Schönbrunn Palace,
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Vienna is a city with a lot of green places, parks, squares, and it will not easily stress you. Yet, it is nice to know that there are places to retreat from the city, to enjoy silence. One of the best places to do so is definitely Schönbrunn Palace and its gardens. The Palace was once, in imperial times, supposed to rival Versailles, but since 1918 it has been property of the Austrian republic. The last emperor spent his last years in this palace. It is in this palace that Mozart performed for the Empress and her guests, only 6 years old. It is possible to visit less than 40 of the more than 1440 rooms of this Baroque masterpiece which was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List.
When I arrived at the palace, the weather was so great I decided to stay outside and walk around the palace gardens. It was spring, flowers were blooming everywhere, and I did not regret this choice. Walking around the palace, I found lanes with carefully trimmed trees and hedges, colourful flower beds, views towards both the palace, the Gloriette building, and the Vienna skyline. I discovered small fountains in corners of the park, a hidden tower (the Small Glorietta), small paths to go from one side to the other.
There is a labyrinth for the smaller visitors, there is a Japanese garden, a rose garden (I was too early to see the roses unfortunately), and a hothouse for tropical plants and trees. On the many benches, people coming from outside the park, enjoying it in their lunchtime, older people thinking about years gone by, young couples looking for a place to be alone. A group of schoolchildren lining up for entering the zoo in one corner of the park. Time for a last sniff of the flower's perfumes, the park's silence, before walking out one of the gates.
