes and camera lens with a magnificent view over the city.

Schönbrunn Zoo

In the Park of the Palace you can enter without problems in the Zoo which has a bearing on access right on the side of the Park.  If you would like a visit with dedication you need to know that exact address is Maxingstraße 13b and you can achieve the same subway U4 Hietzing station descent.

Vienna's Schönbrunn Zoo is the oldest Zoo in the world (in the summer of 1752 Emperor Franz I, husband of Maria Theresia, and led his first guests in the newly landscaped garden menagerie Schönbrunn Palace) and was already three times chosen as the best zoo in Europe.  Somewhat circularly arranged around the imperial Pavilion where you will find a café-restaurant, the garden offers 72 points of interest most of the pavilions, cages, spaces and special furnishings that replicate the natural habitat of animals, birds, reptiles, fishes, butterflies etc. exposed here.

Teddy bears, Pandas, koalas elephant chickens, American bison, emus, crocodiles and many other rare animals or known are attractions annually attracting more than two million visitors.  The ticket price is 15 euros for adults, kids 7 euros until 6 years free of charge.  According to the program of visiting displayed you can enjoy wonderful world hosted here as follows: January, November, December (9.00-16,30), February (9.00-17.00), March and October (9.00-17,30), April-September (9.00-18,30.  Animal feeding is a true spectacle, sometimes interactive, to which you are invited to participate:

• 10,00-Orangutan, Viennese pigeons, african elephant;  
• -10.30-the South american Sea Lion, huge turtle in the Galapagos Islands;
•  -11.00-the rock Penguins, Penguin regal;
•  -11,30-Egyptian Vulture, the coral reef fish, animals of The Apes;
•  11,45-Humboldt Penguin-;  
• -13.00-dwarf Otter, t.;  
• -13.30-Piranha, bald Ibis, nasua with white muzzle;
•  -14.00-the siberian Tiger, the Jaguar, the fish mounted archery;
•  -14: 30-Orangutan, giant panda bear;  
• -15: 00-african Elephant, Cheetah;  
• -15: 30-South american Sea Lion;  
• -16: 00-Koala Bear

With time, the Park has opened restaurants and bars, the biggest was that of Basilio Calafati, an italian magician who opened a restaurant with a couple of games of chance. Today a statue of ' Calafati ', which was a mascot of the Prater, is the only thing that remembers those days.

With this program you have learned and some of the animals that inhabit the grounds. Obviously, these are much more (over 500) and no ACEs wants to spoil the pleasure of personal discovery.

I recently traveled to Vienna with my family, and on our first full day in the city we decided to visit Schonbrunn Palace. I wasn't sure what to expect, but as we turned the corner and saw the immense palace in view, I was sure that it was going to be beautiful.

Our first stop was the Orangerie and the Privy Gardens. These were beautiful, with both manicured lawns as well as beds of wildflowers (my favorite). We had bought a Vienna Sightseeing Pass, so we gained access to all of these magnificent gardens with our all-inclusive card. One of my favorite parts of the gardens were the vine-overgrown walkways that shielded us from the sun and gave us a cool strolling-ground. 

*Tip - If you have purchased the Vienna Pass, go ahead and head to the garden entrance ticket booth to get your tickets for the day. The line is much shorter than getting them right at the entrance ticket counters of the palace grounds. 

After the gardens, we entered the palace and took the grand tour using the provided audio sets. Up and down staircases and through immense rooms we went. I thought I was up on my Austrian history, but the tour taught me many new things about the impressive Empress Maria Theresa and her many children and connections. In this palace, Marie Antoinette spent her summer holidays, and it was intriguing to walk the same hallways and rooms that housed such an impactful past. 

The grounds of Schonbrunn hold much more than just a palace and gardens. They also have the oldest zoo in the world! I was expecting something akin to a petting zoo, but the Schonbrunn Zoo is very large with animals that I had never seen before. We watched sea lions being fed, came up close and personal with hippos (they stink!), and laughed at the penguins. 

How did we get all around this huge palace grounds? The panoramic train! With the Vienna Pass, you also get free rides on the train for the whole day, which was a great day-saver when it started to rain. 

Schonbrunn was a magnificent palace and had something for everyone. From greenery and nature to royal apartments and zoo animals, we greatly enjoyed this summer residence of the Austrian royal family.

Schönbrunn Palace is one of the most famous palaces in Vienna. The historical building was built in the epochs of the imperial era and you can see the representative rooms and private rooms of the imperial couple Franz Joseph and Elisabeth.

Although I didn't have time to visit the inner places of the palace , I did have a great tour in Sissi's gardens. 

The weather was nice and warm , so the tour was very pleasant. 
Note that I visited the gardens in the middle of April , and the private gardens where closed because they hadn't bloomed yet . 

So my grand tour took place one part of the palace gardens , and continued on with the public gardens. 

The pivate gardens were not crouded and we were able to anjoy a stroll around . The spring fumes from the blooms started to take over the air , so if you have severe allergies you may want to reconsider your options. 

 Tulips and roses , grassland , trees , climbing plants and bushes , are all included. If the private gardens were all bloomed , we could actually visit the garden with the citrus trees. It is said , that all these years the shape of the gardens has mostly kept it's original form. There is also a staircase which provides panoramic view. 

On the following tour , the public gardens are also well maintained with a number of pedestrian roads that lead to the general Schonbrunn region. 

During the walk around , there are several paths that all lead to the same spot. The fountain , which is named the Obelisk Fountain , icludes waterfall with a lot of statues and mini pool lakes inside. 

After the Obelisk Fountain , we took a long walk amongst the forest area. It is really refreshing and at the top there is a glass building with a pool lake and panoramic view of Vienna. 

And if you get thirtsy , there is a coffe shop in the building with refreshments and snacks! 
Enjoy your tour!