Located only 10 minutes from the Grand Ferdinand, the Albertina Wien museum offers several permanent and temporary exhibitions. It’s the perfect destination for art fans to lose track of time on rainy days.
The alarm rings, you stretch out in your king size bed and open your well-rested eyes. It’s deceptively dark outside, despite the late hour. So you chance a look out the window and find your hunch was correct: it’s indeed raining.
Vienna is not immune to rain, especially in spring. And on days like that, one could be tempted to stay in the comfort of a room at the Grand Ferdinand or enjoy the amenities of the hotel. Fortunately, Vienna has an almost limitless choice of weatherproof attractions that are worth getting up for.
Take your umbrella and head to Albertina
So hop out of bed and into the rain shower. And then, enjoy a fortifying Breakfast at the Grand Étage, the elegant rooftop restaurant at Grand Ferdinand, before deciding where to head afterwards.
One of the many options for a rainy day in Vienna is a visit to the Albertina Wien museum. Art enthusiasts will find it easy to spend hours there. And the best part is, it’s only a short walk from the Grand Ferdinand to the Palais Albertina.
Stroll down the famous Ring boulevard, turn right at the Vienna State Opera, and you’ll already see the splendid neoclassicist city palace. The walk won’t take longer than 10 minutes. Almost impossible to get wet in that time. But if you want to be sure you can always take the tram.
Albertina Wien: Created by art lovers for art lovers
Albertina Wien is one of the biggest and most valuable art collections worldwide. Originally, it was established as a collection of graphic art and named after Duke Herzog Albert von Sachsen-Teschen, Empress Maria Theresia’s son-in-law. Duke Albert and his wife, Archduchess Maria Christine, were both great fans of art and established the collection together.
Today, the Albertina offers a varied range of world-famous art in permanent art displays and temporary exhibitions. The collections contain works like Monet’s “Water Lilies”, Degas’ “Dancers” and Cezanne’s “Farm in Normandy”, but also art by Chagall, Picasso, Miró, Warhol, Schiele, Klimt und Kokoschka, to name just a few.
A remarkable highlight at the Albertina is the “Collection Batliner”. It’s a permanent loan from the Liechtenstein Foundation of Rita and Herbert Batliner. The collection titled “From Monet to Picasso” is dedicated to the evolution from figurative to abstract art and is one of the most important collections in Europe with regards to classic modern art.
The collection Essl, one of the biggest private collections of contemporary art worldwide, is also on display at Albertina. In 2014, Albertina was entrusted with the more than 6,000 works of art in the collection.
In addition to the photo and architecture collections, the collection of graphic art is incredibly impressive. It contains about 50,000 drawings and aquarelles, as well as approximately 900,000 printed works. They span time, from the late gothic era to the present.
Works by Leonardo da Vinci and even Dürer’s “Young Hare” are a part of this collection. Unfortunately, they’re only rarely displayed for the public due to conservation reasons, so it’s recommended to have a quick look at the Albertina website to find out which special pieces are on display right now.
On top of the already vast collections, Albertina Wien also has several temporary exhibitions, showing a great variety of styles, artist and media. Photography, paintings, drawings — the programme is extremely diverse.
One ticket covers all collections and exhibitions
The best part about visiting the Albertina museum is that with just one ticket, you can see all the exhibitions currently on display. The architecture of the building itself is always worth a look too: the Habsburg staterooms are open to the public — though, for conservation reasons, only in good weather.
A visit to Albertina Wien is always a great idea, regardless of how many hours you end up spending there. And if it’s still raining after your trip to the museum, you can always spend the rest of the day comfortably tucked away in an armchair at the Grand Étage of the Grand Ferdinand while enjoying a magnificent view over Vienna.
