While visiting a museum can be extremely cheap or even free in some countries, Austria has some expensive exhibitions. Some of the country's best museums, such as the National History or the Albertina, for example, cost almost €20.
It becomes more affordable if you buy yearly tickets, which are often worth it from the third visit on, but it does limit the number of times Austrians go to museums — or at least the variety of the visits — if you buy one or two yearly tickets.
With that in mind, Austria's federal government introduced a new "Federal Museum Card” this week, which allows the holder unlimited visits without restriction to all federal museums making cultural exploration more affordable and accessible.
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How much does it cost and how can I buy it?
According to the Austrian Secretary for Culture, the federal museum card (Bundesmuseencard) is sold for €99 a year. It has been valid from July 1st and anyone can buy them online or in the participating museums.
For comparison, a yearly ticket for Mumok Museum costs €22, while for Albertina, it costs €78.
Isn't there something similar already in Austria?
Sort of. There was a previous federal museum card sold since 2018, but this only offered one admission to each museum for €66 a year. In 2023, 7,700 of these cards were sold, Der Standard reported.
The new card is a significant upgrade from its predecessor. State Secretary for Culture Andrea Mayer (Greens) described it as a "genuine yearly ticket", offering unlimited access to all federal museums, a stark contrast to the previous card which only allowed one admission to each museum.
The older version will be phased out as cards expire.
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Which museums are included?
You can visit all the federal museums in Vienna with the card: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Naturhistorisches Museum, Albertina, Belvedere, Museum moderner Kunst (Mumok), Technisches Museum, Museum für angewandte Kunst (Mak) plus the Austrian National Library. The card is valid for regular and special exhibitions and whenever the museums are open.
Additionally, the idea is to incentivise spontaneous short visits. Cardholders can breeze through a "fast lane" without queuing at the counter; no prior bookings are necessary, enhancing the overall museum experience.
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