Schönbrunn Palace a 1,441 room Summer Palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Susan and I saw this in an Andre Rieu concert broadcast on satellite TV and we , well I, so wished to see the grand ballroom live so to speak. As part of the River Cruise we had tours included in the package, alas this was not one of them. However, being determined to visit and see this palace we paid the extra for a guided tour and also for a Vienna Concert in the evening. I will state now if we go back to Vienna I would visit and tour the Palace as an individual not as a group and would allow a full day to see the Palace, Gardens and Zoo. Yes hindsight is wonderful 
However, back to the tour. This is the most visited tourist attraction in Vienna and it was mobbed I tell you at times you cannot see the attraction because of all the tourists – yes I know I am a tourist as well .
The tour is round the Royal Apartments of the 
Empress Maria Theresa. It was here that Franz Joseph was born in December 1848 and here he died in November 1916 having ruled the Austrian, later the Austro-Hungarian, Empire for 68 years. I liken this tour to the one I took round Holyrood Palace it was rushed and we got just a taste of the history of the Emperors and their families. As the Palace is a main attractions guided tours are moved along at a fast pace. I would recommend anyone taking this tour to take the individual tour, you are not rushed and can spend time appreciating the artwork. One thing that was pointed out the Hapsburg’s extensions to their Winter and Summer Palaces were the cause of Austria constantly on the verge of bankruptcy. I can believe that. It may sound as if I am critical of the tour I’m not, but it is such a lot to take in you really need to take your time to understand all the events and connections of this dynasty, after all the assassination of the Heir to the Throne resulted in World War 1. Would I go back there, yes, but I would spend the day there not just 3 hours. There is so much to see, not only the royal apartments but the Gardens as
well. All too soon it was time to return to the ship for a change and early dinner before we attended our concert at the Festsaal (Festival Hall) in Hofburg Palace.
What can I say – the palace was the taster the concert was the cream. I kid you not this was the high spot of our visit to Vienna, at least it was for me. We paid €59 for this extra treat and was well worth it. Listening to this world-famous and the music transposed me into a time warp where 2 hours passed in a matter of seconds. The Concert was scheduled for 90 minutes – ha! It started at 8 pm and finished at 10 pm with the two traditional pieces of music – from Johann Jnr “The Blue Danube” and from Johann Snr “The Radetzky March”. I wish I could show you photographs of my own but I was ill-advised that there was no photography allowed. As it turned out people were videoing the concert never mind photographing. However from Wikipedia a link to an image which shows the hall.
