Quite strangely for two little English people, if there’s one thing my two children cannot abide, it’s queueing. And I have to say that when we saw the swarm of people waiting at the ticket office at Schloss Schönbrunn, I developed a sudden hatred of it too (as did Mr R thankfully as it turned out!). Thinking it was all a bit crowded (but not too despondent about it, we had half expected as much as it was a public holiday, and this is Vienna’s most popular tourist attraction!), we decided to give the inside of the former Imperial Residence a miss, and opted for a walk in the stunning grounds instead – heading straight for the gateway with the brightest sunshine…
As we got closer, we saw an entrance sign for the Schloss Schönbrunn Children’s Museum, and just on the off-chance that this was a separate entity from the main building, and had its own ticket office, we popped in. It did! And better still, compared to the main building, this place was pleasantly empty…
The experience starts in a great hall, overtaken at one end by row upon row of Narnia-esque wardrobes stuffed with all manner of amazing regal costumes, accompanied by endless boxes of gloves, cloaks, wigs and fans and the like. Swept up in imagination, our parental roles were temporarily transformed into those of Lady’s maid, and Valet to an elegant (but bossy) Lady, and a very demanding Little Lord Fauntleroy who changed his mind about what he was wearing every few seconds. We got our own back by suggesting various regal poses that will be added to my “to be used as blackmail in the event of any future hideous teenage outbursts” file on my PC.
It is hard to describe how thrilled the pair of them were with this part of the museum, and the costumes themselves were hugely impressive. The Small Girl did want to know why the outfits couldn’t be worn whilst you are visiting the rest of the building (you can if it’s your birthday by the way!) and the simple answer is I imagine that nobody would want to take them off again…
The effort put into capturing a child’s imagination whilst showing them exactly what life was like back in the palace’s hey day of the mid 1700’s was just brilliant… From the dressing room complete with samples of the popular scents and perfumes of the day, to the hair salon where you could style to your heart’s content, all of which proved to be a complete hit with my horrible histories addicts!
Then onto the rooms in the rest of the palace, with interactive wheels showing how the Royal family lived in comparison to meer mortals, how they dressed, what toys the children would have had, what they would have eaten, and perhaps my favourite of all, what the children of the palace would have learned . Having studied this section in-depth, the Eight year old just looked at me with pure disdain as I tried to tell her how sad it was that girls at that time would not have been allowed to study properly, they would have only been able to go horse-riding, have dancing lessons, singing lessons and do the odd bit of sewing…. Apparently she’s hoping for a time machine…
And after all that, it was back to the dressing up area for another hour’s preening, and more trying on of various frippery and finery. Mr R might have got carried away this time too (as did many other parents!), but with Christmas just around the corner, I decided not to publish those pictures as I am not sure I would be getting any presents otherwise!
Thankfully it was still daylight outside by the time we had finished, and we still had the time and the energy to explore the glorious grounds, and get momentarily lost in the ancient maze.
Put this place on your “Must See” list if you are visiting Vienna with children, both my Small people gave this place a resounding 20 out of ten, and come to think of it, I might just give it that score as well!…
Wow. This looks totally fantastic. Brilliant photos as ever. I want a bedroom ceiling like that!
Thanks so much Sophie! :)
What an amazing and informative post! I especially love the photo of the children running around in the autumn leaves; it looks completely magical <3
I am glad you like it Sherlyn, thank you for your comment! :)
Wow…. what a fantastic place you visited, brilliant for the kids – love them in all their finery, especially love the picture of them running, the colour and light is immense. X
The costumes were amazing, big heavy type affairs that seemed very authentic! So lucky with that tree tunnel picture! Thank you! :) x
Oh my what a lovely day out! I’m a big fan of castles, mansions and all things grand :0) kids look like the enjoyed it too which is always a plus :0)
Thank you, they loved it there, and we did too! :)
Those costumes are superb – nothing like the kind of thing you normally see in the ‘dressing up for kids at a museum’ area!
I’m disappointed you haven’t shown the snaps of your husband all kitted out too. Blogger husbands have a duty, you know. Mine is always being shown up in photos, for the amusement of my readers!
Maybe after Christmas and our upcoming anniversary! :D The costumes were amazing. Some of them weighed a ton which must have been quite authentic I imagine! Loved the hair dressing area as well, can you imagine children being trusted with that in the UK?
Publish them, you big spoilsport!! Oh my goodness, imagine if every museum had a dressing up box for you to adorn yourself in costumes and jewels whilst visiting. I would love that. Sounds like an amazing place.
