Desert House image

Desert House

Tourist attraction Zoo

1904 glass house converted into a zoological exhibit with desert mammals, reptiles, birds & plants. People often mention house, animals, desert, nice, visit, plants, worth, ticket, small, interesting,


Address

Schlosspark Schönbrunn, 1130 Wien, Austria

Website

www.zoovienna.at

Contact

+43 1 87792940

Rating on Google Maps

4.30 (1.1K reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Wednesday: 9 AM to 5 PM
  • Thursday: 9 AM to 5 PM
  • Friday: 9 AM to 5 PM
  • Saturday: 9 AM to 5 PM
  • Sunday: 9 AM to 5 PM
  • Monday: 9 AM to 5 PM
  • Tuesday: 9 AM to 5 PM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: house (22) animals (20) desert (18) nice (15) visit (15) plants (15) worth (15) ticket (14) small (11) interesting (10)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Irena D. 11 months ago on Google • 11 reviews
    Very nice and educative place. You can buy ticket for desert house, botanical garden and zoo. Also ticket is valid 1 year and you can use it partial. You don't have to visit all of it at 1 day. Good way to spend rainy and cold day in Vienna!
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Marcus F. 6 years ago on Google
    A nice and cozy little greenhouse with desert plants as well as a range of animals including birds, snakes, lizards and more. Nice way to spend half an hour or more.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Alexey S. 9 months ago on Google • 1213 reviews
    Desert house was okay and certainly better than the palm house but in my opinion it’s simply not worth is compared to the main zoo. You get so much more value in the main zoo and you can spend additional time there with more fun compared to paying more money and seeing less interesting things in the Desert House in my opinion
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Butnaru B. 4 months ago on Google • 223 reviews
    A very interesting area to see lots of desert fauna and animals
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Ljupcho V. 1 year ago on Google • 143 reviews
    Another garden that is beautiful and full of 🪴. A large variety of Cacti and succulents, tortoises and little birds that don’t stop singing. And 🐍 It’s lovely but part of it looks like it’s not taken care of a lot, maybe my perception but it looks like it needs some work to be done. Anyway worth the visit, 11€ for both gardens.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Simon Z. 2 years ago on Google
    As much as I would like to love this place, and as beautiful some things are, it is just not worth the visit. It is way to small for the price and should be included with the zoo (which is already expensive). A lot of terraria are empty (around 5), although the signs still being there. And on other spots there weren't really signs. It just seems like one of those places that were really nice once, but now noone wants to invest any money are care into it, because people come anyway
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Cyril G. 1 year ago on Google
    Overall very bad. Tiny place, neglected collection and building, little in term of pedagogy and everything written in german, rude personnel. They either don't have the funds, or interest in taking care of what's there, and it shows. Skip that one.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Natalie O. 2 years ago on Google
    The place itself looks pretty nice. Sadly we couldn't see any of the animals (except for two turtles) and in my opinion its pretty expensive for what you get to see.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Liviu-Cristian M. 1 year ago on Google • 396 reviews
    Definitely worth getting the ticket, even if it's a rather short visit. The encampment is large enough and has all kinds of tropical plants, animals, reptiles, insects, etc. Right at the entrance, after you pass the ticketing office and gate, make sure to check out the giant aquarium with the small fish. For us it was a unique experience that we might have missed had we not been curious to check it.

  • 5/5 Vassy T. 3 months ago on Google • 278 reviews New
    Very cute place, a real cactus heaven 😍 Highly recommend for cactus and succulent lovers, also buying combined ticket

  • 5/5 Radu R. 9 months ago on Google • 233 reviews
    This didn't feel like just a zoo / museum, it was a lovely garden to see, a visual delight to the people who have never seen desert vegetation or fauna. I found the entrance tickets pricy, but it was worth it. If you want to check off the other gardens, get a combo ticket.

  • 2/5 T. M. 6 months ago on Google • 188 reviews
    To be candid, the Desert House didn't make a lasting impression. If you haven't encountered something similar before, you might find it somewhat intriguing, but... Our visit concluded in a mere 10 minutes, leaving us pondering why we had spent so much for a glimpse of unremarkable fish, a handful of turtles, and one or two reptiles. The expense simply didn't match the experience. To our surprise, we even had to pay for restroom access despite purchasing tickets. In a nutshell, this place doesn't cater well to tourists. While it's suitable for snapping a few photos, everything else comes with an unjustifiably high price tag. We won't be revisiting.

  • 5/5 Adrian S. 7 months ago on Google • 11 reviews
    Had a combined ticket for this, the zoo and the palm house and this was my favourite out of the three! The landscaping is beautiful and the "desert vibe" is captured perfectly! The desert house does not showcase just plants, but also a few animals. Little side note, I really enjoyed the educational signs. They didn't bore me a bit, probably due to the fact the texts were short and each of them had a little display showing what the sign explained. Made my visit more informative than anticipated!

