Haydnhaus, which is included in the Vienna Sightseeing Flexi Pass, focuses on the last years of Haydn’s life, and the political and social atmosphere of Austria in the early 19th century. Part of the exhibition includes the records and memoirs of the international visitors who came to pay Haydn their respects in his final years. The ground floor displays portraits of Haydn’s guests from those days. The highlight of the Haydnhaus is the small garden, modeled on the symmetrical bourgeois gardens of the time.
Haydnhaus is a compact museum that you can visit in under an hour, making for an easy stop while shopping along the nearby Mariahilfer Strasse.
Information and explanatory labels are translated into English and there is an audio guide available.
There’s no gift shop, but the ticket office sells a small collection of music-related souvenirs and gifts.
The ground-floor rooms and courtyard are accessible to wheelchairs and strollers, while the upper-floor rooms have steps.
There are a number of metro, bus, and tram lines that run close to Haydnhaus, though none stop directly in front of the museum. Take metro line U3 to the Zieglergasse stop or the 57A bus to the Brückengasse or Hirschengasse stops. Otherwise, take the U3 or U6 metro lines to the main Westbahnhof train and walk to the museum from there.
Haydnhaus is closed on Mondays and some holidays; it also closes at midday for an hour-long lunch break. The quiet rooms are ideal for a rainy-day visit or to take a break from the crowds on Mariahilfer Strasse, one of Vienna’s main shopping thoroughfares that is just a short walk away.
Haydn’s former home is one of six historical residences in Vienna that once belonged to the city’s famed musicians and composers, and now house museums in their honor. With the Wien Museum combination ticket, you can visit the apartments of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Strauss, Franz Schubert, and Joseph Haydn to admire personal effects such as letters and sheet music, antique instruments, portraits, and other memorabilia.