Such a nice idea isn’t it? Totally got the Small People hooked on the place before we had even began! :D
I’ve got some great fall photos from the same place and some priceless unhappy faces.
Miserable faces of the people queueing for the main bit? I saw a few of those! :D Thanks Brooke! :)
Stunning photos, the children really looked like they enjoyed themselves which given that it is a museum says something about how they have thought about visitors coming to see, interact and enjoy the place.
It did feel like they had put a lot of thought into this place. Thank you :)
We did the same thing when we were there last year–Mr. F. and the kiddoes went while I was running the half marathon, and I met them there afterwards. We had a great time–great little museum!
It’s great isn’t it? Thanks Erin! :)
What a find! Not only does the museum look beautiful but they have obviously thought carefully about how to get children enthusiastic about the life of the house. The costumes look absolutely stunning and the grounds look fantastic at this time of year – I love the colours. Now I just need to book a trip to Vienna!
You must Kirsty, you must! Thank you! :)
What an amazing and educational experience – my boys would love this, especially the dressing up – my youngest loves that.
I think my two would have been more than happy to spend the whole day doing JUST that! Thank you J! :)
Oh my goodness, it is beautiful!
I don’t know about my girls but want a Narnia-esq wardrobe please x
Thanks Donna! :) x
That looks like an amazing place – great photos too x
Thanks Cass! :) x
That bedroom! Love it! Children, they don’t sugarcoat it do they. : )
Nope… They totally don’t! Thanks Louise! :)
Visiting Vienna is my dream. Hopefully when me and hubby will celebrate 10 years since we got married we will be able to go and visit it – just me and him. Although it looks like a lot of fun with the kids too and the palace looks great.
I hope you get your dream Otilia, it is a beautiful place to visit! Thank you…
Schönbrunn!! When I was living in Vienna, I had a great view of the castle every time I left my apartment… I never tired of this view. I visited it, of course, but cannot remember the kiddies part. Mind you, at the time, I had no children to take there! ;) Love your photos as always, thanks for bringing back great memories. :) xx
No problem, thank you for reading it! I don’t think the children’s section has been there too long, it all looks very new! :) xx
What a great find!
Thanks Sabrina! :)
Oh that sounds, and looks fabulous. I adore the pictures of the kids running into the autumn leaves- stunning!
Thanks Sonya! :)
Oh wow, what a magical place. That photo of the two of them running through the leaves is simply stunning! It’s so good to hear that they’ve gone to such lengths to really capture children’s imaginations and attention. Brilliant!
Thanks so much. It is such a great place to visit… :)
This look beautiful – that bedroom is like something out of one of my dreams (no, not one of those dreams…)
How great to have such a hands on place to take children – I bet they had a super time. Love the colours out by the maze too.
I want to go! I want to go!
I would really recommend it, it’s a gorgeous place, and I know what you mean about that room. Gorgeous isn’t it? Thanks Annie! :)
You know, I have been to Schloss Schonbrunn and didn’t realise they had a dress up area! How fabulous!!! Looks like you had a wonderful day!
It’s fabulous, and not part of the main palace at all. You can however catch the odd glimpse of the hoards as they queue to admire various things in the main Palace building. Perhaps we will get there one day! Thanks Maggy! :)
sounds like the best dressing up ever! How fantastic to be able to dress as a princess in a proper palace…would it be very bad form to pretend it was your birthday?…Love the royal pose, definitely one to store away for later :)
I think you should definitely pretend it’s your birthday (think you have to book a party though unfortunately!)…. Thank you T! :) x
Love the pic of the Little Ones running through the arch.
The colours were so gorgeous when we went, thank you Jan x
oh i absolutely love that image of your kids running through those beautiful autumn colours.. you always do such amazing things i swear you have won the lottery you seem to be in different parts of the world every time i come to visit you.
If only Helen, if only! The good thing about living in Munich is that it’s so central to everything, I think it took us 4 and half hours to get to Vienna, not bad! :D
Wow breath taking picture of them both running through the bronzed tunnel. What a fantastic experience to be able to dress up in the period – an idea for some of our castles maybe – somehow I cannot imagine that happening in England. x
Thanks Mum… They actually do have these great big velvet cloaks you can borrow at Hampton Court Palace, which is handy if the weather’s not up to much particularly! :D xxx
This is going on my to do list for next summer. I can’t believe we drive through there every year and not stop when there is so much fun to be had. Thanks for the suggestion. :-)
Thanks Monika, you must it’s well worth it! I think the queues for the main palace must really put people off, but most don’t know that this is something completely different! Thank you! :)