  • 3/5 Keith R. 2 years ago on Google
    It's a bit of a let-down after the many amazing places to see around the Palace and gardens.

  • 3/5 Irina K. 5 years ago on Google
    Good to visit but nothing special. Don't be upset if you missed it during your trip to Vienna

  • 5/5 Alexandra D. 2 years ago on Google
    If you like cactuses this place is just for you

  • 2/5 roi s. 2 years ago on Google
    Really disaponting place, dont worth the money at all! Also the palm house. I can count 1 animals at this place, and it took 10 mintues all this place.

  • 4/5 Eken 2 years ago on Google
    A compliment to the palm house

  • 4/5 Vilma G. 6 years ago on Google
    Interesting though quite small place with various plants and snakes, lizards and other animals of desert, savannah or something like that. Wasn't that impressive after the zoo and palm house.

  • 5/5 Philipp C. 2 years ago on Google
    This is a fascinating place. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it has a lot to offer. They have rare fish and moles and toads and turtles taken from deserts from all over the world. Some of the animals in display are threatened in the wild. Great place to go with kids if it’s cold and rainy outside. Won’t take you more than an hour though. There’s hardly ever a crowd here.

  • 2/5 Maksym N. 2 years ago on Google
    1. Was closed at 16:27 despite the last visit is at 16:30. 2. Fast pass by Wiena pass is not working due to the closed turnstile with tickets scanner. 3. Almost everything in German, even a woman in a tickets office despite I spoke to her in English. 4. Some people coughed without masks.

  • 2/5 Vincent D. 4 years ago on Google
    Like the name of the place : "Desert". There is nothing to see in this place, nothing special, nothing nice. It's just a small place with some insects, flowers, dark sometimes, too warm sometimes. They should include it in the zoo and don't make pay 2 times.

  • 5/5 Gabriel S. 1 year ago on Google
    You can feel the taste of the desert in the heart of the city. Usually you will find few visitors. You can buy a combined ticket, along with Palmenhaus and zoo.

  • 3/5 Victoria T. 4 years ago on Google
    This was okay but I went in as part of the Vienna Pass, would have been disappointed had I paid the €6 fee to get in

  • 4/5 Susanne K. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Also liked the kids 6 & 11 very much (Original) Hat auch den Kindern 6 & 11 sehr gut gefallen

  • 1/5 Giulia R. 4 years ago on Google
    Very few animals, the majority of them not really interesenting. The plants could have been nice, but there wasn't anything written in English to help you understand what you were looking at

  • 1/5 Christine L. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) All birds were removed from the desert house after many years because they were supposed to destroy the plants at once. It was cold and unnecessary to drive there. Absolute no go. Pity! (Original) Alle vögel wurden aus dem wüstenhaus nach langen Jahren dort entfernt weil sie angeblich auf einmal die Pflanzen zerstören. Es war kalt und unnötig dort hinzufahren. Absolutes no go. Schade!

  • 5/5 Violeta P. 4 years ago on Google
    Great experience. Not to many things to see . 15 minutes is enough to see it all.

  • 5/5 Andrei K. 1 year ago on Google
    Very educational place - first time I saw turtle reproduction process live! 😄 If you are going to the zoo, well worth paying extra few euros to see the palm and desert houses.

  • 5/5 Stefan R. 1 year ago on Google
    Nice to see and very well kept

  • 1/5 Gabyysh 1 year ago on Google
    It’s look like as a desert yes but only two or three animals, nearly all the enclosures are empty and EVERYTHING IS WRITE IN DEUTCH NOTHING IN ENGLISH !! It is not normal for a touristic place…

  • 4/5 Iva A. 1 year ago on Google
    A fun experience :)

  • 3/5 Susanne S. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Entrance fee is exaggerated for a few cactuses (Original) Eintrittsgeld ist übertrieben für ein paar Kakteen

  • 3/5 Francesca M. 1 year ago on Google
    Thought there was more to see. Entrance fee ticket is too expensive for what is offered.

  • 5/5 Tibor K. 1 year ago on Google
    The place is quite exotic with a wide variety of exotic plants

  • 5/5 mohammed s. 1 year ago on Google
    Greenhouse for plant so nice 😊

  • 2/5 Nynke van der P. 1 year ago on Google
    You can skip this one. Not really interesting.

  • 4/5 Ram Pradeep S. 1 year ago on Google
    Good place to visit along with zoo. Do get the combi ticket to zoo, desert house and Palmen house. Restroom available at the entrance.

  • 3/5 aizmaskas 1 year ago on Google
    The best attraction was Garra Rufa fish spa at the entrance.

  • 5/5 AB International S. 10 months ago on Google
    Not as big as palm house but still really nice.

