Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Covering some 7,000 years of culture, this spectacular museum is among the world’s most important and was opened in 1891 by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary. The museum’s picture gallery contains an extraordinary collection of paintings by European Old Masters including Raphael, Titian, Velázquez and Vermeer and the world’s largest collection of work by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. In early 2013, its famous Kunstkammer reopened after a decade of renovations, revealing 20 galleries featuring examples of goldsmithing, outstanding sculptures such as the 15th-century Krumau Madonna, magnificent bronze statuettes, delicate ivories and precious stone vessels, as well as valuable clocks, elaborate automatons, scientific instruments and sumptuous game boards.