Viennese Whirl

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Booked through British Airways Holidays. The hotel was clean and well equipped (heating/air con in room with cable TV) and only 10 minutes walk from the Ring Strasse in central Vienna.

Breakfast, included in the room price, was a self-service buffet with loads of different breads, cheeses and cold meats as well as fruit juice, coffee, etc... all of a high standard.

The staff were helpful and friendly, especially considering we checked in at about 11pm! We were allowed to leave our luggage there after we checked out, the staff storing it securely.

We took the "grand tour" of some 40 state rooms when we visited. This was a self-guided audio tour available in many languages and was fascinating. It gave a real insight into the Habsburg family, more so than the static displays at the Hofburg (see other journal entry).

It's surprisingly close to central Vienna, an easy 20- or 30-minute ride on the underground, and definitely worth a visit. Be warned! It's quite a climb up to the top of the gardens, but this yields a picture-postcard view of the whole palace.

The palace's website can be found at http://www.schoenbrunn.at/

The parts we visited are the only parts open to the public - the Imperial Apartments and the Imperial Silver Collection.

The exhibits, admittedly fantastic, were a bit "dry" - there's only so many china plates and candlesticks you can look at in one day! The simple wander around the imperial apartments was a bit of a let down as well.

All in all, I mostly recommend a night visit where you can sit in front of the palace as long as you want and gaze at its simply magnificent architecture. The museum itself is a bit of a let down.