Schönbrunn has 1,441 rooms. You don’t need all of them.

Austria’s most visited attraction receives over 4 million visitors a year. In July, the standard queue at Schönbrunn Palace reaches 60 to 90 minutes. There are two tour options: the Imperial Tour covers 26 rooms and takes about 40 minutes; the Grand Tour covers 40 rooms and takes closer to an hour. For most visitors the Grand Tour is the right choice. Add the Palace Gardens and the Gloriette monument on the hill above and you have a full half-day, possibly a full day. Pre-booked timed entry gets you through the door at your chosen time with no queue.

One thing to consider: Vienna has so much to see that imperial fatigue is real. Schönbrunn in the morning, the Hofburg in the afternoon, the Belvedere the next day — pace it or the palaces start to blur.

The Hofburg, the Belvedere, and how to choose

Hofburg Imperial Apartments — Three museums on one ticket: the Imperial Apartments (Franz Joseph’s private rooms, largely unchanged), the Sisi Museum (Empress Elisabeth has become one of the great Habsburg obsessions and the museum earns it), and the Imperial Silver Collection. The most visited indoor complex in central Vienna. Pre-booking from May to September is important.

Belvedere and The Kiss — Klimt’s painting is in the Upper Belvedere and the room it hangs in is the most photographed interior in the city. It is smaller than most people expect. It is not less extraordinary for that. Go on a weekday morning when the Belvedere opens at 10am. The difference in crowd levels between a Tuesday morning and a Saturday afternoon is significant. The Belvedere also holds the largest collection of Egon Schiele works in the world, which is worth knowing before you assume it’s just the Klimt room.

Kunsthistorisches Museum — Vermeer, Bruegel, Caravaggio, Raphael, an Egyptian collection that takes an hour by itself. The building was designed to be as imposing as the collection. It succeeds. Pre-book on summer weekends.

The State Opera: two ways in

The guided backstage tour covers the stage, royal boxes and the ornate foyer. Book ahead. If you want to attend an actual performance, book months in advance for seated tickets. Standing room tickets are released at the box office 80 minutes before curtain at a fraction of the seated price — but you will need to queue early for those.

Practical note

The Vienna City Card gives unlimited metro, tram and bus travel for 24, 48 or 72 hours plus discounts at many attractions. Vienna’s public transport is excellent. The card pays for itself quickly. Vienna in December — the Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz, the markets at Schönbrunn, the New Year’s atmosphere — is one of the best versions of the city and significantly less crowded than July.