Of the many museums and interesting galleries available for locals and tourists alike to frequent in Vienna and Europe, the Kunsthistorisches Museum has recently become one of my top favourites.

Entrance Lobby

Embarrassingly, I have to admit that I can’t pronounce nor spell it (thank you copy/paste shortcuts !), but nonetheless what lay inside the museum itself was blinding! The décor was absolutely stunning, with a mixture of dazzling golds, beautiful marbles and creamy white all around, amongst mammoth ceilings covered with paintings, as if I had stepped into a version of the Sistine Chapel… But wait, this isn’t a church or royal palace like Versailles, this is purely the décor for an art museum!

  

Apart from the stunning interiors, another positive unique attribute was the availability of sofas in the large gallery rooms! Large comfy blue plush sofas are placed in the centre of each large room, so don’t worry about getting tired next time you come here, the sofas welcome you like home.

An artist at work with his interpretation of Raffael’s Madonna in the Meadow

Being quite OCD-aligned, I was amazed by the quality of the all the works’ state of preservation, particularly the Ancient Egyptian artefacts. The methods of display and presentation of the works in each room was perfect and impressive, I adored it! This is one of my many favourite paintings, that I never knew the name/artist of and it is found here at Kunsthistorisches! Jan van Hysum manages to paint so delicately yet intricately, I particularly love the magical touch of the water droplet which seems so life-like.

  

Jan van Hysum’s Bouquet and Park Landscape

This is a piece that I fell in love with thanks to the lovely array of works in the museum. They put emphasis on their ‘highlights audioguide’ on Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s works but I personally preferred those of the Younger. The overall effect of this piece blows me away, and although it is of a winter landscape (I hate winter!), this one has a very poignant and gentle touch to it, I simply couldn’t resist it.

Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s Winterlandscape with Bird-Trap

Kunsthistorisches Museum
1010 Wien,
Maria Theresien-Platz
Metro: Museumsquartier on Line U2
Open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm