Culture that inspires

Starting at 6:00 PM on Saturday, October 6, 2012, more than 670 museums, galleries and cultural institutions throughout Austria will open their gates – for the “Lange Nacht der Museen” (Museum Night). For me, this has been a top offer for five years already, one that my daughter and I will also take advantage of this year.

Discover Vienna’s museums…

Since its premiere in the year 2000, over three and a half million people have taken advantage of this first-rate, comprehensive cultural program. With a single ticket, you can visit as many museums as you desire – or can make it to – between 6:00 PM and 1:00 AM on October 6, 2012. All kinds of cultural institutions – 121 in all – in Vienna are participating this year. The spectrum, which covers pretty much every area of interest, ranges from the major museums such as the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History), the Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History) and the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art (MAK), to all sorts of galleries, all the way to small, fine insiders’ tips.

This year as well, the tickets (regular price: 13.00 euros per person) are also valid for the shuttle buses that go back and forth between the participating locations. In addition, the ticket is simultaneously your ticket for the Wiener Linien (Vienna’s public transport) between 4:00 PM and 3:00 AM on the day of the event. Reduced-price tickets (for 11.00 euros) are available for school and university students, military recruits, seniors and disabled persons. Children 12 and under are granted free entrance.

Speaking of children, for the young audience, all sorts of special programs are on offer once again: Open ateliers, children’s tours, scavenger hunts, shows, mini-courses, handicrafts, painting and lots more are available. Children who visit at least three children’s programs should get a mark stamped in their booklet—for which there is a small surprise in the children’s tent at “Treffpunkt Museum” at Vienna’s Heldenplatz.

Tickets and booklets are available for advance sale at all participating museums and institutions, or online at http://langenacht.ORF.at.

Image credits: © ORF Lange Nacht der Museen; Hans Leitner.