  • 3/5 Asher A. 7 months ago on Google
    It is a small place. some of the plants and animals can be seen through the terrarium windows. some can be seen over a small upper passage. It is a quite place. Nothing special for those who come from dessert countries, Except for the sweet little turtle.

  • 3/5 zee 6 months ago on Google
    It was ok. We got the ticket that included the Zoo, Palmen House and Desert house, but I don't think it's worth paying just to see the Dessert house. The exposition is quite small.All the explanations and leaflets are only in German, nothing in English or other languages. The first part, dedicated to nocturnal animals is so dark you cannot even see the pictures of the species you should be able to observe in the enclosures.

  • 2/5 King A. 1 month ago on Google • 6 reviews New
    Too expensive for what it is, it’ll take you about 25 minutes to walk about and calling it a desert house when there’s more cactus than animals seems insulting. Nether the less it was still enjoyable. My advice is to drop the admission price down to €4-5

  • 5/5 Ute S. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Small but nice! (Original) Klein aber fein!

  • 4/5 Margrit S. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Was nice, as part of the NÖ-card (Original) War nett, im Rahmen der NÖ-card

  • 5/5 Melanie G. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Always great and the kids really like it too. We have an annual pass and are there regularly. (Original) Immer wieder toll und den Kindern gefällt es auch sehr. Wir haben eine Jahreskarte und sind regelmäßig dort.

  • 5/5 Martin M. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Beautiful and authentic (Original) Wunderschön und authentisch

  • 5/5 Michael K. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very interesting and something different. (Original) Sehr interessant und mal etwas anderes.

  • 5/5 Patrick B. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Just worth seeing (Original) Einfach sehenswert

  • 5/5 Jamie S. 3 years ago on Google
    Nice fun factual, there's also a pond that you can dip your hand into, and dozens of doctor fish will clean your hands!

  • 3/5 MakiTierchen 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Nicely laid out, you are through pretty quickly. (Original) Schön angelegt, man ist halt recht schnell durch.

  • 5/5 Alexandra R. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Super nice desert house. Friendly staff. Definitely worth a visit. (Original) Super schönes Wüstenhaus. Freundliche Mitarbeiter. Definitiv einen Besuch wert.

  • 4/5 Nils K. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Interesting selection of relevant plants and animals. Friendly staff. (Original) Interessante Auswahl relevanter Pflanzen und Tiere. Freundliches Personal.

  • 5/5 Wolfgang M. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Worth seeing (Original) Sehenswert

  • 3/5 Karl R. 4 years ago on Google
    O. K.

  • 2/5 Lacerta 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Disappointing. Sad to see how it has developed over the past 10 years. (Original) Enttäuschend. Traurig zu sehen wie es sich in den letzten 10 Jahren entwickelt hat.

  • 1/5 Jinzhu W. 4 years ago on Google
    What a rip off Most of the exhibitions are dead plants, WTH? I wish to get my 6 euros back

  • 4/5 Paul C. 4 years ago on Google
    Very nice though not very big!

  • 3/5 Andrada T. 5 years ago on Google
    You may spend here 1-2 hours: I would like to stay 2 hours, but with a toddler this is difficult :) They have many desserts plants and few animals. But for us the main interesting spot seems to be right at the entrance: they have an aquarium with doctor fishes - you may put your hands inside and these doctor fishes will clean just the dead cells. It was interesting to see the children hands were not attractive for the fishes, but the mature attracted a lot of fishes.

  • 5/5 Marcel D. 4 years ago on Google
    Beautifully built desert house with species of fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and dessert plants

  • 5/5 Boris S. 5 years ago on Google
    Rather small but absolutely worth visiting; I would suggest getting a ticket as a package deal and visit it either before the zoo on the way from U-bahn like we did or after depending on how do you plan your day. Expect to spend about half an hour here or even less.

  • 5/5 David C. 4 years ago on Google
    Beautiful place, recommend to get the combined ticket with palmenhaus and tiergarten

  • 4/5 Chris V. 4 years ago on Google
    Not the most impressive attraction but might worth to pay a visit if you are around there.

  • 4/5 Kamu P. 4 years ago on Google
    Nice place, but not so big

  • 4/5 Jessica R. 4 years ago on Google
    Really enjoyed our short visit, there was a German speaking tour on arrival that we skirted around as terrible english tourists. Liked the mole rats and the red fodys, loved the little fish by the entrance. Free with our vieena pass and well worth a look.

  • 5/5 Ju S. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) For Schönbrunn in general you should plan a lot of time, because you should also look at the desert house. (Original) Für Schönbrunn generell sollte man viel Zeit einplanen, denn auch das Wüstenhaus sollte man sich anschauen.

