If you’re planning to visit the historic building on the Ringstrasse right now, you’ll need sturdy shoes with non-slip soles for this special tour. Instead of the usual theater seats, you’ll climb up a temporary scaffolding. Water damage at a height of nearly 18 meters requires renovation work and is what makes this extraordinary tour possible for visitors in the first place.
Before we dive in: Be sure to check out our tips for museums in Vienna, day trip destinations around Vienna, or dining in the city!
Precious history beneath the vaulted ceiling
Directly beneath the ceiling of the stairwell, you can see the early works of Gustav Klimt. The artist, who was only 24 at the time, painted various scenes from theater history here between 1886 and 1888, together with his brother Ernst and Franz Matsch. Even though Gustav Klimt is best known today for the painting “The Kiss,” these detailed oil paintings at the Burgtheater document his early artistic beginnings.
Meet in the ticket hall across from Rathausplatz exactly five minutes before the tour starts. First, you’ll view the fully restored ceiling on the Volksgarten side from below and then examine the original design drawings—the so-called Klimt cartoons—in the foyer. This is followed by the actual ascent on the Landtmann side, where you’ll encounter the paintings at eye level. The tour is conducted in German and English.
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Advance ticket sales start for the final dates
Up on the platform, details catch your eye that remain hidden from the ground floor—including Klimt’s only painted self-portrait in the scene depicting London’s Globe Theatre. Up here, you can watch closely as restorers remove dirt from the historic paint millimeter by millimeter using fine cotton swabs and condensation. Before your eyes stretches, among other things, the 30-square-meter painting “Theater in Taormina, ” Klimt’s largest ceiling painting.
Alongside these are other eras of theater history, such as Franz Matsch’s “Altar of Apollo” or Ernst Klimt’s “Hanswurst on the Fairground Stage.” Up on the platform, details catch the eye that are completely invisible from the ground floor. These include a finely painted cigarette in Ernst Klimt’s fingers or the motif of Queen Elizabeth I of England attending a performance of Romeo and Juliet at London’s Globe Theatre.
How to get the last tickets for June
The final tickets for June will go on sale online and at the box office on May 10 at exactly 10:00 a.m. A maximum of two tickets will be issued per person to ensure fairness for all interested parties. You can leave your jackets and bags before the ascent, but they will remain unattended during the tour. If you are unable to get tickets for the scaffolding tour, the regular guided tour of the building is an alternative: there you can see the artworks on the Volksgarten side in the regular stairwell and at least get a sense of the overall architectural impact of the ceiling paintings.
🎭 Location: Burgtheater (Meeting point: Ticket hall, entrance across from Rathausplatz)
📍 Address: Universitätsring 2, 1010 Vienna
💶 Admission: €25 (regular price), €18 (students under 27, apprentices, seniors over 65)
⏰ Times & Tickets: Special tours through June 2026.
🎯New dates for June available on May 10 at 10 a.m. Max. 2 tickets per person.
