Belvedere Museum

Prince Eugene of Savoy hired Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt to build this place as a summer retreat. The Lower Belvedere was finished in 1716, and the grander Upper Belvedere followed in 1723. After the Prince died, Empress Maria Theresa scooped up the estate. She was ahead of her time. In 1781, she opened the Imperial Picture Gallery to the public, making this one of the first public museums on the planet. It hasn't all been easy. Bombs did serious damage during WWII, and it took until 1953 to get the palaces back to their former glory. The complex even witnessed the birth of the modern nation when the Austrian State Treaty was signed in the Upper Belvedere's Marble Hall on May 15, 1955.

The art here spans 800 years, but the real draw is the turn-of-the-century gold. The Upper Belvedere houses the definitive collection of Viennese Modernism. You'll see Klimt's 'The Kiss' and 'Judith' up close. The shimmer is real. It’s worth every forint (or Euro, in this case). But look past the gold. Egon Schiele’s twisted, psychological portraits offer a blunt contrast to Klimt's decorative style. You’ll also find Impressionist giants like Monet and Rodin hanging nearby. Down the hill, the Lower Belvedere and the Palace Stables take a darker, quieter turn. Expect Gothic altarpieces and medieval wooden carvings that feel worlds away from the glitz upstairs. If you want something more current, head over to the Belvedere 21 pavilion for post-war and contemporary stuff.

This is Baroque architecture at its most aggressive. Hildebrandt designed the Upper Belvedere with green copper domes and a facade meant to scream wealth and status. Walk into the Sala Terrena and you’re met by giant atlas figures holding up the roof. Follow the stairs to the Marble Hall. It's a two-story explosion of reddish marble and gilded stucco. Look up at the ceiling fresco by Carlo Innocenzo Carlone. This is the exact room where Austria regained its independence in 1955. Outside, the gardens bridge the two palaces. Dominique Girard, who learned his trade under the guy who did Versailles, designed the terraces. Start at the top and walk down past the fountains and the Sphinx statues. The layout is symbolic (Olympus at the top, elements at the bottom) but you'll probably just care about the reflection of the palace in the south pool. It's the classic Vienna shot.