Eggenberg Palace’s out-of-the-way location means it doesn’t often feature on city tours, but you can add it on to private excursions and with customizable itineraries. The palace park and gardens are a lovely place to relax amid manicured lawns and strutting peacocks.
You can only get inside the palace by paying for a tour of the state rooms, but entry also includes access to the three other Eggenberg sites: the Alte Galerie art collection, the Coin Cabinet, and the Archaeology Museum, as well as the 18 museums in the Graz Joanneum Museum collective. You can visit these within a 24-hour period from when you buy your ticket.
Children under 19 can enter for free, and there are heavily discounted rates for students aged between 19 and 26 years of age.
Dogs are not allowed in the palace or the park and gardens, unless they are assistance animals.
The site is considered mostly wheelchair accessible, but there are gravel paths in the gardens and historic flooring inside the castle to navigate.
The palace is on the fringe of the city, away from the downtown Innere Stadt. You can walk to Eggenberg Palace in around 45 minutes, or you can take tram #1 to Schloss Eggenberg or tram #7 to Eggenberger Allee. The tram ride from downtown Graz takes around 15 minutes, with a 5-minute walk to the palace from the stops. Otherwise, if you are driving, there are free parking lots by the Restaurant Rudolf, or paid parking spaces on nearby streets.
The park and gardens are open year-round from morning ‘till late afternoon, while tours of the palace’s state rooms are only available April through October from Tuesday to Sunday. Like most Graz attractions, it is busier during the summer months. Plan at least 2-3 hours to include a guided tour of the state rooms, a look around the on-site museums, and time in the park and gardens.
The Coin Cabinet is one of the palace’s quirkier sites, and it’s worth a look even if you have only a passing interest in coins. Check out the two rooms of the coin cabinet to see one of Austria’s largest coin collections up close. The joy comes from the stories behind the money, and you’ll learn about the wealthy men of Middle Age Graz, gold coins reworked into jewelry for an Austrian archduke, and more.
