Visiting the magnificent Vienna opera house

What’s it like to visit the Vienna opera house?

The Vienna State Opera is hard to miss when you’re in Vienna. Its location, right in the heart of the city, says something about how important opera and classical music are to the local culture.

There are two ways to see the Vienna opera house:

• Join a guided tour
• See a performance

I did both and recommend both! You don’t have to be an opera fan to be impressed with the beautiful architecture.

If you do love opera, however, seeing a performance at this opera house is a great experience (and you can even find affordable tickets).

In this guide I’ll share my tips on how to join a guided tour and how to see an opera performance.

Guided tours of the Vienna opera house

I was really looking forward to taking a guided tour of the opera house in Vienna on my last trip there.

It was my second time at this opera house. On a previous visit, I went to see a performance, and had a chance to see inside the opera house, but seeing it with a guide is a completely different experience.

Our guide was professional and friendly, happy to share his knowledge and answer any questions.

Vienna opera house tickets

When you buy a ticket for the Vienna opera house tour, you need to book a time slot online.

I used the Vienna Pass, as it included the tour, but the time slot still has to be reversed online. I just had to enter the Vienna pass code to get a free ticket.

I found it very convenient to use the pass in Vienna. It’s worth it if you’re planning on seeing a lot of attractions in a few days.

Some practical tips

Here are some tips from my experience taking the Vienna opera house tour:

• It’s best if you arrive early (about 15 minutes in advance) at the Opernring corner box office, because there’s a queue.
• Group tours in different languages start at the same time and it can get crowded.
• Despite the number of people, everything was well organised when I arrived. I scanned my ticket and joined the English language group.
• While waiting for the tour to begin I started taking photos already. It was hard to resist.
• The group was large and sometimes it was hard to hear the guide, especially when there was another group in the same room at the same time. I recommend you stand close to the guide throughout the tour if you can.
• The tour takes about 45 minutes.

The Vienna opera house tour review

The guided tour is an introduction to the history and design of the building, called Staatsoper in German, and lets you see many different rooms, including the auditorium.

The guide also shared some historical anecdotes that made the tour interesting for a wider range of people, not just opera fans.

The tour starts with an introduction to the history of the opera house.

The opera house was constructed in 1869, but during WWII it was heavily bombed and much of it was destroyed.

It had to be reconstructed, so what you see today is only 10% of the original building.

We started the tour in the foyer, moved up the grand staircase, and visited the key state rooms, including the tea salon, the interval halls, and the auditorium with a view of the stage.

The tea salon was the private chamber of Emperor Franz Joseph. He used it for his own purposes, unrelated to the opera, even though it was inside the opera house.

It’s a luxurious, beautifully preserved room, with a red carpet, a painted ceiling, and even golden silk on the walls.

We then got our first view of the auditorium from the reconstructed imperial box – the best seats in the house.

Later in the tour we went into the auditorium and could sit right at the front. We were watching the stage being set for that evening’s performance, while the guide answered questions.

We didn’t go backstage on this tour, but we did learn about how the stage works. We also learnt that the opera uses natural acoustics, with no amplification.

The other highlights of the tour were the stunning interval halls:

The Schwind Foyer is a gorgeous, heavily decorated hall.

It lives up to the standard of lavish extravaganza that you’d expect of such an important opera house, with gold decorations, ceiling frescoes, and chandeliers.

The most unique thing about this hall are busts of famous composers and conductors like Rossini, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Haydn.

The Marble Hall, in contrast, is quite minimalist and modernist in its design and features, as the name suggests, plenty of marble.

A 1950s style is dominant in this room, with Constructivist and Cubist influenced art in the form of large mosaics on the walls.

These mosaics are fascinating. They depict the people and professions that make the opera house – the director, the choir, and even a wig maker.

The Gustav Mahler Hall features tapestries with scenes from The Magic Flute. It’s used for chamber music concerts, thanks to its great acoustics.

At the end of the tour we had time to ask the guide questions and he was happy to share his knowledge.

All in all, it was a very interesting tour with a good balance of history, beautiful design, stories and anecdotes. In just under an hour we saw all the main rooms and had enough time to appreciate the aesthetics and take pictures.

Things to do near the Vienna opera house

When you finish the opera house tour, you’ll be right in the city centre and there are plenty of things to do nearby.

Within walking distance from the opera house you can visit:

• St. Stephen’s Cathedral – one of Vienna’s most iconic symbols. Free entry.
• Albertina Museum – recommended especially for its huge art collection, mix of styles, and wonderful palace rooms. Included in the Vienna Pass or get tickets here.
• Sisi Museum – a beautiful display on the life of Empress Elisabeth. Included in the Vienna Pass or get tickets here.
• The House of Music – a wonderful exhibition on music in Austria and beyond. This is one of several music exhibitions in Vienna.

Seeing a performance at the Vienna opera house

On a previous trip to Vienna, I got to see an opera performance for €10! These days the price has gone up a bit, but it’s still very affordable.

The trick is to buy standing tickets on the day of the performance.

You’ll get an excellent view of the stage, especially from the Parterre section of the standing area.

The only downside is that you’ll have to be standing throughout the show…

There are over 400 standing tickets for sale on the day from 10 am, either online or at the box office.

If you prefer to pay for regular seats, you can buy tickets online or in person, but do book early as shows tend to sell out.

For me, booking tickets ahead of time is part of the fun of trip planning.

If you want to be spontaneous though, there’s still a chance you may find opera tickets available on the day. There may be last minute cancellations, so it’s worth checking at the box office.

When you go to an opera performance, you’ll get to see the interiors and you can visit the interval halls. Still, it’s quite different to the learning experience of a guided tour, which gave me a better perspective.

If you can’t get tickets, remember that this world‑class opera house is one of three in Vienna. The others are the Volksoper and the Theater an der Wien. The State Opera is the largest and most famous one, but you can also see an opera in Vienna at any of the other two.

Where to stay near the Vienna opera house

The opera house is in a super central location in Vienna, so it’s a good idea to stay nearby.

You’ll have many of the main museums and attractions in the city within walking distance, as well as all the transport links you’ll need.

Hotel Sacher Wien is a super elegant hotel, right across the street from the opera house.

Hotel Astoria Vienna is a Hilton hotel a couple of minutes from the opera house.

O11 Boutique Hotel Vienna is a stylish hotel opposite the opera house.

Living Hotel an der Oper is close to the opera house and offers rooms and serviced apartments.

Le Méridien Vienna is within a short walking distance of the opera house.

Other opera houses worth visiting

• Paris: Palais Garnier is as grandiose as you might expect 😉
• Budapest: The Budapest opera tour at the Hungarian Opera House was one of the highlights of my last trip there.
• Barcelona: The Palace of Catalan Music isn’t strictly an opera house, but it’s a magnificent music hall.

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