A must-see on any visit to Vienna (especially if you're passionate about art) is Museumsquartier. Consisting of 90,000 square meters and visited by 12,800 people daily, it is an open-air area filled with fascinating museums, beautiful statues, and captivating art pieces. During the wintertime, it also hosts a gorgeous Christmas market filled with adorable stands and holiday activities like ice skating. You could spend full days in Museumsquartier and not have explored a fraction of what it has to offer.
Vienna's art scene is a force to be reckoned with, and by far the center of it all is the Museumsquartier. Alongside already boasting an impressive collection of museums, new exhibits are continually brought in, such as the Andy Warhol exhibit in 2019. I visited the MUMOK around Christmas of last year with my cousins, and it instantly became one of my all-time favorite museums. It struck a balance between beautiful contemporary paintings and more interactive exhibitions such as a huge trampoline room. I had never been interested in art before but visiting the MUMOK changed all that. I found many paintings I loved and remember being especially fascinated by some of the 3D architectural models. The photography section was also excellent and made me genuinely curious to learn more.
This is a deeply repressed memory, but while browsing the museum, I ended up tripping and falling onto a pretty precious Picasso painting. The bodyguards moved like ninjas, and before I could even blink, they had grabbed me and escorted me away. My cousins and I shook in fear of what was to come. Luckily we were released with nothing more than a stern glare from security and stares from a crowd of strangers that had emerged. Needless to say, we walked away as fast as we could, looking downwards and avoiding any eye contact. My cousins and I weren't had lost touch and drifted but visiting that museum together was definitely the first step in reconnecting.
Some of my favorite pieces from the MUMOK
A couple of days after visiting the MUMOK, we visited Albertina, another personal favorite. The museum had more colorful paintings, which appealed to my taste a lot more. There were some funky paintings with skeletons and monsters that I adored. I strongly recommend visiting, especially if you're less into fine art and more into unique paintings, full of personality. That museum's gift shop is also full of cute art stuff for a reasonably fair price. I got a beautiful coin pouch based on Monet's "Waterlilies" painting as well as an adorable bunny pin.
I'd personally recommend visiting in the wintertime as directly outside of the museums; you'll find beautiful Christmas markets that embody perfectly the holiday spirit. During cold, snowy days, you can buy a cup of hot cocoa and go ice skating. Other stands have cute ornaments to put on your Christmas tree or adorable souvenir snow globes. My family and I visit the markets every winter, and we're never disappointed. The blend of the beautiful Christmas markets alongside the giant museums gives you the perfect mix of Vienna's culture and art scene with a sprinkling of holiday spirit.
Although these two museums are my favorites, there are plenty of other museums to check out in the area, such as the Leopold Museum and die Kunsthalle and the ZOOM museum for kids. The Museumsquartier's variety of museums atop Vienna's wintertime beauty and world-famous Christmas markets make it a must-visit during the holiday months.
Bibliography:
“About Us.” MuseumsQuartier Wien, www.mqw.at/en/about-us/.
