Hotels near The Belvedere

The Belvedere is two Baroque palaces built for Prince Eugene of Savoy in the early 1700s, linked by a formal terraced garden that steps down the slope between them. The Upper Belvedere holds the world's largest Klimt collection, including The Kiss, painted in 1907 and permanently on display here, alongside Schiele and Kokoschka. The Austrian State Treaty was signed in the Marble Hall in 1955.

The garden between the two palaces is free and open daily, and it is the autumn reason to come: clipped hedges and mature limes turning above the ornamental pools, with the view north across the terraces to the spire of St Stephen's Cathedral beyond. Standing at the Upper Belvedere railing on a clear October morning gives you the best framed city view in Vienna without paying for anything.

Pro Tip: Book the first slot of the day and go straight to Klimt on the first floor. The Kiss has a permanent crowd from about 11am onwards, and at 9am you can get within a metre of it. Then walk down through the gardens rather than leaving the way you came.