  • 1/5 Martynas S. 4 years ago on Google
    Germans only. With small exhibition

  • 5/5 sgas !. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Also a very nice greenhouse from imperial times made it exactly my thing !!! ?????? (Original) Auch eine sehr schönes Gewächshaus aus Kaiserzeiten toll gemacht genau mein Ding!!!??????

  • 4/5 Gotsch L. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Not particularly big, but still worth seeing. The main attraction for most people is probably the small fish at the entrance, which nibbles off the skin when you hold your hand in. (Original) Nicht besonders groß, aber trotzdem durchaus sehenswert. Die Hauptattraktion sind wahrscheinlich für die meisten die kleinen Fische gleich beim Eingang, welche einem die Hautschüppchen abknabbern, wenn man die Hand reinhält.

  • 2/5 Patrick F. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Did not represent that much. 20 minutes and you're done (Original) Stelde niet zo veel voor. 20 minuten en je bent klaar

  • 5/5 Tomas L. 4 years ago on Google
    Amazing mix of succulents and animals all presented in really cool environments, would recommend!

  • 4/5 Bernhard G. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Fair price, interesting, not too big (Original) Fairer Preis, interessant, nicht zu groß

  • 4/5 Gerald A. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) In winter it warms, no joke this is extraordinary! (Original) En plein hiver ça réchauffe, sans plaisanterie c'est extraordinaire !

  • 5/5 S B. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Super zoo location in the Vienna Zoo with extra admission (I think) It is worth asking for combi tickets e.g. Zoo Desert house plants house (Original) Super Zoo-Location im Wiener Zoo mit extra Eintritt (glaub ich) Es lohnt sich nach Kombikarten zu fragen z.B. Zoo-Wüstenhaus-Pflanzenhaus

  • 5/5 Stepan P. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) I recommend. (Original) Doporučuji.

  • 5/5 Наталия �. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) The flora and fauna of the desert are beautifully represented. Great immersion in the atmosphere of the area. (Original) Прекрасно представлена флора и фауна пустыни. Прекрасное погружение в атмосферу местности.

  • 5/5 Christine the P. 4 years ago on Google
    I have a year-long ticket to the zoo, so entry for this place is 3€. At the entry way you have some fish, that can clean your hands of old skin. I found that really interesting and actually nice to be able to touch animals. My goal was to see some Ziesel, as I find them very sweet rodets, but those were already resting for winter. Inside you can find 2 benches, which we actually sat on to rest. In the mean time some reptiles and turtles came along and visited :) There is also a secluded area outside. I will probably come here after hibernation (ziesel, not me).

  • 5/5 Vladimir R. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very beautiful (Original) Очень красиво

  • 5/5 Brigitte D. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Is a small but nice place that I always like to visit. The cacti are my favorites, I just can't get enough of them. (Original) Ist ein kleiner, aber feiner Ort den ich immer wieder gerne besuche. Die Kakteen sind meine Lieblinge, ich kann mich einfach nicht sattsehen.

  • 5/5 Tropea 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Great cacti, some of them unbelievably high and ridiculous in appearance (Original) Tolle Kakteen mit zum Teil unglaublicher Höhe und irrwitzigenm Aussehen

  • 3/5 Patrick H. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) It's okay for a trip, unfortunately my expectations were not exceeded. Admission with 6 euros is very high. The desert house is not very big and there are not many animals to admire. (Original) Es ist für einen Ausflug ganz ok, leider wurden meine Erwartungen nicht übertroffen. Der Eintritt mit 6 Euro ist sehr hoch gewählt. Das Wüstenhaus ist nicht sehr groß und Tiere gibt es nicht sehr viele zu bestaunen.

  • 5/5 Ben U. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very interesting .. ?? (Original) Sehr interessant.. ??

  • 2/5 Sandra R. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Almost no animals (Original) Fast keine tiere

  • 5/5 Annitschkas B. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Beautiful place! Great plants, interesting animals, just great! Here you can take great photos. The green of the plants and the red sand floor - that makes a great light and environment in the pictures. Tip: get a combination ticket directly and visit the palm house opposite. (Original) Wunderschöner Ort! Tolle Pflanzen, interessante Tiere, einfach toll! Hier kann man tolle Fotos machen. Das Grün der Pflanzen und der rote Sandboden - das macht ein tolles Licht und Umgebung auf den Bildern. Tipp: direkt ein Kombiticket holen und das Palmenhaus gegenüber mit besuchen.

  • 4/5 Bernhard S. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Kind! (Original) Nett!

  • 2/5 Mathias L. 4 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Yes, there is little to see and the children are only foolish about the fish. Ma hardly notices about the Vogerl. (Original) Ja, gibt wenig zu sehen und nur auf die Fische sind die Kinder ganz narrisch. Von die Vogerl merkt ma kaum was.


Call +43 1 87792940 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance

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