Hello! We really enjoyed visiting the butterfly house in Vienna last January. After passing the fountain next to the Vienna Opera, we encountered a long line. Fortunately, this wasn’t where we needed to go.
For a long time, I've dreamed of visiting a museum with live butterflies instead of those pinned to a board. I know there's such a place in Stockholm, but it's outside the city and I've never been there. This place, considered one of the most beautiful butterfly exhibitions in the world, is located right in the center of Vienna, in the old greenhouse of the Austrian emperors within the Hofburg Palace.
This place is a must-visit, especially on cloudy days when it's warm, cozy and beautiful inside, even when it's overcast outside. It's filled with waterfalls, bridges, flowers, vines and other real plants and different types of butterflies flying around the open space of the glass greenhouse. Inside, there are also small aquariums where cocoons are found and butterflies are born right before your eyes. Then the aquarium doors open and the butterflies fly into the greenhouse.
There are also small birds and fish. It's very pleasant to walk among the greenery and observe the butterflies of different sizes flying around, creating a surreal feeling with their vibrant colors. Children excitedly discuss every new butterfly they see and all visitors try to point out new and surprising butterflies hiding in the bushes to each other.
At the entrance to the greenhouse, there's a coatroom, which is very convenient because you can leave your outer clothing there. This place really impressed and made me happy. The only drawback is that the air inside is quite tropical, humid and somewhat warm, but a humid tropical climate is created here for the butterflies to live and tropical flowers to bloom. Therefore, the temperature varies around 26 degrees and the humidity is about 80 percent. If you don't tolerate heat well, maybe you could ask the ticket clerk to let you in for a short while to check if you can handle it and then decide if you want to stay. I'm sure they'd allow it. I saw a woman leave immediately because she felt she was having difficulty breathing.
If you don't have any breathing issues, it might seem challenging at first, but then you get used to it. Additionally, you might initially think there are no butterflies. Only in the incubator, behind the glass, are there cocoons of large butterflies that haven't yet spread their wings. But as we walked along the path among the tropical plants, we saw more and more butterflies.
Some butterflies fly around and play with each other, some circle around flowers or sit on leaves, while others land on bottles of sweet water and cut fruit to feed with their proboscises. We could observe the butterflies up close and examine their details: how they moved their proboscises to drink sweet water and how the most vibrant colors were hidden on the inner side of their wings, often brown on the outside. We were lucky that a few butterflies landed on us to rest.
Unfortunately, photographing all the butterflies is difficult because they are constantly moving. Even when they are sitting, they flap their wings. However, it was easy to photograph the beautiful tropical flowers as they stayed still to pose for us.
We watched hundreds of butterflies flying, spinning and dancing. The scenery inside the museum and in the palace gardens is beautiful. The place spans about 4 hectares and is adorned with giant trees and lush plants. You can walk freely among the tropical butterflies all year round. According to the information signs, the butterflies mainly come from tropical countries like Costa Rica, Belize, Suriname, Thailand and the Philippines.
Inside, there were also small ponds, waterfalls and bridges. I would say the atmosphere is peaceful, even intimate. This green oasis in the heart of the Austrian capital provided a much-needed break after long city tours.
We were told that the plants in the garden were chosen based on the needs of the butterflies. Some are nectar-producing plants that feed the butterflies, while others are where butterflies lay their eggs and caterpillars feed. Flowering plants produce nectar, the most important nutrient for butterflies. These include hibiscus, lantana, heliotrope and plumbago.
In the flying area, there were also colorful compositions of artificial flowers. These flowers served as feeders and were regularly sprayed with a honey solution. Some butterflies also enjoy fruit juices, so there's always fruit available at home.
We enjoyed not only the stunning nature but also the beautiful Austrian architecture in the garden. The Hofburg Palace has many monuments. The most famous ones are the Mozart, Goethe, Franz I and Emperor Franz Joseph monuments.
The Butterfly House had many simple and exotic types of butterflies. We could best observe these delicate creatures at their feeding places. The museum also had a small cinema where movies about butterflies were shown and on the way back, we saw a small souvenir shop selling butterfly-themed keepsakes.
It's best to dress lightly when visiting the butterfly house. The warm and humid atmosphere, ideal for the butterflies, might not be as comfortable for visitors in sweaters, phones and cameras. So don't forget to bring a cleaning cloth or lens cleaner to quickly wipe off foggy lenses.
I was very pleased to have visited the Butterfly House. Perhaps because I had been dreaming of visiting such a place for a long time, but I will definitely revisit when I return to Vienna. If you're nearby, it's a must-visit place, especially for children.
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