The Imperial Palace in Vienna served as the residence and workplace of the imperial family until the end of the monarchy in 1918. The Imperial Apartments therefore offer deep insights into the private and official life of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth, alias Sisi. The tour extends to a total of 24 rooms. Access to the Imperial Apartments is via the magnificent imperial staircase made from white marble.

In the audience room, Franz Joseph received nearly 260,000 people in the course of his life. Two of the most famous portraits of the emperor hang there: One by Franz Lenbach, which shows the emperor in the dress uniform of an Austrian field marshal. The second portrait is by Heinrich Wassmuth and shows the emperor one year before his death. Franz Joseph had his favorite painting hung in the imperial study, right over the writing desk: The portrait of his wife Elisabeth with entwined hair by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. The dining room with its opulently laid table is also impressive.

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Through bedrooms and living rooms

The rooms are in the Rococo style and fitted out with rich stucco work, magnificent chandeliers made from Bohemian crystal, and tiled stoves made from ceramic. The private salons, living rooms, and bedrooms are also accessible to visitors. Highlights of the tour are the dressing-cum-exercise room and the bathroom of the empress. Sisi spent most of her time in the exercise room. Her day began here at six o'clock in the morning with the daily hairdressing ritual. The installed exercise equipment, such as the wall bars, high bar and rings in the door frame, are still retained.

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